 Elena
Cordero Agala is a fine example of Filipino Canadian women who have
attained distinction in their business and professional careers. A
successful entrepreneur, she has run her own retail business, All-Care
Medical Products at 5487 Victoria Drive in Vancouver, since 1994. The
company sells wheelchairs, hospital beds, respiratory products, and other
health care medical wares and mobility devices.
In spite of her busy schedule managing
her business, Elena finds time to involve herself in community activities
and civic action. She was president of the Philippines-Canada Trade
Council which sponsored a highly successful trade mission to the
Philippines in October 2003. She was the founder and former president of
the Victoria Drive Business Association, vice-president of Richmond
Sunrise Rotary Club, as well as director of the Rotary World Help Network
and the South Vancouver Community Policing Centre.
Since 2001, Elena has been actively
involved in organizing the City of Richmond's annual "Kaleidoscope
World in Our City," with 33 countries participating in celebration of
that city's cultural diversity and harmony. She also participated actively
in other multicultural celebrations of the Filipino, Chinese,
Malaysia-Singapore, Vietnamese and Chinese New Year and festivals in
Richmond.
Having grown up in a family that was used
to helping people (her father was mayor of her town) Elena was greatly
motivated to help the less fortunate people in the Philippines. Through
her efforts, the Rotary World Help Network has sent books, computers,
hospital equipment and supplies to the Philippines. Large containers of
these donated goods have been sent to Manila, Davao, the Eastern Samar
towns or Oras, Borongan and Balangkayan, and Virac in Catanduanes. She
will soon leave with some volunteer dentists from the Rotary Club to
provide free dental services to poor people in Virac and Eastern Samar.
Elena was born in Oras, Eastern Samar.
She graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Education from the
Divine Word University, the alma mater of Imelda Romualdez Marcos. She
taught for a year after graduation and then decided to seek greener
pastures in Canada.
She was prepared to start from the
bottom; her first job in Canada was as a waitress in a restaurant for two
years. Then in 1975 Elena worked as data entry operator at BC Railway
where she was quickly promoted to supervisor. In 1979 she moved to the
Cancer Control Agency of BC and worked in computer operations. Ten years
later, she worked as associate administrator of Wilson Place, a 63-bed
private nursing home which she co-owned with other partners. In 1994, she
started her own business, the All Care Medical Products, supplying
equipments and medical supplies to care homes and individual customers in
the Lower Mainland.
Elena and her husband Ted Agala have
three children: Oliver (27), Brian (26) and Jeffrey (25) who are now all
professionals. In their young years, the three boys became known as the
"Agala Brothers Pop Band," performing at Expo 86, Plaza of
Nations, CBC-TV and other community events, encouraged by their mother who
acted as their manager/promoter.
Elena Cordero Agala is not only a
successful entrepreneur, she is also a model civic leader, a volunteer for
worthy causes, and a philanthropist. She is funding a scholarship program
for poor but deserving high school students in her hometown and has
donated parcels of land in Oras to build a small church and a small
library. In recognition of her service to the community, Elena was
nominated for the Banaag Award in 2002 which is given annually by the
President of the Philippines to Filipinos or foreign individuals for
advancing the cause of Filipino communities overseas or for supporting
specific sectors/communities in the Philippines. - LBC
All-Care Medical Products
5487 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC V5P 3V9
Tel: 604-321-4214 Fax: 604-321-1800
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Sat 10am-4pm |
