STAR: 40 years and counting

For most of us, turning 40 marks our definitive transition from youth to adulthood. It means we can no longer hide behind the excuse of being young and immature, nor can we live a carefree life and shun responsibility and accountability.

I remember my mother telling me that when a person reaches the milestone of 40 years of age, he or she must have already made something of himself or herself. If not, she warned me, that person will have difficulty achieving much in life.

For my mother, the age of youth ends at 20 to 25, right about the time a person normally completes formal education and earns a degree for a specific professional path.

The foolishness of youth has been tempered by that age, and decisions are now made based on a more educated and rational mindset rather than mostly on emotions.

Thus, from the ages of 20 to 30, my mother said, most people should have already gained enough confidence to make decisions and weigh the consequences of their actions. People at this stage, she said, are more rational and have set the path they want to follow to build a career and start their own families.

For my generation, we would have already chosen our career path whether in the country or perhaps abroad, whether as office workers, bankers, businesspeople, educators, medical professionals or, in my case, journalists.

Things have gradually changed, however, and the younger generation now follows a different, perhaps more meandering and less structured path than that of my generation.

Reaching the milestone age of 40 also means you can no longer blame others for your actions and decisions, and you must take full responsibility and accountability for your financial needs without falling back on your parents’ financial assistance.

Most likely, having seen our own parents build their finances and noticed how their struggles took a toll on their health, we realize that the baton is now being passed to us.

The same timeline, however, applies to businesses. The start-up years are from one to 10 years — establishing the business, building up its manpower and corporate structure and hierarchy and strengthening and growing its financial viability.

In fact, surviving the first 10 years is the crucial hurdle that establishes whether the business has the capacity to flourish and expand further.

The first decade of a business proves its resilience and capability to service its clients or its market. Thus, with each additional decade of growth and expansion, the business or company builds up and hones its expertise.

As such, if the business or company continues to grow, expand, gain expertise and establish a reputation for excellence and integrity in its line of business, reaching 40 years is a significant milestone of resilience and stability.

The business or company has clearly, and most likely, established its brand and financial viability, and its owner has built up a reputation that the market respects.

Philippine Star endures at 40

One such company is none other than this publication — The Philippine STAR.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28, the newspaper where I have worked for more than 30 years will celebrate its 40th year of ensuring that truth prevails in journalism.

For me, the beacon that lit and started the 40-year journey of The STAR on July 28, 1986 was none other than Betty Go-Belmonte, the mother of Miguel G. Belmonte, or MGB, who is now the president and CEO of The STAR.

It was BGB, as she was fondly called in the office, who brought me to The STAR in 1987, with Miguel then the head of the personnel division.

It was BGB who established the sense of family at The STAR, making each and every person in the company feel that we were part of her journey to ensure the publication would always stand for the truth, along with the equally powerful guidance of co-founder Max Soliven and Arturo Borjal.

Miguel worked closely with and learned from his mother so that by the time she passed away in 1994, the board of directors of The STAR Group was already fully confident that Miguel could ably continue steering The STAR.

Miguel has made his parents proud while remaining humble and ever so low-key.

While The STAR remained in its old leased building at the Port Area for three decades, Miguel quietly effected crucial changes in the company, aligning the publication with the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan and expanding the number of publications of The STAR Group to include BusinessWorld.

He also perfectly timed the move from the increasingly decrepit building in the Port Area, finally constructing The STAR’s own office and printing press building in Parañaque, which has provided better connectivity to the airport and the central business districts of Makati and Bonifacio Global City through the completion of new toll roads.

MGB has successfully continued his mother’s mission and vision, proving that The STAR continues to play a vital role in bringing the news to the entire country and adapting to the digital shift taking place in the print industry.

Quoting Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movie franchise, “To infinity and beyond” for The STAR at 40!