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By the 1960s, a scattering of Filipinos had come to live and work in the mountains, but, before 1993, there was no Filipino-American group serving the Asheville-Waynesville-Hendersonville-Brevard area. Throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s, when Filipinos wanted to attend a formal dinner and see a Filipino cultural presentation, they had to patronize the Gala Nights of associations in Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC. There was no local association to join in order to celebrate special Filipino foods, songs, folk dances, and languages. Finally, some area Filipinos got together and formed their own association. Actually, this happened not once, but twice. In May of 1993, the Western North Carolina Philippine-American Association (WNC-PAA) was formed. In August of 1994, the Filipino-American Community of Western North Carolina (FAC-WNC) was formed; it incorporated the membership of the first organization. Our First Annual Gala Night was held in April of 1995 and has been a yearly event ever since. In 2001, we started a dance troupe. Since then, our Gala Night celebrations have featured choreographed, costumed cultural dances as part of the program. As the years have rolled by, we have enjoyed many things through our Association. We have made true and fast friends, watched each other’s children grow up, gone camping together, and had wonderful times socializing. We have hosted parties, picnics, formal dinners, karaoke singing contests, a bowling league, fund-raising events, civic projects, etc. None of these things would have been possible if the founding fathers and mothers of 1993 and 1994 had not combined their efforts to create the organization that we are so proud of today. Even though the rank-and-file (and other officers) form the backbone of our organization, official history is marked with the names of our Presidents. Below, in alphabetical order, is the list of those who have led our association. Bart Brown, Roy Cabrera, Melly Capella, Betty Davis, Lolita Maxwell, Arnel Marucut, Marilou Marucut, Danny Mindo, Brian Rodriguez, Ricky Rodriguez, Virginia Rodriguez, Carlito Torio, Rudy Valencia & Sonya Valencia. Over time, we have improved our association and membership has grown. We are large enough to be diverse and small enough so that everyone knows everyone else. As more Filipinos arrive in Western North Carolina, we hope that they will join us and enjoy our camaraderie. Since 1993, we’ve had 13 good years and we look forward to many, many more.
Contact Information
2011 Officers
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