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"Leading the Way in the Twenty-First Century" Induction
Speech by Normita Feliciano Fenn, President,
MHSAA, Inc., |
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Honorable Mayor Jorge Bernardo, President of Rizal Polytechnic College, Dr. Olivia Feliciano De Leon, Fellow alumni, Families and Friends of Alumni. Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat. Binabati ko kayo ngayong gabi bilang isa sa mga pinuno ng ating Morong High School Alumni Association dito sa Northern California, kasama na ang aking mga co-officers. Ako po’y lubos na nagpapasalamat sa mga Kababayan natin, kamag-anak at mga alumni friends, sa inyong pagdalo ngayong gabi. Ang pagdiriwang pong ito ay natatangi, sapagkat parang itinalaga ng kapalaran na tayo ay magkasama-sama pati na ang ating Kagalanggalang na Alkalde ng Morong, Atty. Jorge Bernardo, at ang Pangulo ng Rizal Polytechnic College, Dr. Olivia Feliciano De Leon. Narinig natin ang mga mabubuting nagagawa ng ating association sa ating bayan, lalo ng sa mga batang nag-aaral sa ating mga paaralan. At this time, nais kong pasalamatan sina Pat Tesoro Gonzales at Clem Gonzales, of Class 1959, both past presidents of Southern California Chapter, for being here tonight. And to all the other alumni who traveled from different parts of the U.S., Canada, and the Philippines, thank you for coming. I wish to congratulate my Kumareng Eva for her devotion to the Association for over twenty years. Her service serves as an inspiration to all of us and we sincerely thank her. I would like to thank the induction committee headed by Mr. Orlando San Felipe and Mr. Rogelio Arcia, for making this event successful. Thanks to Pat Angeles for hosting this program. Shortly, we will be passing around the souvenir program book that chronicles your images and greetings to us. We thank the souvenir program committee, for undertaking this challenging, but exciting task. We recognize Mrs. Ellen Nora Aniana, Class 1961, for handling all the printing of our souvenir book. The Association has most recently donated computer equipment and other office equipment to the Morong National High School. In this regard, I would like to share the letter we received from the Morong National High School. (Read letter) I am proud to acknowledge that our path is clear, due to the hard work and dedication of the founders and past presidents of this Association. We thank them for making our Association what it is today. But I believe it is important to take you down memory lane, and be reminded on how it all began. When the war broke out, Morong was left with nothing but ashes of its high school; a group of educators led by Mr. Monico Mateo, Sr, and assisted by Mr. Vivencio Bernardo, picked up the pieces to build what turned out to be one of the premier educational institutions in the Province of Rizal, our beloved alma mater, Morong High School. Fifty-five years later and in to the twenty-first century, I memorialize what these individuals did for the Town of Morong and surrounding communities, and for all the students who stepped in to the threshold of our great institution. As a sixteen-year old who graduated in 1958, I will forever remember them for what I have become, filled with pride and gratitude to be an alumni of Morong High School. We have with us tonight the children of Mr. Mateo and Mr. Bernardo – Atty. Monico Mateo, Jr. and our honorable mayor, Atty. Jorge Bernardo. We also have Shirley San Diego Francisco, the daughter of one of the original teachers of Morong High School, Mr. Serapio San Diego. Palakpakan po naman. We thank your fathers for the legacy that they left behind, enabling us to have the educational foundation, making us strong in spirit and allowing us to become productive members of our society. I would also like to acknowledge a former teacher of Morong High School, Mrs. Adelina Talanay Tupas, Class of 1948. Over the years, Morong High School moved on to become a premier institution of learning, now Rizal Polytechnic College, under the leadership of Dr. Olivia Feliciano De Leon. As we carry this Association into the twenty-first century, we are filled with hopes and dreams to make a difference to the Town of Morong, and to its educational institutions. It is our goal to maintain active participation with the alumni; partnering with the other alumni chapters and community organizations; and implement programs that will benefit our alumni and the schools in Morong. We are proud of our relationship with the Sangguniang Bayan through Mayor Jorge Bernardo, and pray that they will have the vision to meet the economic and social challenges of our town. Marami pong salamat na muli sa ating mga alumni, friends and families, sa inyong pagdalo, at nawa’y ito ay umpisa ng ating pagsasama at pagtutulungan, para sa kapakanan ng ating Bayan ng Morong, at sa mga paaralang nagbibigay ng mabuting kinabukasan sa ating mga kabataan. Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat. v |