REPORT OF CHS CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
VICKY GARCHITORENA
CHSM CENTENNIAL GALA
VICKY GARCHITORENA
CHSM CENTENNIAL GALA
SMX
AT MALL OF ASIA
3 FEB 2013
3 FEB 2013
Sr. Eden Panganiban, Provincial Leader of the Missionary
Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit
Dr. Felina Co-Young, President of the College of the Holy
Spirit
Isabelita Sy- Palanca, President of the CHS Alumnae
Foundation
Ellen Young-Gomez, President of CHS North America Foundation
Sisters of the Holy Spirit, my co- alumni, our dear guests, gala
sponsors, ladies and gentlemen.
A very pleasant evening to you all!
If we ask ourselves, why are we here today? Why are we
celebrating in such a grand manner the centennial of the College of the Holy
Spirit?
Our answer might be this: It was love – our parents’ love for
us - that brought us to the doors of the College of the Holy Spirit in Mendiola.
In turn, it was the love – the love of
the Sisters of the Holy Spirit, the love of our teachers, staff, manangs and
manongs – that took us into their loving care. And tonight, it is our love for
the school that molded us into what we are today that brought us here.
Indeed, tonight is a love fest. In the words of the song “Can
you feel the love tonight”?
We have heard shrieks of joy as classmates and friends found
long-lost soul mates. We have seen corporate CEOs unabashedly hugging the nuns
who used to terrorize them in school, or teachers who demanded more from them. We
have heard of alumnae flying from their homes abroad into Manila just in time
to be here with us. We welcome and applaud the brave husbands who lovingly agreed
to escort their ladies in their fine gowns and cocktail dresses. We greet as
well the children and friends of our alumni for joining us this evening.
When we launched the CHSM Centennial celebration a year and a half ago, we did so with great trepidation. Most of us were working full time. We all had
our families to attend to. We had other advocacies and causes we were
supporting. But the Holy Spirit had called
to us, firing our hearts with courage and determination. And so with our Spirits Ablaze, we all said yes.
At times we felt like
we were on a roller coaster, as we struggled to manage a whole gaggle of
volunteer alumnae, each one with her own ideas, each one with her own ways of
doing thing, and each one marching to her own
drum. But, with the help and
guidance of the Holy Spirit, who blessed us with the precious gifts of
patience, understanding, and overflowing goodwill, we organized ourselves into committees, rolled
up our sleeves, and went to work. It has been a tremendous journey filled with
fun, camaraderie, and fulfillment.
The CHSM Centennial Coordinating Committee, in consultation with CHS Alumnae
foundation, the CHS North America Foundation, as well as the class
representatives, set for ourselves three
major goals:
1.
To
celebrate the school’s centennial in a very special way over a two-day weekend
– the Centennial Homecoming in Mendiola and a grand centennial gala where we
hoped to attract at least 1,500 of our alumnae here and abroad. The objective
was to engage and energize as many of
our alumni as possible, with special focus on the college alumni, who had not
been as organized and engaged as the high school alumni.
2.
To
raise a total of P100 M for the college over a five year period, or P20M a
year, in order to upgrade its facilities,
to improve its technology infrastructure
, to offer scholarships to bright but
financially distressed youth, and to continuously develop our faculty.
3.
Within
this ambitious goal, we also set out to generate funds for “100 Scholars for
100 Years” in order to give bright young Filipinos the opportunity to receive
the kind of education we ourselves had enjoyed.
At the start, there were many who were anxious that we had
set ourselves goals that were overly ambitious; that we might have set ourselves
up for failure. But we had faith that the Holy Spirit will guide us on the
right path, as long as we continued to seek Her help. And the Holy Spirit
worked Her miracles.
For those of you who were there, yesterday’s Centennial
Homecoming was a tremendous success. The numbers were not yet in when we ended
the day, but the estimates were that there about 1,000 alumnae with us. It was
also packed with activities!
The day kicked off with a lot of energy, with lots of entertainment, a food fest, and booths
offering centennial memorabilia, German bread, host cookies and other items.
The college hosted a lovely and delicious buffet lunch for the 100 Outstanding
Alumnae and their families, which was a wonderful gathering of friends and
colleagues. A solemn Centennial mass was
con-celebrated in the afternoon led by Bishop Teodoro Bacani, brother of golden
jubilarian Lucia Bacani-Quimson, together with six other priests. The day was
capped by the formal recognition of the 100 Outstanding Alumnae at the
Paraclete Auditorium. The highlight of the awards was the announcement of Dr.
Isabel P. Hizon as the Alumna of the Century, which was received with a
standing ovation and sustained applause. It was truly a day to remember.
Our Grand Centennial Gala tonight is a first in the history
of the school. We have with us about 1,800 alumni and their guests, who have
come from far and wide to celebrate the 100 years of the College of the Holy
Spirit. Up to yesterday, there were facebook posts of classmates planning to
attend. I hope they are all here - to once again bond with their
classmates, to recapture their girlish
dreams, to update each other on where they are now, on their children and
grandchildren, and to thank the nuns and teachers who guided them in their
youth. The program, copies of which are at your tables, promises a wonderful
evening for all of us.
So we would like to think that we achieved our first goal of
making the Centennial Celebration of the College of the Holy Spirit a truly
memorable once-in-a-lifetime event. Spirit
ablaze!
On our second goal of raising P100M in five years, of P20M a
year, we are greatly pleased, indeed we are thrilled to inform you that, as of today, we have to date received pledges of more than
P46 Million!!!!! Wow! We’re almost halfway to our goal and we are really just
beginning! This tremendous achievement has been the result of the all-out
efforts of the following committees (and may I ask the members to stand up as I
mention them)- the entire Centennial
Coordinating Committee, Dr. Felina Co-Young, Sr. Victricia, Sabsy Sy-Palanca,
Ellen Young Gomez, Lucia Bacani-Quimson, Lenore Racquel Santos- Lim, Eden
Orosa-Kelemen, Toni Gregory Palenzuela, Deanna Go Bio, Ellen Young Gomez, and
Lorraine Young-Silianteng. The Ways and means Committee members Cynthia
Lorenzo-Picazo, Gloria Manalang-Angara, Carmen Dayrit Padilla, Yolanda Guevara-Reyno,
Yolanda Manding-Albano; the CHS Alumnae Foundation board and class reps, the
scholarship committee headed by Yola Manding-Albano, and the CHS North America
Foundation board and regional chairs , (May I ask them all again to stand up and be recognized
for their tremendous work?) Let us give
all of them a big hand please. These are the ladies who took on this challenge
and worked hard to achieve success.
Truly, the Holy Spirit
has moved the hearts of so many of our alumni and friends so that we are way ahead
of our annual goal of P20M. We hope that the next years will prove just as
fruitful so that the college will have the necessary resources to improve the
quality of the education that is now demanded by an increasingly complex and
competitive world.
We wish to acknowledge with deeply grateful hearts the
individuals and companies that responded to our invitation to join the
Paraclete Circle with a minimum donation of P1 million. May I request Sr. Eden
and Dr. Young to receive them on stage. They are:
-
Mercedes Tan-Gotianun represented by Antonieta
Articona-Brion BSChem 67
-
Senator
Edgardo Angara and his wife Gloria Manalang- Angara (HS 60; AB 64)
-
Pilipinas
Shell
-
Attorney
Alfonso Reyno and his wife Yolanda Guevara-Reyno AB-65
-
Eustaquio
Sisters – Milagros Aurea Syme HS-61 , Lourdes Aurea Contreras HS-61/Chem-66 and
Maria Victoria Anonuevo HS-67
-
Dayrit
Sisters - Teresita Villaruz HS-52, Amelita
Guevara HS-53, Pilarica Camacho HS 54, Carmen Padilla HS-60
-
Gonzalez
sisters – Sr. Pilar HS 42, Gloria Lim HS 47, Mary Goolsby HS-55, Edith
Dinglasan HS 55, Teresa Pestano, HS 62
-
Young
sisters – Ellen
Gomez, HS-68; Angeline Chung, HS-70; Susanne Marie Padua, HS-71/BFA-77;
Lorraine Marie Sylianteng, HS-73
-
And
yours truly , HS60;BSPhysics-64
In addition to the members of the Paraclete Circle, other generous
donations have bolstered our Centennial Capital Campaign fund. These have been
donated by:
1.
Isabel
Caro Wilson HS 49
2.
Cathay
Drug c/o Greta Yao-Go HS54/BSC-58
3.
Ambassador
Jose Cuisia and wife Victoria Jose-Cuisia HS 65
4.
Cynthia
Lorenzo-Picazo HS-61BSC-65
5.
Mary
Jane Crisanto-Ortega HS 56/AA-58
6.
Radiowealth
Finance Corporation
There are many others who have pledged their support and we
hope to convert them into donations within the year. To all of them our
heartfelt thanks.
We also wish to acknowledge the many, many alumnae and those
who share with us our vision of offering quality education to all who need it
through our scholarship program. Chaired by Yolanda Manding-Albano, the
scholarship committee has labored long and hard to achieve our goal of “100
Scholars for 100 years”. This school year, we have 68 scholars – 20 in high school and 48 in college. Many of them are scholars of the high school
batches, who raised funds or pooled their resources to establish a scholarship.
There are also families of sisters and individual alumnae who have sponsored a scholar. As of a few
days ago we had scholarship pledges amounting to P16.6 million, including an
SGV endowment of P1M for a scholarship in honor of Erlinda T. Villanueva, HS-46,
their first lady partner. When I was confirming the figures with Yola, she told
me she was confident that we can fund 100 scholars this coming June, and I was
wondering how we could do that. Well, it seems that the Holy Spirit has worked
her miracle. During the centennial mass yesterday, one of our alumnae, Mercedes
Tan-Gotianun, HS 48, delivered to Tonette Articona-Brion BSChem 67 the amazing news that she is pledging to fund 50 scholars! That brings our
scholarship fund to P32.6 million! And Yola’s fearless forecast has come true. We
will have funds for 130 scholars when school opens in June! Spirit ablaze!
So, as the Chair of the
Centennial Committee, I am pleased to
report to you that we have achieved two of the three goals we set for
ourselves. Our alumnae have responded to our invitation for a very special Centennial weekend and we have reached our
goal of 100 Scholars for 100 years. This is, I believe, a minor miracle,
brought about by the Holy Spirit who is blessing our efforts. And we are
confident that we will achieve our third goal of raising P100M in five years.
Last night, as the awards were being given out at the
Paraclete Auditorium, I truly felt that the Holy Spirit was in that hall,
spreading Her wings over all of us. I feel the same way tonight, and believe
that the Holy Spirit is with us here and now, covering us all with Her wings and
her blessings.
If you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your hearts to join
these generous individuals, please respond positively to Her call.
In addition, we had some generous gala sponsorships which
allowed us to offer this grand gala and at the same time keep our ticket prices
to a minimum so that all our alumni could join us tonight. These are:
1.
Ayala
Corporation
2.
Ayala
Land
3.
Globe
Telecom
4.
TeamAsia
5.
Metrobank
Foundation
6.
Land
Bank of the Philippines
7.
Pioneer
Insurance
8.
Marilen
Nolasco-Espiritu BSC-63
9.
Jollibee
Corporation
Later, over dinner, we will raffle off items donated by some
generous alumni and friends, who will be duly acknowledged. I hope you have all
filled out your information sheets so you can be qualified for the raffle.
We wish we could share with you tonight the names of all the
many, many alumnae and friends who have
made pledges or made donations. They have all responded so generously to the
call of the Holy Spirit. We will, however, publish the list in our website as
well as our newsletters so that everyone can be acknowledged properly. To all
of them MARAMING SALAMAT PO!
I wish to thank again all our alumni who have joined the
various committees of the Centennial Celebration. Thanks also to Grace Mascenon
and her team that put together the wonderful Centennial Homecoming we enjoyed
yesterday, Felina’s team which organized the Awarding Ceremonies, Menchu Que
and Viqui del Rosario, who were my pillars of strength and dedication as we
struggled with the tons of detailed work on the ticket sales and table
assignments of this gala; Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, whose Team Asia made sure
that everything will go smoothly tonight; Emy Masigan-Mercado, whose passion
lit the spark that became the grand production you will see tonight, of “
Journey of 100 years”; Cora Parco and Benjo Macaso, who toiled daily at the
CHSAF office, fielding calls, receiving payments for a whole host of things,
and calming down excited alumni.
I know that there are many more unsung heroes and heroines –
alumnae who raised funds through bazaars, golf tournaments, sales of centennial
items, dinners, and performances. To all of you, our heartfelt thanks!
As you know, this weekend is really just the start of our
Centennial Year that goes from February 2013 to February 2014. We invite all of
you to continue reaching out to your classmates, especially our college
alumnae. We dream of an even more active and engaged community of CHSM alumni who will offer their
time, talent, and treasure as our way of giving thanks to the school which helped educate us, mold our
characters, instill in us a deeply spiritual life, as well as our drive for
excellence, integrity, passion, and commitment. The motto of our Alma Mater –
Veritas in Caritate – Truth in Love has been and always will be the compass
that will guide us throughout our lives.
The school still needs us as her partners in helping her
achieve our shared vision of an educational institution that can offer quality
education to all Filipinos. The Holy Spirit has brought us here, at this time,
in this place. Let us keep praying to the Holy Spirit a slightly revised prayer
(and may I ask you to join me in the prayer – you may remain seated) “ Come,
Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful and enkindle in US the fire of Thy
love. Send forth Thy Spirit and WE shall be created and WE shall renew the face
of the earth.” Let us all pledge tonight to be
co-creators with the Holy Spirit as together we strive to “renew the
face of the earth” through our full and unstinting support to the renewal and
revitalization of the College of the Holy Spirit which was established in Her
honor.
May the Holy Spirit continue to guide us, inspire us, protect
us, and bless us.
Spirit ablaze!
Thank you again and enjoy the evening!
No comments:
Post a Comment