Saturday, September 08, 2007 At the helm of city tourism By Grace L. Plata
SHE had just been appointed as new City Tourism Officer during the Kadayawan sa Dabaw season but Gerardinn Marie C. Angeles-Duran has shown she's one capable lady judging from the success of the whole celebration.
Duran had been appointed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte as the new city tourism officer on August 9, 2007 - a year after the resignation of former City tourism officer Id Acaylar and a day after the opening of the 2007 Kadayawan.
Acaylar is a tough act to follow and Duran faces a tough situation to be in. But the new tourism officer seems to take it all in stride.
Geri, as she is called by friends and family, was born in Davao City to Pedrito G. Angeles and Adela M. Castllo on December 27, 1971. Her name "Gerardinn" was patterned after her paternal grandfather, Gerardo Angeles, a top notch lawyer from a family of lawyers.
A blue-blooded Atenean since grade school, Geri grew up in Juna Subdivision and stayed there until finishing college except for that one year she spent in the US as an exchange student under the Rotary Exchange Program.
Geri spent her senior year in high school in Columbus, Ohio's Gahanna Lincoln High School.
When she came back from the US, Geri proceeded to take up Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communication Arts at her beloved Ateneo de Davao University.
In her sophomore year in college, Geri was tapped by Philippine Airlines to be one of its flight attendants as did her mother before her.
After her five-year stint as flight attendant, she decided to return to Davao City and finish her schooling.
After graduation, Geri turned to the other part of the tourism industry -- food and accommodation.
Geri was among Marco Polo Hotel Davao's pioneering staff when it first opened in 1998. She served as Marco Polo's assistant manager until 2003 before working for the Peninsula Manila in Makati for three years.
With these experiences under her belt, Geri realized she wanted to share her knowledge and experiences with Davao City, which she has always called and considered home. So in 2006, she packed up and returned to Davao.
Back in Davao, Geri started to develop condominium units in Matina near the heart of the city while she re-oriented herself with the city's tourism landscape.
When she heard of a vacancy in the city's tourism office, she did not hesitate to send in an application thinking it was the perfect venue to share and apply her knowledge and experience.
"I assure you that I will help Davao City in becoming the center of the tourism industry in Mindanao," Geri said during her courtesy call to the City Council last August 14 where she spoke for the first time to the public since being appointed in office.
New as she is, Geri will undoubtedly bring sunshine in the city tourism office and infuse its ventures with new ideas after a whole year's lack of someone in-charge.
