Welcome to SBFCC!

The Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, a member of the national Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is an independent, nonprofit, membership-funded organization founded in 1995 to serve and represent the interests of its member businesses.

We are actively involved in a number of areas and are in the forefront of issues affecting our member businesses, their employees, and their families.

The single distinguishing characteristic that sets SBFCC apart from other Chambers of Commerce is that our members come from some 20 countries around the world.

Chamber Events

Upcoming Mixer/Networking Evening

State of the Freeport Address

During the SOFA, an annual event organized by the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, Administrator Armand Arreza disclosed that despite the global economic slowdown, SBMA is still eyeing a $ 7.5 billion investment target in 2010 which should create more than 100,000 jobs and post some $2 billion in exports by 2010... click here to dowload full presentation.

Induction of 2009 Chamber Officers

Administrator Aramand Arreza inducted the 2009 officers of the Chamber during the recent SOFA. From the left are President Danny Piano, board member Jerry Hammond, Vice-President Romy Duran, Corp Sec Rose Baldeo, and board member Pastor Cho; absent were Treasurer Dante Pollescas, and board member Tom De Bruin.

Citizen of the Year 2008

John Corcoran, President of Ocean Adventure and Camayan Beach Resort, was presented with the Citizen of the Year award for his outstanding contributions and service for the betterment of the Freeport community.

Subic Bay International Airport Revival Committee

The transfer of FedEx to China not only is a big blow to SBMA's income but also affected hundreds of employees who were laid off and even affected several companies that used to provide services to the courier company. To help lessen its impact, the Chamber's Business Development Committee, headed by Prof. Danny Piano, formed a sub-committee tasked to countermand the situation. The committee is composed of locators, SBMA, and various stakeholders from within and outside the Freeport. Some are members of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce and some are not; but that is beside the point since we are all in this together and have to work hand in hand to revive the Subic International Airport.

Picture below standing from left to right are: Paul Gan of Chungnan Textile, Louis Kuo of Subic Technics, Myra Morales of Hanafil Golf & Tour, Kenneth Peralta of SBFCC, Prof. Danny Piano, President of SBFCC, Victor Prieto of Pacific Commerce, Sammy Chou of Limech and Chairman of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, George Lorenzana of Mountain Woods Hotel and White Rock Resort and also Chairman of the Greater Subic Bay Tourism Bureau, Jeff Lin of SBDMC, Jimmy Chen of Limech; and sitting down are Yvette Ocampo of Jungle Joe’s World, Jean Verzosa of Subic Park Hotel and GSBTB, Baby Dela Llana of Tender Touch and Board Member of the Province of Zambales, and Michele Johnstone of Hanafil Golf & Tour. Bottom picture also includes Dr. Teresa Yap of GSBTB, Charles Davis of Seahorse Tours, and Mar Santos, Rey Guevarra, Zharrex Santos, Cel Racel, and Nelia Diloy of SBIA.

Boardwalk Playground Repairs

Your Chamber recently made repairs to and freshly painted the boardwalk playground. Thanks to Absolute Service for shouldering the labor expense of the work. Kids can once again happily play in this playground that your Chamber maintains through a Memorandum of Agreement with SBMA.

Mixer Nights

Dozens of name cards are always exchanged and contact info shared between members. Friends, old and new, enjoy these evenings. Many members of the Chamber are not only businessmen looking for business connections, but have cultivated real friendships with other members as well.

Message from the President

Death by PowerPoint

(how to give killer presentations instead)

PowerPoint presentations have become a common tool of business — sometimes enlightening and entertaining, many times uninteresting, boring, and fatigue-inducing. Great speakers seldom have a need for it but others will freeze to death without it.

For many of us not born with the right genes, giving effective presentations is a real struggle — and could be a mind-numbing experience for the audience, too. It does not have to be this way.

What follows is a brief compilation of tips that will hopefully help you, and me, give killer presentations.

Know your presentation. You should be familiar with your material backwards and forwards and should be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about it prior to the presentation. Try not to memorize. Preparation will give you the confidence to talk about your topic comfortably (so they say).

Present key points only. Have as few bullets per slide and avoid sub-entries altogether. Do not use the PowerPoint screen as your notebook and do not read from it except glancing for cues. The PowerPoint presentation is for the audience and not for you. Try to speak in your own words (if you’re not choking yet). Use hardcopy notes that you can hold or put on a lectern and read from it, not the screen, if you must.

Utilize graphics. A picture, chart or photograph, is really worth a thousand words and can spice up your presentation. Animation is a nice touch also if used sensibly and not to the point of being distracting. However, do not show images just for the sake of it; explain how they relate to the topic being discussed.

Check readability and audio. Make sure your presentation is readable and your voice comprehensible up to the last row. The audience at the back will lose interest on a presentation that they cannot read or hear well enough… and they usually are not afraid to show their boredom by talking to each other or walking out instead (they are out of view after all; and no, you do not have the same option).

Interact with the audience. Relieve the feeling of isolation by interacting with the audience. Do not act bored. What you present has to be interesting and you have to be excited about it yourself.

Pause for effect and emphasis. It is the most dramatic way to make a point. Avoid ahs and ums; they are annoying and distract the audience.

Reiterate your point. The old axiom: “First tell the audience what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.” usually helps in effectively conveying your point across.

So there — seven good tips to die for (pun intended).

What is also important to know is that nerves and anxiety are a universal part of giving presentations, especially for those who do not do this for a living. So what if you fail? Just pick your self up, dust your self off, and try again another day. Failing is part of life and business — this is not any different.

…and maybe, too, it is time for business and organizations to realize that not everyone can do presentations. Everyone should try to learn to communicate better but not everyone will be able to stand in front of, and engage, an audience effectively. It is a skill. Encourage those who can do it and stop torturing those who cannot (no pun intended).

Prof. Danny J. Piano

President

Click here for Archive of President Messages

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