The hair and beauty industry may very well still be reeling from the 17th National Open Hair and Beauty Championship-Hair Asia’s summer tour de force that had even the country’s Commander in Chief Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in attendance.

Not to mention the collaboration and attendance of key personalities from the Vidal Sassoon Organization – an astonishing feat that is as rare as it can get.

Tough act to follow? Not for the likes of Evelyn Alvaran-Cruz – the grand lady and driving force behind the Hair Asia organization.

"Having President Arroyo and the Vidal Sassoon experts all together in one day at one place in the name of Hair Asia was a dream come true. It will be very hard to pull off something as special as that again. But we will. We always do," says Evelyn.

With the fast approach of Hair Asia’s annual Salon Spectacular-Battle of the Champions scheduled on Nov. 27, 2007 at the World Trade Center, Manila, Evelyn and her team are hard at work. While she is being secretive and keeping us in suspense on the details of the beauty industry’s most anticipated preChristmas event, she is definitely cooking up something exciting.

"Hair Asia’s Competitions are always for our hairdressers," says Evelyn, explaining that the runway shows, live demonstrations and celebrity appearances during the events are but great bonuses to ensure that the learning experience will be enjoyable and unforgettable.

"With that in mind, we make it a point that the prizes for every Hair Asia competition are something that every competitor will really benefit from and strive hard for," she adds.

And rightly so because this time around, Salon Spectacular’s grand champion will be heading to the Land of Stars and Stripes in 2008 to attend the 12th Hair Olympics at Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Barely two months away from the big event, you would think that Evelyn already has enough on her plate. But, indefatigable as she is, she is also taking time off to attend to her philanthropic commitments.

At the moment, she is collaborating with the local government of several municipalities to open Liberty Centers for Women that will extend assistance in terms of medical aid, legal counsel, job placements and livelihood trainings.

Hair Asia will also seek the assistance of several key government agencies such as Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), as well as non-government organizations, multi-national cosmetic companies, non-government and business corporations who have already expressed their willingness to support the project.

As for Evelyn, her team will be conducting various seminars to introduce and encourage alternative income-generating occupations among its beneficiaries.

She shares that, "while basic salon-related courses like haircutting, face and body treatment, make-up application and nail-care will definitely be part of the program, we will also be including commercial food preparation and packaging, and proficiencies in small-scale production of bath soaps, dishwashing liquid and detergents, hand sanitizer, computer basics and dressmaking.

She intends to launch the very first Liberty Womens Center in Vigan, Ilocos Sur by October as a fitting tribute to the distinguished daughter of Ilocandia-Gabriela Silang – icon of strength and determination amongst Filipinas all over the world.

Aside from that, Evelyn says she has already developed a close affinity to the people of Vigan since she conducted her first seminar there in 1997. She distinctly remembers the more than 400 women who diligently attended the 3-day training which was impressively supported by Ilocos Sur Gov. Deogracias Victor "DV" Savellano, who was still vice governor at the time. She had promised then that she would return to Vigan to follow up on her commitments.

Following suit will be the opening of 20 other centers all over Pampanga spearheaded by the Mayor’s Responsible Spouses of Pampanga President Lani Pelayo of Candaba, Pampanga.

Already 20 other municipal governments from the province of Pampanga have expressed their intent to also open centers in their areas within the year spearheaded by Mayor’s Responsible Spouses president Mrs. Lani Pelayo of Candaba, Pampanga.

The initiative is both critical and timely. It is an undertaking that deserves to be duplicated all over the country. It is an endeavor that deserves our full support. Because, not only does it stand to benefit the women’s sector, it stands to create a potent force of growth and development for whole communities.

Indeed, in empowering our women, we empower our nation.