It was not a usual day at KSearch last Friday, July 15, 2011. It was a special day, in fact. Everyone in KSearch arrived early than the usual office hours. The boardroom was filled with a sumptuous breakfast food. Confetti was waiting to pop. Small greeting banners with hilarious messages were seen everywhere. Employees were not on their respective work stations. Instead, they were all assembled at the entrance hall of the KSearch office, excitedly waiting for the arrival of the CEO.
It was Mr. Manuel R. Guillermo’s one-day advance and surprise birthday celebration. Upon his arrival, the celebrant was welcomed by his employees like a celebrity—with all the flashing cameras of the paparazzi, bodyguard swaying the crowd, persistent reporter chasing for an interview about his upcoming movie, pictures all over the place waiting for an autograph and he was adorned by the cheering fans all together.
MRG was ushered at the boardroom, clueless at first with what was happening but quickly “played his part”. His staff prepared a lively talk-show-inspired theme hosted by one of the new employees, Sharwina Gonzales, entitled “Da Who with Shar?”. The party concept recreated a blind item show where MRG was asked to identify who among his employees have kept this or that particular secret. (And to the delight of many, he guessed most pretty quickly and correctly!)
Then a fully rehearsed song and/or dance presentation in between the program hit the stage performed by employees of each department, and each one aiming to outdo the other. The entire event was organized to show how special Mr. Guillermo is to his KSearch Team.
Visibly overwhelmed by the excitement of it all, MRG thanked everyone as he summed up his heartfelt appreciation with: “This is the best-ever celebration of my birthday…it’s amazing…awesome…thanks!”
The celebration continued after office at the exclusive Tower Club hosted by the celebrant. Great food, continuous flow of wine, and lots of singing highlighted the evening affair – a fitting climax to what had started in the morning as a fantastic surprise celebration. What a wonderful day it was for MRG as for everyone else in KSearch!
by: Verna Austria