New York City – Stevenson Van Derodar, a former president of JCI Philippine – New York and currently Vice President at the JCI New York State, is running for a board member postion at the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc., which he believes is a unique opportunity to add dynamism in his own JCI organization.
“JCI Philippine-New York has been a very supportive organization to PIDCI. In fact, many leaders and volunteers from PIDCI are from JCI Philippine-New York. Our 50 plus year old JCI local chapter in New York City has more than 5,000 members throughout its existence and have been very active professionally and in the community,” Stevenson quipped.
“The Jaycees has always been about becoming better. Our programs are geared towards the betterment of our individual lives and in our communities. The Fil-Am community is a natural ground where we can replicate our impact to PIDCI and to greater populace,” Stevenson added.
The PIDCI is an umbrella organization of Filipino American associations based on the East Coast. It is principally dedicated to promoting history, the cultural heritage and traditions of the Filipino people through the celebration of Philippine Independence Day.
For many community leaders, it is a great opportunity to be involved in the so-called largest Fil-Am organization considering the ability to connect with its member organizations, the representation it gets and ability to provide inputs in the board for its project implementation and execution of its programs.
For Stevenson, becoming a board member will give a voice to the young professional sector, from 18-40 and encourage continuity of support to PIDCI in its concordant relationship.
Being with the Jaycees, he has made remarkable contributions in the community by spearheading projects on Internationalism, Community Development and has collaborated with many organizations over the years maximizing his impact to the community. In 2016 he received the Most Outstanding Local Chapter President Award in the USA (Charles Kulp, Jr. Memorial Award) by the JCI USA National organization. He was also named the JCI New York State Don Cavalli Memorial Awardee as the Most Outstanding Local President in New York State in 2016.
The Philippine Independence Day celebrations had become a point of unity and cooperation among Filipinos. The annual parade had been attended by tens of thousands including public officials from New York City and New York State and from the Philippines and has grown steadily since 1996 when it gained reputation as the largest outdoor gathering of Filipinos in the northeastern United States.
Stevenson hopes for a more vibrant, festive, inclusive, and participatory and looks forward to seeing the best of the best the Fil-Am community has to offer. (Photo and press release by the office of Stevenson Van Derodar)
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