On February 8, we had another planning meeting with
other batch reps at Janets house. Present at the meeting were Ferdie Agbayani,
Daisy Delgado-Vergara, Janet De Castro-Narag, Margie Molina-Tolentino, Jacqueline Palma-Soriano, Helen Panaligan-Crist, Lito
Pangan, Lina Ora-Santos, Tibo Santos, Clem & Eden Tagle and Reynald Ticsay. Other
batch reps were also present: Mon Nadres (71), Evan Del Castillo (74). New faces in attendance were Agnes Morales-Lemke (78), Ois Ramos-Sison (78), Veronica Herrera-Cabuco (71),
Cholah Villanueva-Flascha (71), Joey Lima (76), and Vernon Tabirara (79).
Many thanks to Janet and Andy for hosting us
this time. Our hosts were perfect tandem chefs, one with the BBQ, and the other
with the salad. Secret recipe daw ang salad dressing ni Janet and finger-licking
good naman yung ribs and chicken wings made by Andy. Everyone had their fill
even after a second round dinner. There was even more than enough for pabaon. We all had fun unwrapping the home-made yema that Reynald brought. And as usual, our master chef Jackie brought her guinatan for us to enjoy.
Margie has de-throned Jackie, but Jackie said she does not mind it at all. And
we think Margies intentions were diet-driven.
Everyone also had a chance to see the montage
courtesy of Evan, which was shown at the USTHS Alumni Christmas Ball last year. There
was a lot of USTHS history trivia that kept everyones interest and of course, the before and after pics. Networking with those from the other batch years is great for us newbies at this reunion planning. Thanks to Veronica, Cholah, Kuya Mon and Kuya Evan for all their advice.
Heres a summary of our discussion:
ITEMS DISCUSSED:
A.
Philippine Reunion Updates
·
There is a total of about five alumni (from the U.S.) that we know are attending the reunion in the Phils. on February
15, some of whom will be bringing back items that we ordered for our April event.
·
Helen will email the reunion details to Evan and Joey for distribution and/or announcement at the Phil. event.
B.
U.S. Reunion Updates
·
Margie indicated that she has confirmed with the hotel that we can hang our banner somewhere in the hotel ballroom.
·
The bartender fee, however, will not be waived per the Catering Manager. Veronica
suggested that we ask for the cash bar and talk to the Director of Catering. She
indicated that she will help us negotiate the fee waiver and if possible, get a hospitality room/suite for the committee to
use before the event.
·
Margie reminded everyone of the February 28th deadline for the $100 per person ticket and the second deadline
for late payments at $110 per person on March 31st.
·
No tickets will be sold at the door.
This will allow the committee to prepare a badge/nametag pre-made to use at the event.
Lina showed us a sample of the nametags, place cards and table numbers to be used at the event.
·
Margie will ask the Hotel for more time to set-up before the event (earlier than 5pm).
·
Event attire is formal (coat and tie for men, gown or long cocktail dresses for ladies).
C.
Other Committee Reports/Updates:
·
Public Relations
o Newspaper announcement Evan reported
that our announcement has been submitted to Asian Journal. Helen emailed the
same announcement to Margie for the TFC (Filipino Channel). Jojo Salvador will
follow-up with TFC.
o E-vite Lito continues to send E-vites
to new names, 78 and other batch, for headcount purposes. There are so far 59
who have RSVPd (including spouses) from our batch alone, plus 18 from other batch
years. Thanks to Lito for his continuous hard work on the Evites. Again, please inform Lito if you receive RSVPs by phone or in person.
o Follow-up assignments Margie commended
Vernons (79) weekly updates to her on following-up with his batchmates. Mon (71)
mentioned that there are already 14 from his batch who will attend, and possibly 6 more to complete 2 tables. A few other batch years have been added for follow-up, resulting from the newspaper ad announcements.
·
Website
o Website Reynald has posted information
regarding hotel accommodations on our website. Helen has also revised the Calendar
of Key Dates for posting.
o USTHS 78 permanent website (USTHS78USA.tripod.com) please continue to direct other alum to this website.
o Group email address (USTHS78@hotmail.com) please send your questions, suggestions and any emails to this email addrs.
·
Budget/Finance
o To date, we received payments for
44 attendees, 33 of whom are fully paid. Majority of committee members paid at
the meeting.
o Theres some indication that we may
exceed our 100-person minimum target. Helen will revise the budget for 200 attendees.
·
Montage Presentation
o Evan provided Lito with a copy of
the montage presented at the Christmas Ball which everyone had a chance to see during dinner.
o Margie has received more pics from
other alum for the montage. Reminder -- the last day to submit pictures is March 15, 2003.
·
Souvenir Program/Solicitation Letter/Ad Form
o Margie already sent a request for
a msg. from Cardinal Mahoney to be included in our souvenir program. Helen also
prepared a request for jubilee message from the current USTHS Administrators, which all signatories signed at the meeting. Reynald will check for a contact with the Philippine Consulate.
o It was suggested that each committee
member solicit at least 5 full ad pages, plus a page from each committee member. Each
batch year is encouraged to sponsor a page.
o There will be a prize for the member
or batch rep that could solicit the most number of full pages of ad.
·
Give- aways/Decorations
o Evan reported that the lapel pins
have been ordered in the Phils. and will be bringing them back on his return from the Phils.
Arrangements are being made for Evan, Helen and/or Gogo to help bring a give-away item now available for pick-up.
o Margie showed a final version copy
of the 75th Anniversary logo.
o Ferdie showed us the photo-quality
printer which will be used for the souvenir picture for each alumni. Margie &
Lito posed for sample shots and prints. (Thumbnail size lang daw kung di pa bayad!). It was suggested that if anyone wants additional prints, there will be a $5 fee.
o We will finalize the logistics at
our meetings as we get closer to April. Mon indicated that they will help in
the set-up.
o Margie reported that she also found
a vendor for the centerpieces.
·
Entertainment
o Lito & Janet reported that they
have chosen the DJ for the event. Janet will book the DJ for our event with a
deposit to reserve the date.
o Lito prepared the preliminary program
for the event. Margie suggested a before & after fashion show. However, there was concern that we may not have enough time for all the numbers. Lito will revise and send a copy for review.
o There are now five other batch years
that will be presenting a number during our program, (including a cage dancer daw from 71 ba or 74 volunteer naman si Kuya
Mon as the post, naku ha!)
o Ferdie reported that he made initial
calls to the former USTHS faculty residing in California to invite them to our event.
Our program opening remarks will be given by one of them.
·
Roster/Directory
o There are now 70 names on our list
of 78 graduate (US and Canada only). The rest of the 215 names found are either
in the Phils. or in other countries. Please visit our website for the full directory
list.
o Again, thanks to those who continue
to assist in finding other fellow grads, both by phone calls and email.
o Please keep those names coming. Everyone truly appreciates making the connection with long-lost HS friends, even from
Educ HS.
D.
Next meeting will be on March 2, 2003, Sunday (3:00pm) at Daisys place. Directions will follow later.
Again, many thanks to everyone who continue to share their time and talents in our
event planning. We hope to see more faces at the next meeting.
Helen Panaligan-Crist
USTHS Reunion Planning Committee, USA
