MY CHALLENGE 2011

The seven Challenges introduced in 2011
01 English Solo Singing | 02 Duet/Group Singing | 03 Modern Dancing
04 Photography | 05 Short Film | 06 Drama | 07 Band

The official logo of MY CHALLENGE 2011
tagline: where stars are born!

This is already the second week of school visits. The Challenge Committee is visiting schools in the Klang Valley led by 3 team leaders. Team A is managed by our Producer, while Team B and C are in-charged by the Production Manager and Project Manager, respectively. To date, the committee has visited schools in PJ, Damansara, Kepong, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Cheras, Setapak, Ampang, etc....each team is accompanied by 2 to 3 other members of the Challenge Committee. This is not something that we love doing on a regular basis, if given a choice, although it is not a dirty job neither. We love to share the concept of MY Challenge to other people and explain the mechanics of this mega competition to those who are interested.

Sometimes, I wonder whether it is, or it is not a blessing to study in government school, or should I say without having the chance to experience life in a private school, students will not be able to distinguish and compare the differences. Some of the 'Pengetua' (principal in Malay) are really not supportive of the performing arts at all. Before the team can even open our mouth, they already closed their mind. I pity the students who are studying in these schools.

Generally, the achievement of a school really depends a lot on how the Pengetua manages it and the vision/direction of the Pengetua. In some cases, the teachers should take the blame when it comes to encouraging the students to discover their talents. Due to the amount of workload, we understand that teachers will not like to be involved in other things besides the routine school work. This is so contradicting! We know something is wrong with the education system but we are all living in denial by not accepting the fact that out education system is not holistic at all! But are we doing something about it??!!

For those who are so supportive, you will be part of the small little steps to make a giant leap! One day we will be able to achieve it! Together, we will create miracles!

Birds of the Same Feather Flock Together

When I learned this idiom 20 years ago, I thought it means that people with similar interests will stick together. But it gives me a different experience lately while I was preparing for MY Challenge 2010.

Many people have always reminded and cautioned me to not recruit part-timers in any of my productions simply because they will not be fully committed to the job assigned to them. I disagree because I always believe if we really want to do something, regardless of whether the job is big or small, or whether we already have a full-time 9 to 5 job, we will do our best. Therefore, I do not mind working with part-timers if they are really good. I mean I do not mind working with very good part-timers. To avoid misunderstanding, I always give the person the benefit of adult during the interview before I recruit them into the team. I will tell them the job descriptions and what I expect of them. I will also give them the task sheet and the deadline when the tasks must be completed. As leaders in their very own departments, they are expected to not only follow my direction and instructions, I also expect them to propose a detailed progress plan for the departments. They then have to monitor the progress and report to me weekly so that I know what they are doing falls in the compliance of the event direction. I also want to see follow ups being done as this is not only a way that they communicate with their team or external partners involved, it is also to gauge whether the plan works or not.

I am very proud and blessed to have so many ex-students to volunteer to help out in my recent production. Besides that, I am also very lucky to have recruited some other people to manage certain areas for me. I have been working with Pang and Hew since previous productions and have since developed some mutual understandings on how certain things work. I have definitely no complaints when it comes to working with them. To the new recruits, it will take them some time to get used to my style and expectations. Meetings have been conducted to explain the preparations and event direction for the production, and everyone was expected to carry out the tasks assigned with immediate attention. It is therefore very disappointing to discover that some of the team members are not enthusiastic and/or proactive enough to handle these assignments.

Before I put the blame on others, I shall look at myself in front of the mirror first. Have I not monitored my team close enough, or have I not given them enough training nor clear instructions of what I expect of them? I shall give them a last chance. In this coming meeting, I will remind everyone again what I expect of them. If they can't cope after this, I have no choice but will have to ask them to leave the team. I have no time to babysit such people or to handle such emotional situations. I would rather spend time doing it myself than chasing after people to get the work done for me.

I have plans to form my own dream team for future productions, I only want efficient, capable and committed leaders in my team, nothing else. Are you the one?

Logo of Hotlink MY CHALLENGE

Since the day I met up with The Star, things have been going on fine, better than I expected.

Celeb Image Gallery has agreed to be our image, make-up partner by taking care of all the models during the photo shoot. They will also sponsor the winners with make-up courses. Most importantly, Josephine from Celeb Image also introduced the boss of Dragonfly Studio to allow our photo shoot to be done in his studio. He also allows us to use the facilities in the studio at Bandar Sunway.

Today, I went to KDU University College to meet Dr Chia and Mrs Chan. It was again another fruitful meeting, where we managed to drag in Pat Chua from PCB to understand the concept of MY CHALLENGE and to see how KDU Education Group can benefit from this collaboration. I expected The Star to give me a call today but later did I know that they have postponed their meeting with the COO to next Monday. I told Ann Marie that this has ruined my weekends. Until I meet The Star again, I will have to make sure that everything is still moving. Mrs. Chan and Datin will be going with me to meet The Star next time. I am so looking forward to the meeting next week.

Taking MY CHALLENGE to greater heights

It has been a very exhausting week but definitely very fulfilling. I spent many days nailing down the details of the competition with my team, fine-tuning on the design work of our marketing collaterals and meeting more sponsors and business partners. It's not easy to be both the producer and director of a mega-event like MY Challenge, especially when you are also working for a regular Monday to Thursday part-time/full-time job. I am doing my best to cope, dividing my time among various tasks, prioritising the crucial assignments from the urgent ones, meeting all deadlines, etc..

Today is the first Monday of April and I was meeting The Star to discuss the collaboration opportunities for MY Challenge. I was meeting all the top guns in The Star including their Group General Manager, Calvin Kan, Managing Editor, June Wong, Head of Advertisement Sales, Chua, together with my best friend, Ann Marie. The meeting went on smoothly with some questions directed to us while we were explaining the concept of the competition. I guess, from their expression and gestures, they love the idea - the idea of having a multitude of events under a grand championship, giving an opportunity to so many people to shine! June and Ann shared with the rest how they see their children developed over the years by joining the competitions. I was very appreciative of their generous remarks and supportive comments. That makes working for Paramount Championship something worthwhile. The sweat, the tears, the frustrations, the sleepless nights......I sincerely hope that we can work with The Star as I see that these are great people who will help bring MY Challenge to greater heights.

I pray to GOD.....to decide the best for us.....Amen...

Hotlink MY Challenge 2011

After years of working for Paramount Championship, it has finally come to this stage where I can fulfill my dream in bringing the competition to an inter-school level, something that I always wanted but would never dare to dream about...I believe in this dream, a dream that will come true one day but I realise that this dream can only become a reality if someone shares the same vision as I do...

Along the way, I have had the opportunities to work with so many people. Many great individuals have helped me to become who I am today. It is so strange that when I wanted to write something about MY Challenge, what I can think of is to thank all these great people who have extended help and support to me over the years.

First of all, I must thank Mrs. Lee for being there for me when I first set foot into the teaching profession. She took care of me and was like a mother to an impulsive, ambitious young man. I thank her for showing me what a caring and responsible teacher should be like and will always see her as my Head Teacher!

Secondly, I am indebted to Mrs. Chan, my boss, my mama, my mentor, my advisor, and most of all my good friend. She is the most intelligent and capable woman I have ever met on Earth. I am not trying to pull her legs as I don't think she will ever read my blog :) but you must work with/for her long enough to discover this truth. Over the past 8 years of working with her, I learned so many invaluable experiences from the events that she entrusted me to do, and she has given me so many opportunities to do what I love to do. P&A Nite, Paramount Championship, Performance Club, Prom The Musical, Shine a teen musical will never be a reality if she didn't say YES in the first place when I proposed to her. And, this year, she is so supportive of MY Challenge and has been giving me lots of advice on how Sri KDU can help make this a great success. Sri KDU is not only the host school for this year's Hotlink MY Challenge, but KDU College is also kind enough to sponsor some scholarships to the winners. For that, I thank Mrs. Chan...thank you Mrs. Chan! I will not let you down! May god always shower His blessings to you, and your family...

I always believe in the positive effects of synergy. Therefore, I am always looking out for partnership opportunities with great individuals. Pang is the greatest gentleman I have ever met in my life. He is not only a very generous person, he is also a very supportive friend and someone you can count on in every single way. I know I have said this many many times, but every time I say it, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you brother, thank you so much for whatever you have done for me...the support, the advice, the encouraging sms, the pad on my shoulders....thank you for still having me to share Mentor with you although I do almost nothing to help bloom the centre. In fact, if you need anything from me, you may just ask as I will always be there, just as you will never say no whenever I need help. Thank you and may our brotherly friendship last forever! God bless you always.

Talking about MY Challenge, it has never been an easy task from the very start. I still remember the conversation I had with Minder at a restaurant in Damansara Perdana last December. I was telling Minder how we can start a project together and to bring Paramount Championship to the next level and she was thrilled with the idea because she also shares the same vision as I do. Ever since then, Minder and I had been working very hard in meeting up with sponsors, drafting and finalising the competition model, writing to potential partners, recruiting our team....etc etc etc....well, I am putting etc etc because it was really a lot of work to follow up especially when you are dealing with sponsors. Trust me, no one would want to do this if it's not because of the passion and the love for the performing arts. I must say that if it's not because of Minder, I won't be able to endure the frustrations and challenges I face everyday. She is always the positive one to tell me that things will work out eventually. Whatever happens, it happens for a GOOD reason. It's because of this GOOD reason that I am still pushing it and believing in what we are doing is going to open doors to greater adventures...She is my pillar of strength in this project, she is a great friend, someone I can trust and someone I treasure for life...thank you Minder, thank you for everything! I know one day, you will be very successful! Wish you all the best with your PR company!

Talking about great individuals, I must take a moment to list down all of them here (not including my family members as I always love them no matter what)....Mark, Geraldine, Chee Wei, Cheng Choo, Shan, Hew, Jacinta, Ann Marie, Ms Chuah, Becky, Mei Kay, Sharon, Maggie, Arzon, Karen, Azlina, Pui Li, Andrew, Janice, Chris, Colin, Yen Szu, Wei Han, Melissa, Adrian, Sebastian, Shirley, etc...and my PC family, my beloved children, thank you for your trust, support and help over the years...thank you.

For MY Challenge, I am meeting many new faces whom I believe will add positive energy to the team I already have. I am very sure that this partnership will take the project to great heights. I look forward to working with Elroy, Victor, Brandon, Soo Lee, Shyen, etc...I also would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors for your great support - Allan and his team from Hotlink, Elaine and Mei Yuen from OXY, Mr Low and his team from Proton, Kadri from Coke, Ivy from PUMA, June and Ann Marie from The Star, Gordon and Nitha from Galaxie....the list shall not stop just here....

Let us work together to make Hotlink MY Challenge a revolutionary success to all those who are involved this year!

Hotlink MY Challenge, where stars are born!