Clifford Aw Takes Membership Benefits Beyond the Expected

When Dir. Clifford Aw accepted Pres. Eds’ invitation to lead the Membership Benefits and Partnerships (MEMBEN) Directorate, the direction was clear: give JCI Manila members the full value of their membership while keeping them active and engaged throughout the Lead Beyond year.

His approach was built around four pillars of membership: family, personal growth, business, and fun.

These four pillars became the foundation for planning the directorate’s projects, with each initiative designed to provide members with opportunities to experience different aspects of JCI Manila membership.

Despite the variety of activities, however, Dir. Clifford’s objective remained consistent from the beginning of his term.

Engage members and keep them active.

As the year progressed, delivering on that objective required managing projects of different sizes and timelines while keeping multiple teams moving in the same direction.

One of his biggest challenges was handling projects that overlapped with one another.

Two of the directorate’s major undertakings, the Ryder Cup and Color Run, each involved approximately six months of planning and execution. Their timelines overlapped with other MEMBEN activities, including committee lounges, district events, and family events.

The workload required Dir. Clifford to remain available to chairpersons who needed guidance while also attending committee meetings and helping different teams navigate their respective projects.

The second challenge was equally central to the directorate’s mandate: getting members to attend.

With membership engagement measured significantly through event attendance, the growing number of activities eventually made it more difficult to encourage members to participate in every event.

For Dir. Clifford, these challenges became practical lessons in managing people and projects.

They taught him how to handle multiple teams and chairpersons simultaneously, while providing the guidance and motivation needed throughout different stages of project development.

His experience reinforced a simple leadership principle.

Hard work shows in the results.

One of those results became a major milestone for the MEMBEN Directorate during the Area Conference.

Dir. Clifford and his commissioner, Jay Pasicolan, wrote the bid for the directorate under the Best Inter-Organization Collaboration Program category. The bid itself represented a first for MEMBEN, as the directorate became the subject of a bid recognizing its collective work.

The effort ultimately earned the Best of the Best Project award during Areacon.

For Dir. Clifford, the recognition represented the culmination of the directorate’s work during the first eight months of the year.

“What the directorate has achieved these past eight months have truly gone Beyond the Expected with this win,” he said.

The recognition also reinforced his belief that consistency and hard work eventually produce results.

But Dir. Clifford is quick to place the achievement beyond his own role.

He credits President Eds and the Executive Committee for consistently pushing him to improve and encouraging him to Go Beyond. Their guidance, motivation, and even what he described as their “sermons” became part of what pushed him to raise his standards throughout the year.

He also pointed to the MEMBEN team as a major factor in the directorate’s accomplishments.

For Dir. Clifford, the commissioners and chairpersons are the heart and soul of the directorate. Their work across the various projects made it possible for MEMBEN to deliver on its mandate and maintain the standards expected of JCI Manila.

“You will only be as good as your team,” he said.

That belief in team development is also central to the advice he leaves for the next generation of JCI Manila leaders.

His message is straightforward: consistency and hard work will never fail you.

For incoming leaders, he emphasizes the importance of developing their teams throughout every project, ensuring that members grow along with the work they undertake.

At the same time, he calls on future leaders to protect the JCI Manila Standard of Excellence by refusing to settle for less and giving their full effort to every responsibility.

From family and personal growth to business and fun, Dir. Clifford’s approach to membership benefits was built around giving members reasons to participate.

The challenge was not simply creating more activities. It was creating opportunities that members would value, teams that could execute them, and an environment that would keep members engaged throughout the year.

With the MEMBEN Directorate’s Best of the Best Project recognition adding to the year’s accomplishments, Dir. Clifford’s term demonstrates the role of consistency, teamwork, and sustained effort in turning membership initiatives into results.

His standard for the next generation remains clear:

Go beyond the expected. Develop your team. Keep the standard high. And give it your all.