Marlene Lucas & Merecyl Cauton: The Real Troupers Came First For Valentine Gala 2020

Merecyl Cauton (L) and Marlene Lucas are real troupers from the West.

I have a bad habit of not sending scripts on time for an event. Often times it happened when I knew that the assigned master of ceremony is well-equipped to do the job. But at last Saturday's Valentine Gala at Tosca Banquet Hall in Oshawa, the MC came with the Runway Canada CEO in tow for one reason; the script. To think that Merecyl Cauton drove all the way from Brampton and then pick up Toronto's popular fashion show organizer which I called "The Matriarch of Fashion" I was a little embarrassed for failing to send the script on time. Real Troupers! Both of them are busy on their own personal affairs and here they are, finding time to show their ardent support to our community undertakings a little bit far from where they live.

An experienced host picks up a horrible draft and make it all work. On instances that I don't want to spend time wondering if this person can do it or not. I normally pick up someone I knew who can deliver and I knew Merecyl is just the person we need. It also includes a request for one song to end her segment which she readily agree.

Since I started my blogs and community volunteerism, Toronto has become my second home. I was able to build a network of active leaders, organizers and friends from some media outlets. It wasn't a short time commitment and building rapport was not an overnight success. It took years of attending events and meeting people relevant to my own personal advocacy. I do it alone driving from far off locations just to show my support and eventually, they return the favors. Some of our compatriots are hard to get along. There are vicious people in the community. But when we spent most of our lives in the open, we exactly know whom to trust and whom to connect.

(L-R) Merecyl Cauton, Sr. Cristina, MN Physiotherapist CEO & Marlene Lucas At Valentine Gala 2020

I have seen Merecyl Cauton did some hostings before and she just blended in with her co-host. The ability to quickly rescue technical issues on a live event, Merecyl fully understood the task of punching in abrupt  and sensible lines to fill the gap. It's a hard task to do when you don't have that ability to understand how it is to run a live program in an event because things can just happen.

I can't thank these two beautiful women enough with their constant support. Especially that they came early from Brampton and Toronto, to ensure that things will be okay. Marlene Lucas is a well-respected fashion director, organizer who owns Runway Canada to give fashion its real meaning. Imagine her sitting at our event is indeed a privilege.

I will feature Marlene Lucas' summer activities so the community will know her love for fashion and her support to our Filipino fashion designers. Let us recall that Runway Canada brought Iloilo fashion designer, Aisha Penalosa to our event last year at Durham Filfest in Oshawa. It was a huge task and Marlene Lucas took things in stride with her professionalism and grace amidst pressures and chaos in presenting an outdoor fashion show. The models she brought with her were selected from her array of professional models from her lists. We have a lot to thank for with Runway Canada and Merecyl Cauton for their sincere support, the sharing of their talents and the recognition of friendship. That's rare....

Fashion designer Aisha Penalosa with Marlene Lucas (Runway Canada) at Durham Filfest 2019.