Bye Alan

I was cleaning up my personal files today and found this. Five years ago, I bade goodbye to an almost ideal boss – Dr. Alan T. White, former Chief of Party of CRMP, who ended his contract with the Project and opted to move in Hawaii with his family for good. During our despedida party for him, I was randomly picked to say a few words about him but I declined as I am never comfortable speaking in front of a lot of people. Instead, I wrote this the morning after and just before he left for Honolulu.

Dearest Alan,

I never got to thank you personally last night or perhaps I was just too shy to speak in front of all those people around us.

I’d like to thank you Alan (I can’t remember anymore if I have ever done this before), for giving me the wonderful job I had at CRMP. For the record, it has been my longest ever since I started working after college. I remember when you and Ciony were interviewing me sometime in ’98, I was so nervous and yet, after that interview, I’ve never been more than convinced that I finally got the job, not to mention you were saying you still had one applicant to talk to!

From the very beginning, I have always considered you as my real boss even with Kitty or Becky or Marco around. I have always respected your ideas even if at times I would wish to insist on my own. Working with you must have been one of my most memorable moments in my entire career. I will never forget the support and encouragement you’ve always shared with me. In all the times I’ve made mistakes, you have always reassured me to just go on and continue to do better. You have always been very kind especially with my annual evaluation that sometimes it makes me wonder if I’m really that deserving! When I got into a disagreement with Amin last year, you were the only one who talked to me and asked what really happened. It was such a discouraging moment for me back then but I was truly relieved when finally, somebody came up to me and assured me that everything’s going to be fine. You know, even if you have scolded me at that time, I would still be thankful and grateful for it because it made me realize that somehow, there’s still somebody who’s genuinely concerned with ordinary employees like me.

And so I thank you again Alan, for the rare experience of being able to work with you. For giving me something to work on each time I get bored with nothing to do. For giving worth and significance on the numerous projects I’ve done in the past, may they be major or minor. For being the quiet and calm yet very supportive boss to all of us. For being around every time we need help. And most of all, thank you for appreciating my small contribution to the success of CRMP and hopefully with FISH as well.

Good luck on your new home. May you and Vangie and Ian have a nice new life out there. I wish you all good health and a good life in Hawaii. I hope to still hear from you from time to time. If there’s anything else you need – old files or new ones to be done, you know I will always make time for that.

Thank you and may you have a safe trip.

LESLIE