July 17, 2021
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S DESK
Hello everyone!
Summer is truly upon us and your Board has been busy despite the heat. We’ve had a special meeting and an official Board meeting since I took on Doming’s job. The officers and Board members have been really great at keeping me up to speed and when fall comes, I will be able to start focusing on the details of our next reunion.
I need your help especially in putting together our CME. We have always had outstanding CME speakers and member participation so I do want to make sure that we continue with that tradition. If any of your offspring is willing to serve as speakers, please send me their contact information so I can reach out to them – I will need their email addresses and cell phone numbers. Please remember that we will no longer have pharmaceutical help with this so we do need for everyone to step up to the plate and be involved and actively participate. I already have 4 names of potential speakers and I have started to reach out to them.
During the previous reunions, Doming always had those books that were mostly financed by the silver and golden jubilarians through advertisements. It was never really a money maker and at times the books were delayed and had to be mailed out to members which also cost us a lot. In addition, we lost the printer that Doming had been using. Long story but in any case, he can no longer do that for us. So if we decide to do that, we will need to make sure 1) that we have a great participation from the 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 anniversary celebrants; 2) that there be at least a good enough profit margin for the books to pay for themselves which means looking for a printer who can give us a good price and excellent service; 3) that those who do want to participate keep very close attention to the cut off dates for sending in the material to be printed and as much as possible, send printer ready material (photos that are not blurred, typed messages) so that we don’t need to have the printer do anything more than print. Anything that comes in needs to be edited and I can do that if given enough time to make sure that we put out an excellent book. I will need your thoughts on this – especially from the various anniversary celebrants. If we are to do this, you will need to start getting your materials ready by November at the latest so you can send it to me in time for it to be printed. Most printers usually require at least 3 weeks – maybe even more- which means I will need all that by the end of April which gives me time to proofread, edit and typeset. So IF we do this, I’d like the THEME to be your activities during the pandemic. Pictures need to be informal – more like action photos of you and your family and a little write up on your pandemic experience. So there you go… In the next couple of weeks, I will get in touch with a person in each of the anniversary classes to serve as liaisons from their class to me and to the Board. I hope when I call on you, you will accept the challenge. Thanks in advance for your commitment to ASOCIMAI. Let’s make Doming proud!
Love to all,
Rise
The 2022 ASOCIMAI Reunion is Coming!
Date: July 6 - 10, 2022
Location: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
A Letter from our Executive Director -
Dr. Rise Faith Espina Dajao
April 10, 2020
Dear fellow alumni,
I hope that by now you have received Dr. Jerry Murillo’s letter announcing my appointment as the Executive Director upon Doming’s sudden and untimely death. Doming was the heart of ASOCIMAI and kept this association going through good times and bad. I know that he would have wanted to have his beloved friends and relatives surrounding him when he passed but that was not to be. That really hurt us all. Please continue to pray for his eternal and peaceful repose. Some have asked us what happened after his death: He was cremated and his ashes are with his niece in New Jersey. He will be brought home to Leyte to rest beside his beloved sister.
I accept this appointment with humility and with great trepidation. I have huge shoes to fill and I need all your help to accomplish this task. 2020 has been a trying year for us all but in the midst of all the trials and sorrows, we have had some good things happen. Roger and I have finally retired (which is one reason I was able to accept this position) and are now living in Philadelphia to be closer to our children and grandchildren and we now have new professions: babysitter and school bus driver! Much different but really enjoyable!
Our next reunion will be at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas from JULY 6-10, 2022. Let’s make this truly GRAND!
We are requesting everyone to send in their membership fees for the years 2020 and 2021 if at all possible. It is $100/year per person. Our coffers are really down right now so we need some help. Please send your checks to:
DR. RONALD POBLETE
777 RIFLE CAMP ROAD
WOODLAND PARK, NJ 07424
Thank you for your confidence in me. My email address, phone number and physical address have been added to this message. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions, suggestions or critiques. I will always be available to you at any time. God bless us all.
Sincerely,
RISE FAITH ESPINA DAJAO, MD
risefaith@yahoo.com
757-753-9237
3 N Columbus Blvd MD 304
Philadelphia, PA 19106
A Letter from the President
Dear Alumni:
By now, you must have heard that our beloved Executive Director, Dr. Dominador Ong passed away unexpectedly. The ASOCIMAI Board unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Rise Faith Espina-Dajao as the new Executive Director. Please give her all your support and encouragement.
The pandemic has really turned our reunion schedule upside down. I’m sure everyone is trying to recover from cabin fever and anxious to travel once we are allowed to. Las Vegas Cesar’s Palace was kind enough to give us a postponement of our reunion to July 6-10, 2022 without penalty. In addition, the room rate was locked into the original 2019 pre-pandemic negotiated rate of $129/night for July 6 & 7 and $169/night for July 8 & 9. A daily resort fee of $32/room is added to the daily room rate. We will be exempt from the “to-be-expected” room rate increases once Las Vegas fully opens up for business. My hope is that everyone will be vaccinated come July 2022.
After some discussion, the ASOCIMAI Board agreed to hold a memorial mass for all alumni that we have lost to COVID as well as other causes. This pandemic has been a difficult one and we have been unable to express our grief collectively, so this memorial mass during the reunion would be a timely way to get together and remember those that we lost. Please send the names of the alumni or their spouses who have passed away during this time of pandemic to Dr. Cora Sanchez, email dancorvic@msn.com. The consensus was to hold the mass on Friday, July 8, 2022 at 5PM. We will use a conference room in the hotel to hold the mass.
Lastly, please send your membership dues to our Treasurer, Dr. Ronald Poblete. The ASOCIMAI business address is 14416 Maple Ridge Court, Baldwin, Maryland 21013. Since we did not have a reunion in 2020 and will not have one in 2021, our coffers are empty. Your dues will sustain our organization through these lean times. Please help!
Thank you for your support. It is members like you that keep the ASOCIMAI mission alive.
Keep the faith,
Dr. Jerry Murillo
President
|
|
|
