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GREAT at
8!
This was
the bold theme emblazoned all over the venue Felix
Restaurant in Makati City, when Ford Philippines proudly
launched last week the eighth edition of the Henry Ford
Awards (HFA), the country’s premier award-giving body
for excellence in automotive journalism.
The
event also coincided with the 100th anniversary of the
iconic Model T car, created by its patriarch Henry Ford,
which officially brought the world into the age of the
“horseless carriage.”
The
well-attended affair saw Ford Group Philippines
president Rick Baker and other top company officials
welcoming the guests that included several Hall of
Famers of the annual awards.
Among
the other Ford Group Philippines officials present were
David Macasadia, managing director of Mazda; Eric
Malimban, AVP for Mazda marketing; Cherry Ramirez,
assistant vice president for corporate and social
affairs; Tonette Lee, assistant vice president for
marketing; and Glen Dasig, assistant vice president.
“The
Henry Ford Awards is now on its eighth year and I am
amazed at how the program has grown through the years. I
was told we started with only seven categories in 2001.
Up to now, these journalists are still passionately
writing about cars, driving, road safety and
developments in the automotive industry. If only for
this, I would say that the HFA was worth
institutionalizing as we were able to contribute to an
active discussion of concerns about the automotive
sector,” said Baker, who is on his second year as chief
of Ford Group Philippines, during his opening speech.
He also
said, “Back in the 1900s, Henry Ford tried using ethanol
with the Model T when gasoline supplies became tight
during World War I. It’s been a hundred years since, and
up to now we are still pushing for institutionalizing
the use of alternative fuels, particularly in this side
of Asia. The same forward thinking lies at the core of
our Flexible Fuel Vehicle Program as we explore the use
of alternative fuels to achieve sustainable mobility.
“Back to
HFA, we are grateful for all our media friends who have
helped us communicate not only our product and service
offerings to the public but also our advocacies. It is
this partnership, which we honor and celebrate through
the HFA, the first automotive journalism award-giving
body in the country and, not to mention, the
longest-running. On my second year as president of Ford
Group Philippines, I am truly proud. HFA could not have
gone this far if not for our media friends who have
continually churned out amazing stories. It is in honor
of all your great masterpieces that we have decided to
dub this year’s HFA as ‘Great at Eight!’” Baker added.
The HFA,
launched in 2001 to recognize great works and talents in
the automotive beat from photographs, product review
stories to motoring columns, now has a total of 30
journalists and entities that now belong to the Hall of
Fame.
The
awards program is part of the commitment of Ford Group
Philippines to give due recognition to journalists who
have supported the automotive industry by providing
consumers with accurate news reports and information.
Aside
from the nine regular categories and three major ones,
this year’s HFA also added a new category “to honor
student journalists who may one day belong to the next
generation of writers, photographers and broadcasters
that will cover the automotive sector.”
The
special categories are the In-depth Automotive Industry
Feature; Ford and Mazda Feature Stories; and the Best
Broadsheet Motoring Section, introduced only last year
and of which this section is the inaugural champion.
On the
other hand, the nine regular categories include
Published Photograph for Newspaper; Published Photograph
for Magazine; Automotive Test Drive/Automotive Event
Story; Automotive Online Feature Story; Motoring Column
Issue; Environment and Conservation Feature Story;
Safety Feature Story; Motorsports Feature Story; and
Automotive Television Feature.
The
winners in the special categories stand to win P50,000
and a trophy each, while those in the regular categories
will receive P40,000 and a trophy each. Meanwhile, a
cash prize of P20,000 and trophy will be given to the
winner of the Automotive Feature Story for the
students’ category.
Entries
may be nominated by editors, publishers, TV producers
and fellow journalists, or can be entered by the
participating journalists themselves, while those
eligible to join in the new category are college
students who are not associated, affiliated or employed
with any mainstream media, on either full-time or
part-time basis. This category is not exclusive to
journalism students and the story should have been
published in their college or university publication
within the period of October 1, 2007 to September 30,
2008. Entrants should be enrolled during the same period
and should submit proof of education, an endorsement
letter from the college dean and a copy of the entire
college or university publication in which the submitted
story was published.
Deadline
for submission of entries is 5 p.m. of October 1 at
Ogilvy PR/Manila. Call 885-0001 local 165 for more
information. Entry forms may be downloaded from
www.ford.com.ph. |
