"We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year"
The annual FAC-WNC Christmas Party was held at Hendersonville's
Church of Christ on December 15th.
It's the holiday season, a time of family and friends, a time of
giving and sharing the Christmas cheer. It's the last official
event of 2007 for FAC-WNC, and the Officers of 2007 and 2008 would
like to extend a warm-felt Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all
our members.
It has been an eventful year to say the least. There have been
numerous events, we've said hello and welcome to many new faces, and
more importantly, we've continued to strive for the preservation of
our Filipino heritage.
Our Christmas party is a wonderful way in which to gather one last
time before the holiday season gets into full gear. Before the
hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and travel starts, it's a
great way to reflect on the past year, and what a great year for
FAC-WNC. A big thank you to our 2007 Officers.
The Christmas party, like all Filipino events, had tons of good
food, great fun, and lots of friends. Everyone was decked out
in seasonal reds and greens, and thanks to our volunteers and
decorators, the place truly looked like a winter wonderland complete
with a Filipino Parol!
We started the evening with an invocation given by Phoebe Barkley
and then started dinner. Throughout dinner the presentation of
all the photos of all the events held this past year was playing in
the background.
We then opened up the program with the changing of the guard, the
traditional candle light ceremony for the induction of the 2008
Officers. Out-going officer, Vivian Brown, conducted this
tradition and swore in the newly elected officers. Arnel
Marucut (President), Charlie Rice (Vice-President), Bing Rice
(Treasurer), and Rem Navarro (Board of Directors) were all
re-elected to serve another term. We welcome two new officers,
Brian Rodriguez (Secretary) and Laddie Armena (Auditor) to the
FAC-WNC team.
Next were some fun games, hosted by our emcee Marilou Marucut.
Before our special guest, was the presentation of the candidates for
Mrs. Valentines 2008; they are, Phoebe Barkley, Elsa Delage, and
Christy Levi. And then, was time for our guest of the evening, Santa
Claus! He came baring a lot of gifts for our young ones, and
even posed for pictures with everyone!
After Santa left, it was time for the Karaoke contest! Many had
entered, but only two were left standing as the winners of our
karaoke contest. In our kids division, singing an Elvis
Presley hit, "Hound Dog" was Harel Alipio who danced just like the
King and won the judges over. Our judges this year were Mary
Ann Ar, Marcia Mindo, and Ken Laskey. Although a tight race in
the adult division, the eventual winner was Ivian Balanay.
Congratulations to all our contestants and our two winners!
All the wonderful songs put everyone in a mood to dance, so the
floor was opened up for our members to shake their groove thang.
Thank you again to all our members for such a great year and a
fantastic time at the party. We would like to extend a big
thank you again to all our volunteers and especially our chairs of
the Christmas committee, Laddie and Letty Armena for your hard work
in making this event a success. Thank you again to our
Officers for leading this association, for all your past work and
for the future of our community.
Merry Christmas to All! And, best wishes for a Happy New Year!
