More than 300 trainings. More than 100 new BJCs. Over ₱4.4 million raised. Two legacy projects. And a learning center built in honor of a decade-long education program.
For Director for Training & Business Development Vjohn Dizon, those figures tell only part of the story.
When he accepted the position at the start of 2026, President Edison Ke told him that he would effectively be managing three directorates: Training, Recruitment, and Business Development.
Dir. Vjohn responded by organizing his year around three words: Mentorship, Entrepreneurship, and Stewardship.
The results became one of the most expansive portfolios in JCI Manila’s 2026 term.
Under Mentorship, the Training and Recruitment teams were given ambitious targets. Dir. Vjohn was tasked with conducting at least 250 trainings during the year. The directorate has since surpassed 300.
Recruitment carried an equally demanding benchmark: 100 BJCs in ULO 1.
The final figure reached 105.
But while the numbers were important, Dir. Vjohn saw both programs as part of a larger responsibility: giving members the opportunity to learn, participate, and eventually lead.
That philosophy shaped his approach to chairmen and commissioners throughout the year.
From the beginning, he asked members of his Limitless team one question:
“What do you want to learn from this journey?”
For every chairman, he deliberately took on two roles: Director and coach.
The expectation was not simply that chairmen would deliver their projects. They were encouraged to identify what they wanted to learn and how the JCI network could help them develop on a personal level.
It was a deliberate attempt to make the directorate more than an administrative structure.
It became a leadership pipeline.
That same philosophy extended into Business Development.
Dir. Vjohn wanted JCI Manila to recognize and promote businesses owned by its own members, turning the chapter’s internal network into an opportunity for entrepreneurship and collaboration.
The effort became a year-round initiative, with JCI Manila-owned businesses promoted throughout the year.
The directorate also launched the JCI Manila Business Academy, conducting monthly sessions from February through May and bringing accomplished business personalities into the room, including Josiah Go, RJ Ledesma, and Rex Mendoza.
For Dir. Vjohn, entrepreneurship was not simply about making money. It was about creating an environment where members could learn from established entrepreneurs, promote one another’s businesses, and build relationships that could continue beyond JCI.
Then came Stewardship.
Dir. Vjohn found himself responsible for two of JCI Manila’s legacy projects: the Ten Outstanding Guro Awards (TOGA) and the Ramon V. del Rosario Awards.
Of the two, TOGA presented a particularly ambitious opportunity.
The program has spent years recognizing and empowering educators. This year, Dir. Vjohn wanted to push the concept beyond recognition.
The result was a learning center in Balanga, Bataan, built in honor of TOGA.
His challenge to the chapter is simple:
“Ask anyone: Who has built a learning center in honor of TOGA? We did.”
It was a fitting expression of his idea of stewardship: a legacy should not merely be preserved.
It should be expanded.
Yet behind the training numbers, recruitment figures, business programs, and legacy projects was one challenge Dir. Vjohn identified as universal among JCI leaders:
fundraising.
His position was straightforward from the beginning. He told his chairmen to raise funds for their projects.
“If you can’t, I will shoulder,” he said, “but that means you failed as Chairman.”
For Dir. Vjohn, fundraising is itself a leadership exercise. It requires a chairman to communicate a project’s value, build relationships, negotiate, persuade partners, and take ownership of the resources needed to make an idea happen.
During his term, he helped raise more than ₱4.4 million for JCI Manila.
For him, the significance of the figure is not simply the amount. It meant the chapter had more resources available to implement projects and serve beneficiaries.
Still, when asked about the achievement he is most proud of, Dir. Vjohn does not immediately point to the 300-plus trainings, the 105 recruits, or the millions raised.
He points to conversations.
The quiet ones.
The conversations with commissioners, chairmen, and committee members where he could help someone understand what they were capable of doing.
“Honestly, it’s never the big moments,” he said. “It’s the small conversations I have with my Commissioners, Chairmen, and committee members.”
That answer reveals the central measure by which he evaluates his year.
His goal was never simply to produce successful projects.
It was to build the next generation of leaders.
Public information about Dir. Vjohn’s work in JCI Manila reflects the same emphasis. His leadership portfolio has included training, business development, recruitment, and major education initiatives, while his professional work has also centered on coaching and leadership development.
It is a philosophy that runs through his programs: teach people, give them responsibility, challenge them, and allow them to discover what they can do.
And for that work, he credits the people around him.
He thanked President Eds for believing in him and choosing him to lead the directorate, and VP Cheeno for the trust, guidance, and leadership throughout the year.
He also singled out the members of his Limitless team, particularly commissioners Chacky Torres, Jhabes Monzones, CA Pagal, Enro Mendoza, Robin Kwee, Alfonso RDA, and Dave Mariano.
“Salamat at sumama kayo,” was his message to them.
As the year draws to a close, Dir. Vjohn leaves the next director with a lesson shaped by his own experience.
Being a Director is a “life check.”
The position forces leaders to examine themselves, he said. It keeps them grounded while simultaneously pushing them to reach higher than they thought possible.
His advice to those who come next is equally direct:
Be Limitless. Be LIV Driven. Always Lead Beyond.
For a directorate that began the year with three mandates, the results are measurable.
More than 300 trainings.
105 new BJCs.
₱4.4 million-plus raised.
A Business Academy.
Two legacy projects.
A learning center in Balanga.
But the most important result cannot be placed neatly into a spreadsheet.
It is found in the chairman who discovered he could lead.
The commissioner who found a new skill.
The committee member who became confident enough to take on greater responsibility.
And the member who may eventually sit in the same seat, asking the next generation the same question Dir. Vjohn asked at the beginning of his term:
“What do you want to learn from this journey?”
That may ultimately be the most lasting measure of his year.
He was given three directorates to manage. He chose to build a generation of leaders instead.
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