We had another meeting at Marissas house last
Sunday, March 23, 2003. Present at the meeting were: Ferdie Agbayani, Daisy Delgado-Vergara, Margie Molina-Tolentino, Jacqueline Palma-Soriano, Helen Panaligan-Crist,
Marissa Pascual-Latuno, Lito Pangan, Lina Ora-Santos, Tibo Santos, Clem and Eden Tagle, and Reynald Ticsay. Other batch reps. also present were: Marian Villanueva-Reyes
(76) and Joseph Ocampo (63). Joseph is a new face at our mtg. along with Val
Gonzales, another 78er. Evan del Castillo (74) followed much later.
Thanks to Marissa and family for hosting us
and letting us practice in their family room. Naku ang hirap naman ng dance number
namin. Our muscles are still sore from that practice (2 days later). Great way to get in shape for the reunion daw (kundi ma-rayuma!)
Surprise daw yung mag-so-solo, if we can convince her. Jackie, kaya pa
ba? Marian is our inspiration and thanks to Margies son, L.A., one of our choreographers,
for keeping us in-count. As long as were comfortable and having fun, thats the
attitude.
As usual, our resident expert cook, Jackie brought
her home-made spaghetti ala Jackie-bee style (a Jollibee adaptation). While Lito
refused to eat para ready daw for the Oscar party that night, the rest of us chowed down after the practice, while everyone
started coming for the mtg. Si Kuya Evan naman ang nag-dethrone kay Jackie we
thought he was there for the next mtg. Joke only, Kuya ha?
Thanks to Val for attending and bringing his more
current pictures from his visit to the Phils. Kasama na siya sa dance number. Reynald, great idea on the dance number. Im
sure more will participate. Thanks to Joseph for his participation and words
of encouragement. We hope to see more from your batch at our April reunion.
Heres a summary of our mostly serious discussion:
ITEMS DISCUSSED:
A.
Philippine Reunion Updates
·
We have been receiving pics and other scanned memorabilia from Fides Galang (78) in the Phils. to include in our montage,
collage & memorabilia table. Thanks to Fides, Leebai, Gigie, Wattie and everyone
in the Phils. helping us with our plans.
·
The Alumni Awards Night on March 15, 2003 went on without a hitch. Pictures
of that event will be available on our website, if theyre not already posted.
B.
U.S. Reunion Updates
·
We have more attendees from other batch years. Joseph is assisting us
by being the batch rep for 63.
·
Headcount will be submitted to Monte Carlo by April 5, with any changes by April 12.
·
We are emphasizing that no tickets will be sold at the door, on April 26,
2003.
·
All paid attendees will have a badge to use as their dinner pass.
·
There will be table assignments to avoid confusion and ensure all paid guests are served dinner.
·
We will schedule a working day meeting where we will be working on the souvenir program, montage, give-a-ways. Details will follow.
·
We will decide to raise funds by selling additional copies of alumni pictures depending on our preliminary headcount
by March 31, 2003.
C.
Other Committee Reports/Updates:
·
Public Relations
o Newspaper announcement Margie requested
that the announcement seen on the TFC channel be extended through April 26. It
can be seen everyday, after Game Ka Na Ba around 6:25 to 6:30 pm.
o E-vite There are 136 names on our
RSVP list through the E-vite. Lito sent email reminders to those still unpaid. Again, please inform Lito if you receive RSVPs by phone or in person.
o Follow-up assignments All committee
members are asked to help follow-up those RSVPd but are not paid yet.
·
Website
o Website More kudos to Reynald on
his hard work on our website. Everyone is excited when they see pics of old friends,
especially those who are in the Phils.
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
85 attendees, all fully paid. Thanks to all of you who have paid. We hope to have everyone who RSVPd and even more at our April reunion.
o Ferdie turned in a receipt at the
mtg. Please turn in any other receipts as soon as possible, so we can have a
clearer picture of where we are on our budget.
·
Montage Presentation
o Margie started working on the montage
with the Veritas pics and those she received from other alum.
·
Souvenir Program/Solicitation Letter/Ad Form
o The jubilee messages from Mrs. Roda,
USTHS Principal and Fr. Funelas, USTHS Rector, have been received, thanks to Leebai for following-up with Mrs. Roda. Messages from Mayor Hahn and the Phil. Consul General are still pending. Helen will follow-up with contacts from those offices.
o We have received 21 sponsorship forms,
to date. Thanks to all the hard work of our committee members. Reynald, Eden, Daisy & Jackie submitted additional sponsorship ads at the mtg. The business cards, promotional cards & pics we received were all submitted to Ferdie for scanning
and layout.
o Various in-kind sponsorships were
also submitted and are always welcome, including pre-paid services.
o Please make sure that the checks
are payable to either Margie, Reynald or Helen (not to USTHS Alumni). Also, please submit or email the ad pages in Word format,
if possible.
o Ferdie gave us a schedule to finish
printing the book. He will have a proof ready for review by our next mtg. on
April 6.
·
Give- a ways/Decorations
o Margie distributed some of the give-away
items for transport to Las Vegas by those members driving.
o Evan turned over the items we ordered
from the Phils.
o Committee members will work on assembling
the gift bags Friday night. Volunteers will be asked to help to expedite the
process.
o Each gift bag will have labels/tags
on them, courtesy of Lina.
o Gift bags will be stored at each
committee members room in Monte Carlo, whoever is booked at the hotel.
o Set-up time remains at 5:00 on April
26, since there is another event going on at the hotel.
o Margie has ordered the centerpieces,
the balloon and flower decorations.
·
Registration
o Lina and Daisy will be assigned at
the registration table.
o Clem and Eden will usher all incoming
alumni to photographers for their picture taking.
o The picture-taking process was discussed
in detail to ensure the smooth registration and picture-taking process. We will
use the camera of Ferdie, Lina and Jackie. Photographers will be assigned colored
stickers to track, which pictures are from their cameras. Reynald, Armand and
Andy will be the photographers. Ferdie & Jojo will take care of printing
the pics. Attendees will be reminded to register between 6 and 7:30pm to give
our photographers time to enjoy the event as well.
o Each photographer will take table
pictures after dinner. Table pictures will be added to the montage shown throughout
the evening and Reynald suggested that they will be posted on our website.
o We are re-considering the idea of
making additional copies of alum solo/couple pics available by order at additional costs.
If we make them available, order forms may be picked up at the photo table. Otherwise, Reynald suggested to post the photos
on our website and perhaps link it to the other batch years website.
o Lina has made the preliminary table
seat assignments. So, please send in your payments ASAP, if you havent
paid yet. Seats are assigned priority
to those who are paid.
·
Raffle tickets
o Margie, Marissa & Jackie will
be in-charge of the raffle tickets. Some sponsors and committee members donate
prizes. Thanks to everyones generosity.
o If theres anyone else willing to
donate prizes, please let us know.
·
Entertainment
o There were some changes on the entertainment
program prepared by Lito.
o The ladies number is halfway finished. Were still undecided on what to call our number.
Denis, Marissas husband, suggested 4-gets instead of bagets but there are six of us.
So, Jackie puede pa bang mag-back-out? Iba yata ang implications nung
kanyang name, but when you see the number, the name doesnt apply say niyo, Ladies?
o Reynald suggested a dance number
including dance partners. Those who want to join this one, please let us know. Promise, mas madali and easier to practice on your own. As Jackie said, basta marunong kayong gumiling or grind, ok na. So,
join na kayo esp. the guys.
o Ferdie reported that Mr. Platon and
Mr. Tagaro are confirmed to attend. Ms. Sanjongco was also mailed an invitation. Our program opening remarks will be given by one of them.
·
Roster/Directory
o There are now 75 names on our list
of 78 graduate (US and Canada only). The rest of the 220 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 April 6, Sunday,
12:00 pm at Lina & Tibos place. Directions
will follow later. Please be sure to
attend as we will take another photo for our souvenir program. Coat and tie
is optional daw for the photo op, including the scented candle (si Tibo daw ang may-hawak, parang torch-bearer). Basta ladies & gentlemen, postura kayo for the photo op.
E.
Another future meeting will be on April 19, so please mark your calendars. We
will schedule other working meetings and/or practices as needed.
Our countdown begins, less than a month to go.
Many thanks to everyone who continue to share their time and talents in our event planning and to our ever-loyal partners/spouses
who are generous with their help and support. We hope to see more faces at the next meeting.
Addendum:
·
The group rate for those who still want to make room reservations with Monte
Carlo has been extended to April 5th.
Helen Panaligan-Crist
USTHS Reunion Planning Committee, USA
