A Letter from Our Executive Director
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S DESK
September 19, 2022
Hello everyone! It is 2 months after our reunion and I am finally writing to give you the lowdown on that. Congratulations to us all for a most successful event! For the first time, almost everyone paid in advance – a huge improvement from years past! Of those who had to pay at the gate which were less than a handful, all of them had called, emailed or texted me in advance to say that they were paying at the reunion as they had made the decision late. I must say it was such a relief for the committee to be able to relax and enjoy themselves without having to worry about whether we would reach our financial goals. We had time to make the seating arrangements and the food arrangements in advance. Thank you all so much for your cooperation! That made the difference between chaos and running a smooth operation! We still ran in the red for one event but the souvenir program and the sale of Class 72 T-shirts more than made up for the loss (and it was a minimal loss). So we can now breathe a little. We have been able to pay off some of our debt – the bathroom expenses have been paid to date; we still owe some on our ASOCIMAI scholar but we should be able to manage by this time next year.
We had a few problems that we hope to correct at our next reunion: 1) We need a banner to show people where to go; 2) We need a cash bar at our Thursday night and Grand Ball night. If there are other things that need improvement, please do not hesitate to call or txt (757-753-9237) or email (risefaith@yahoo.com) me.
We have started to plan for the next reunion which we moved to July 12-16, 2023. We were supposed to have it at National Harbor in Maryland but when I canvassed the hotels for their rates, they were prohibitive – both Gaylord and MGM would have been over $300 per room per night which I was sure would have reduced the attendance by a lot. So I looked into Northern Virginia which is close enough to National Harbor and also close to Washington, DC and the Board finally approved us going to the RITZ CARLTON HOTEL AT TYSON’S CORNER. They had very competitive rates for rooms, food and beverage. THE CUT OFF DATE FOR ROOM RESERVATIONS IS JUNE 12, 2023. We have only 40 rooms blocked for July 12 and 13 and 70 rooms for July 14 and 15. I asked for the same room rates for 2 days before and 2 days after the event in case anyone wants to stay longer and enjoy the attractions that the area had to offer. So please reserve early! We will set up the reservation information on our website ASOCIMAI.ORG as soon as the hotel says we can.
We do have a request for donations for Pakna-an through Dr. Thelma Fernandez. The cottages there were damaged during Typhoon Odette and they are requesting us to sponsor the renovation of at least one cottage. The cost for renovation is the equivalent of $7500. Some of the members of the Officers and Board have already each donated $150 toward this. I am appealing to the membership to send in your donations – any amount is welcome – just place FOR PAKNA-AN COTTAGE in the memo line of your check and send the check to:
ASOCIMAI
c/o Dr. Corazon Sanchez
14416 Maple Ridge Ct
Baldwin, MD 21013
Our jubilarians next year are those who graduated in the years ending in either 3 or 8 (e.g. 1963, 1968, etc). I will start to compile a list from the names that we have on hand. Those who have been attending regularly, please contact your classmates now so that you can get ready for the event. Please email or text me the names and contact information of your classmates so I can correct our list or add their names if they are not on our list. Please ask them also if they want a souvenir program made. That is one of our great fund-raising methods and a wonderful memento – especially for the silver, golden, emerald and diamond jubilarians.
Love and peace everyone!
Rise
