A funny thing happened on the way to the Entrepreneur of the Year awards last Thursday at the Makati Shangri-La. Ten awards were handed out but only one person, who was not an awardee, was given a standing ovation.

For that person, another award should have been created and presented – the award for charm that pushed the audience out of their chairs to stand up and applaud, with a smile on their faces and say, “What a speech!” Indeed, you could say “Nanay” Socorro Ramos, founder and GM of National Bookstore, Ernest and Young 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year, stole the show, the thunder and the lightning. Recounting how the award changed her life at the “late blooming” age of 82, she had a few tips for her successor in 2009: “Savor the moment.

Live the fantasy. Be prepared to pay P500 for a cup of coffee in Monte Carlo” (where the global awards will happen next July).

Not that banker Jesus Tambunting, EOY 2009, will find it painful to cough up a few euros in Monaco.

Other winners: Eduarda Ayo, Kenneth Cobonpue, Gemma Bulos, Corazon D. Ong, Antonio Tiu, and Justin Uy.

Special awards for Inspiring Entrepreneurship were given to Mary Grace Arboleda Young for her Cordillera coffee co. and Ricky Reyes for his dedication to the beauty business.

For Ricky, awards night was the first day to rest after 14 days of serving, with the help of friends and partners from Ayala Foundation, hot food to 14,000 flood victims in different evacuation centers. Next award coming up – a trophy for philanthropy?

WITH the theme “Children and Families Speak out against Poverty,’’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty observed on October 17, 2009, highlights the plight of children and families living in poverty and the need to fulfill children’s rights in keeping with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Adoption of the Convention has brought about considerable advances around the world in securing children’s rights to survival, health, and education. It has created a better protective environment to shield children from exploitation and abuse.

We live in an increasingly interdependent world and we have made great strides in tackling poverty. Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization are global decisions, policies, and practices.

Poverty knows no geographical barriers and is widespread all over the world. And while government and international agencies have provided billions of people with much-needed aid, the war on the world poverty has not been won. Too many children go to bed with empty stomachs and wake up to seemingly hopeless futures.

Mentally and physically malnourished, many children are unable to get a good education and will encounter serious problems. Investments in children and the realization of their rights are among the most effective ways to eradicate poverty.

There is much to be done to create a world fit for children. International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for 2009 presents an opportunity for children to speak out on actions which will strengthen both children and their families in tackling poverty and exclusion.

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty There is much to be done to create a world fit for children. International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for 2009 presents an opportunity for children to speak out on actions which will strengthen both children and their families in tackling poverty and exclusion.