Lights, Camera, Excellence

By: Maria Girlie Pascual

 

Having emceed the last twenty-two years of our illustrious Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame for Via Times Newsmagazine and the Chicago Philippine Reports TV, one would think that I would be immune to the excitement and fanfare surrounding our annual event, be unfazed by the new line-up of awardees that have excelled in their chosen fields, or to feel unmoved by how these exemplary men and women are being recognized for their accomplishments and talent. Yes, I could have been blase about that night, but by the time Veronica motioned for us to begin the program, it felt as electric as our first Hall of Fame 22 years ago, as vibrant a night every year that we awarded our Hall of Famers, and as important as it was then, as it is now, to showcase and herald that which is good and important in our handpicked group of achievers that have elevated the Filipino and Filipino American image, and our non-Pinoy friends that have helped promote our cause as natural-born citizens with Filipino ancestors, or as immigrants that have come to call America our home, without losing track of our roots across the seas.

Every year, we give out our crystal keepsakes to our awardees, salute their achievements in the pages of our souvenir book, and let our audience hear their messages on the screen as they accept the recognition. In between, we listen to guest singers, watch different performances from some of our awardees, while everyone dines on taste-tested dinner offerings with wine pairings as selected guest speakers try to complement the occasion with carefully-crafted speeches of hope, appreciation and call to action. This year, we had the pleasure of hearing from Congressional candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi, former Hall of Famer 2010, and Filipino Chicago Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Israel Desierto, former Hall of Famer in Law, 2001. Both men have since made noteworthy advances in their chosen professions, and by press time, we may have “Raja”, as he prefers to be called in his TV ads, as our 8th District of Illinois representing us in Congress.

Our very own Philippine Consul General Generoso Calonge, an affable, well-mannered gentleman with three decades of Foreign Service history behind him, a University of the Philippines law degree and a Masters of Laws degree from Harvard, is our VIAMan of the Year, while the smart and lovely author, Victoria Smith, is Congen Calonge’s female counterpart as the VIAWoman of the Year, both of them in great company with the other awardees, sports buff and runner, Dr. Glenn Amante for Excellence in Allied Health, Dentistry, the lovely and youthful Dr. Rosalyn Aranas for Excellence in Medicine, the talented chanteuse Christine Cadlaon Cabiltes for Music, along with her counterpart Rudolfo Campos for Music Leadership, The Floro family, with Dr. Lourdes Floro leading the Model Family left behind by her late husband, Dr. Rodrigo Floro, Veronica’s schoolmate and now a retired professor from New York, Dr. Carmencita Fulgado, Ph.D, the lively mixmaster and entrepreneur Richie Gil for Entertainment, young achiever Engineer Josey Nieto, another achiever in music, Nhick Pacis, who ably played the piano, community leader and awardee in Nursing Mely Perricone, Excellence in Sports, Martial Arts awardee Rodolfo Poblacion, young lawyer for Excellence in Law Christine Pompa, Excellence in Nursing Leadership awardee Elizabeth Rosas, young achiever in Medicine, Dr. Nunilo Rubio, Jr., is truly the son of proud dad and Hall of Famer as well, Dr. Nunilo Sr. & the family as former Model Family awardee, and former Governor Pat Quinn, who was awarded our Friend of the Filipino People 2016.

All of them deserving, all of them uplifting our image as Filipinos, or helping us, inspiring all of us to be the best version of ourselves. The staff and volunteers that made the evening the success that it was began before the event even started. From Robert Chavez’s transformational magic with hair and make-up, along with Froilan Cabrera, to Ryan Tejero’s handling of the room details, Teri Cruz and Janet Guinsatao’s fall flower centerpieces, Nell and Lain Frias for our yearly souvenir programs, Chie and Nichole Rivas’ hard work at the registration table along with Alicia Monk, Elsa Castillo and Nenneth Miranda, my gown from Mar La Pena, red carpet interviews handled by Jovie Calma, while Melody Dizon and David Michael Rivas handled the “off-red carpet” reactions from guests and awardees alike. James Delacruz was tasked with the spotlight that night, while director Joe “Irogski” Mauricio manned the CPRTV camera all night.

Then there were the awesome performances by “girl growing up so fast” Kayla Tejero with her awesome song, David Michael Rivas, our Joffrey ballet scholar with his modern ballet number and graceful flag-waving rendition, Lou and Baron Cabalona leading the Sama- Sama project as the band of the night, while Edizon Dayao and Chaz Patron filled in the blanks with their music, particularly in the flag waving segment where the Sampaguita Singers led by our 1996 Hall of Famer in Music, Elizabeth Cadlaon, brought the audience to tears with their rendition of “Ako Ay Pilipino”; Chaz’s clear, silky voice, buoyantly rising above the choir’s collective crescendo, as we all succumbed to the tug-of-heart strings elicited by the song. This, for me, was the spotlight performance of the night.

Naturally, with Nick Vera Perez as my co-host, the evening’s program went on smoothly, until finally, all the crystal mementos were awarded, the speeches all wrapped up, including Veronica’s timely welcome address that coincided with the Cubs playing for the championship in the World Series the following week, and thankfully, they won. The wellheeled crowd was warm and generous with their applause, the awardees all happy and thankful for this night of recognition and reunions with their supportive families and friends, and everyone looked so beautiful, resplendent in their gowns, barong and tuxedos, all enjoying the night’s positive vibe, and all.

Next year, we will do it all over again, and every time, we will exclaim that this night was the best Hall of Fame ever…which would not be untrue, because can you really stop rising stars from their shining paths and destinies? Until next time, we hope to see you at the next Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame.

(1) Riz Villasenor, CEO/President of MedPro Health Providers, starts the program with his meaningful Invocation for the occasion, shown with Emcees Nick Vera Perez and Maria Girlie Pascual; (2) The Sampaguita Singers that rendered the singing of the National Anthems and Ako Ay Pilipino Choral with musical director, Beth Lucero Cadlaon.

(1) The SamaSama group with vocalist Louella Cabalona; (2) Chaz Patron and Edizon Dayao of Chanzon Duo, entertaining the guests for the occasion.

(1) CPRTV’s Dave Rivas, a Joffrey Ballet scholar, doing a special ballet number. (2) A modern Arnis demonstration by Rodolfo Poblacion (right), awardee for Excellence in Sports (Martial Arts). (Photo Credit: Rosie Reed)