MYRA MIRANDA

Board of Officers

Vice President: Mul Tayoba

Secretary: Judy Tory

Treasurer: Joseph Barcega

Auditor: Eli Perdido

Public Relations Officer: DezziRae Marshall

Board Members: Adrian Tan, Irmina Manzano

Alternate Board: Nolan Carreon, Sheila Colby, Florian Montebon

Board of Trustees: Fred Bertulfo, Zony Gordon, Zeny Justiniano, Raffy Molina, Sunny Sarte

2009 President

Thank you is not enough to express my gratitude to my dearest family, mom Vangie, dad Atty. Lorenzo Miranda, Jr., sisters Mylene, Marissa and Michelle and brother Marc. The support, patience, participation and unconditional love they gave during all my undertakings were immeasurable. And to my dearest Aunt Zeny, 2006 and 2012 President, she was my inspiration, my mentor and my rock during my term, I am forever grateful!

And finally, to my 2009 Board of officers and Trustees, Mul, Judy, Irmina, Joseph, Tito Eli, DezziRae, Adrian, Nolan, Sheila, Flo, Tito Fred, Zony, Ate Zeny, Tito Raffy and Sunny, I appreciate every effort, every time, every skills, every love and care you have given to the association during this year. YOU are the reason why 2009 was a very successful year for Fil-Am! So, kudos to all of you, pat yourselves on the back and be proud of the contributions you have made in keeping Fil-Am alive!

Maraming Salamat po sa Inyong Lahat,
Myra Miranda

2009 Highlights & Accomplishments

A Year of Tradition and Innovation, Challenges and Successes!

It was and still is a privilege to be in the company of men and women who truly embraced their heritage. All the Presidents of Fil-Am of SCV have in their own special way, brought pride and integrity to our culture, and the inspiration for me to excel in my duties as the 2009 President.

Just like all my fellow Presidents, the main reasons why I joined the organization were to bring awareness to our beautiful country, the Philippines, promote our cultures and traditions particularly to Filipinos born in the US, and truly embrace our deeply rooted heritage.

We fulfilled these reasons through the projects and activities that we held. My utmost thanks to my board of officers and trustees for executing all our projects successfully. Also, words may not be enough to express our gratitude to all those who supported us.

Year 2009 was an exciting, challenging, and colorful year for Fil-Am. The great housing crash happened, stocks plummeted and recession crippled the economy. We faced the insurmountable challenge of a weak economy through our resilient spirit. We stayed focus on our objectives. We persevered and flourished.

We faced the challenge of raising enough funds from our first major event of the year, the Induction Ball. With determination, we filled Castaway Ballroom on Valentine’s night with 235 guests. Blessed by the overwhelming support on our first event, we claimed that it was just the beginning of the many successes that year. Here are what the 2009 Board of Officers and Trustees accomplished:

JRSAA Scholarship Awarding Ceremony - after the July 4th Parade, we all went to the Senior Center to recognize the parade volunteers and to announce the recipients of the JRSAA. Dr. Carol Mendoza and Ed Arguelles gave a brief history of our scholarship program then handed the awards to 4th Place Kristin Soriano, 3rd place Lorenzo Rances, 2nd place Leah Carrillo and 1st place Marc Abuel.

Youth Program - Our youth team put together educational sessions helping others who need educational assistance. They met at local starbucks or school libraries and for fun, they held Dance Night headed by the 2009 scholars.

Typhoon Ondoy Relief Program - Hundred Islands and Fiesta Grill stepped up and supported our efforts by shipping the donations we received from our members to the most devastated areas in the Philippines. Past President Tess Carlos headed this noble project.

Camping - was held at Lake Casitas and chaired by Past President Nic Montebon, Jr. and Board of Director Flo Montebon.

Bowling Tournament - Treasurer Joseph Barcega chaired the 7 week league tournament under the leadership of Gerry Yumul, past President Raffy Molina and Assistant Secretary Ramon Fabregas.

The President's Cup Golf Tournament - held at Robinson's Ranch Golf Course in October, the tournament garnered a large amount of funds which further supported our programs. It was chaired by my dad, Atty. Lorenzo Jr., past Presidents Cezar Obnial and Raffy Mariano. The tournament brought the golfers competitive side and the evening's awarding ceremony got them to sing, dance and bond together.

Senior Luncheon - we recognized our seniors at the Senior Center and provided lunch, goodies and education geared towards seniors.

Christmas Caroling - we brought in the Christmas spirit to our kababayans humble abode. Through our three generous hosts, their families and friends, we broke the record for the most funds raised. Thank you to my mom and dad, Cecile and Raymond Manalo, Josie and Mar Reyes with special mention to Alma and Dennis Kua and Dr. Robert and Pilar Pena for their generosity.

Family Christmas Party - "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was our theme. Director Nic Montebon, Jr. stage a musical and dance performance led by the Fil-Am kids, depicting the joy of Filipino families coming home together to celebrate noche buena and the birth of Jesus Christ. And of course, Santa Claus was there to give presents to the young and the young at hearts.

One of our major accomplishments that year was the application for a Non-Profit 501(C)(3) Public Benefit Corporation and the revision of the association’s name and by-laws from Filipino-American Association of Santa Clarita Valley to Fil-Am Association of SCV, Inc.

Poker Fundraising Tournament - Chaired by Ramon Fabregas and Sheila Colby raised money to add to our scholarship program.

Masquerade Induction Ball - Held on Valentine’s Day. A ballroom colorfully decorated and guests wearing unique masks to their delight.

JRSAA Scholarship Program - Committee members Verna Arguelles, Zony Gordon, Judy Troy, Raffy Molina and I put in motion the search for the scholars and for the first time, we went to Hart District schools to get their help in expanding our search. This proved to be a success.

Easter Family Picnic - chaired by Secretary Irmina Manzano and attended by over 300 families and children at the beautiful Santa Clarita Park. The weather was perfect, kids were thrilled to find the hidden eggs and adults sharing laughters and fun filled competitive games.

Pride Week - Our once a year civic duty for the City of Santa Clarita, "Clean Up Day" in keeping the historical Heritage Junction Park just as beautiful as when it first opened. We picked up the trash, trim the bushes and mowed the lawn around the Mogul Locomotive

Bayanihan Night - We held our first Filipino Business Networking. This provided a platform for our Filipino entrepreneurs to introduce and showcase their businesses and a forum for our members to support these businesses who are FilAm's biggest financial supporters.

PORT Program, Pulling Our Resources Together - was launched and chaired by 1984 Fil-Am President, Adrian Gomez. These professional services, namely computer technical support, financial advice, legal advice, personal counseling, employment referral/placement, and tax assessment, among others, were provided for free to our members.

Kalayaan Independence Day - Fil-Am of SCV attended the largest assembly of Fil-Am associations in California. FilAm’s general membership, Board of Directors and Trustees and Past Presidents proudly gathered around 2 tables and celebrated the Philippines independence ceremony.

Launch of the FACE Program - The FilAm Academic and Cultural Enhancement program which consisted of 3 programs, the Academic and Cultural, Senior, and Youth was launched. The program was formed in order to comply with the 501(C)(3) requirements for nonprofit organizations. It was officially launched on June 27, 2009 at Alma and Dennis Kua's residence. Honorable Mayor Laurene Weste, Board Members, past Presidents, 2009 Scholars and other special guests were in attendance to witness the launching of FACE program. Flavy Pagador, was the head of the Academic and Cultural Program, past President Tess Carlos, chaired the Senior Progam and Nolan Carreon, co-chaired the Youth program with Nic Montebon, Jr.

Cultural Festival - was held for 2 months. We offered our community lessons on Philippine history, geography and conversational Tagalog speaking. The teachers were Mr. Flavy and Mrs. Florence Pagador, Ms. Betty Rances and Ms. Zeny Gonzaga.