Update on the Dinner-Dance from Ofie Pardo-Saniel: Preparations for the Dinner-Dance on October 25 are well underway. It will be held at Teatrino at Promenade in Greenhills at 7 pm. (You can even go shopping at Greenhills if you come early. Lots of parking available.) Tickets are now available (Php 500 each inclusive of dinner) from me (0922-863-3542; 525-4239 work, 559-0576 (home evenings only or you can leave message on the answering machine). You can also contact Vang de Villa-Salvador (253-8580 home or 0928-221-3785) if you need tickets. There will be prizes for dance contest winners. Have fun and help the Class raise funds to support our various projects for Torres High. Bring your ballroom-dancing friends and enjoy the night. See you on October 25!

Bingo Social: Hello THS Class 67! We will have the first of our fund-raising activities, a Bingo Social, on August 9, Saturday at 1:00 pm at Torres High School oval. Bingo cards are on sale. Please contact Dante Magat (712-0554), the overall chair for the event. You can also contact Vang de Villa-Salvador (253-8580) or Belen Bohol (0915-430-4491) for tickets/bingo cards or for more details. The prizes are PhP5,000first prize; PhP3,000 2nd prize; and PhP2,000 3rd prize. There will also be PhP500 for each game of the 7 games.

The proceeds for this Bingo social will be used to support THS67 projects such as college scholarship assistance for needy but bright THS graduates, library upgrading and tools for carpentry class. On October 25, we will sponsor a Dinner-Dance. This will also be part of our class fund-raising activities. I will update you about this event in future postings. Let us support Torres High, its faculty, students and graduates and have fun during these fund-raising events.

Dinner Dance: October 25 at Teatrino in Greenhills.

Other THS ‘67 Announcements: SEC Registration

Here’s Ofie’s message in full:

Dear CJ and other THS’67 members abroad,

Thanks CJ for the information. I will pass this on to the rest who expressed interest at one time or another. May I use the LV reunion to appeal for financial assistance from THS’67 members who will be in the Reunion and from other who are in various parts of the world with whom we have contact?

The THS ‘67 Board of Trustees for 2007 has lined up two major fund-raising activities. These are the Bingo Socials on Aug. 9 at Torres High and the Dinner Dance on Oct. 25 at Teatrino in Greenhills. In addition to this, we are re-registering the THS’67 Alumni Association with the Securities and Exchange Commission since its registration was never renewed since it was incorporated. (This statement needs to be verified by the past presidents, however.)

Although there are some who think SEC registration is unnecessary, I passionately feel that this needs to be done. The registration will not only legitimize the existence of the Association, it will also justify our efforts to raise funds through fund-raising activities and solicitations to finance our class projects. We also plan to present to the general THS67 membership in November 2008 the proposed amendments to the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws, specifically on membership, the selection and tenure of the Board of Members, etc., which are not very clear in the present Constitution and By-Laws.

During the Strategic and Operational Planning that we had early this year, the Board and the Advisory Council composed of the Association’s past presidents decided that for this year, we will support the following:

1. limited scholarships or financial assistance for college education to bright but poor THS graduates;
2. upgrade/update THS library collections and facilities;
3. provision of teaching/learning resources needed by THS students in some of their subjects (e.g., woodworking carpentry tools for vocational students, lapel microphones for teachers for big classes);
4. last, but not least, the small financial assistance that is provided to THS67 members in case of deaths within their immediate family.

There were other suggestions but the group felt that these could be very expensive and not sustainable given the limited funds of the Association.

We had been in-touch with the THS principal, the librarian, with Blanche Palileo-Tavios (a teacher at THS), and the officers of the federation of THS Alumni Association (through Ester Ong). We may need to join forces with the “mother” THS Alumni Association for the scholarship project since this kind of project usually requires large amount of funds. Moreover, we will spared of the tedious task of administering a small amount of funds. It is more efficient to coordinate with other alumni classes who have similar projects.

Given all these plans, we are appealing to our sisters and brothers in the Association to help us realize all the plans. Your assistance may come in the form of more active participation (now made possible by our own website). We need your ideas, thoughts, suggestions about the class projects. Of course, we will also welcome whatever financial support you can extend us to fund those projects. We also need your encouragement and support since we are doing all these work at the time when the entire country and its people are reeling from the high cost of living brought about by the energy and food crises. All of us are affected including members of Class 67.

I am not and cannot do this alone. I am supported by the rest of the Board Members and by some of the former association’s presidents. To them, I am very grateful. For instance, Dante Magat (with the help of Mon Urbe, Belen Bohol, Vang de Villa, and others in the Board) was very generous to agree to take charge of the Bingo Socials. (This was a lot of load off my shoulders.) Mon and Belen are not members of the current Board but they are more than willing to give a hand.

Other members of the Board like Belen and Nita Ampil help me with the SEC registration. Volet de Jesus and Vang de Villa are my foot soldiers being the Board Secretary and the Treasurer. Our minutes of meeting and monthly financial reports are never late and are in order. Flor Lauriaga, Letty Sta Ana and Buddy Mapile are helping craft the revised Constitution and By-Laws. Tess Alog and Rosie Salazar are always ready to take on odd tasks. Nora Agustin and Tess Cunanan, together with Dante are doing the canvassing for the carpentry tools. Dave, of course is always ready to lend a hand for our special needs like designing the Board’s stationery and photo needs. Ester Ong gives the Board advise and represents Class 67 in the THS federation of alumni associations. Like Ester, we can always count on Lino and Lydia Carpio for their help. We still need to hear from Jessamyn Nilo who is the newest addition to the Board when Manny Mariano resigned because of ill health. She promised to join us on July 26 meeting, however.

Of course, CJ, you are the Board’s “town crier,” reporter, organizer, rah-rah girl, etc. Thanks a lot for all your trust and support.

So that, my friends, is my State of the Association Address midway through my term as President. (He-he!) Thank you for all your support in the past, the present and the FUTURE.

Best regards.

Ofie Pardo Saniel