Elletta Tiam Quiboloy’s recollection July 2016
HISTORY OF SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE (NOW A UNIVERSITY) ALUMNI GRAND REUNION

IN CANADA AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

1. In 1990, the class 1966 of SMCHS graduates was planning their alumni silver anniversary to be held in San Francisco, California in 1991.
2. Dolly Bunanig-Manansala told her sister Nelly Bunang-Siquan a graduate of class 1966 that the planning should not only be concentrated for class 1966 but for all the alumni of SMC.  Nelly informed Manang Dolly to contact Eletta Tiam-Quiboloy as she was leading the plan.
3. Manang Dolly informed some of the alumni of SMC who live in the Bay Area like Manang Alice Medrano-Sagasay, Manong Deng Miyamoto, Manong, Tom Birco, the late Carmelita Bravo-Rigor and Cesar Garingan.  There was always a desire to have alumni reunion for SMC graduates but had not included and involved alumni from other states and Canada.
   (N.B. A "Presentation of Plaque" was presented to these indefatigable founders, SF reunion, July 2016).  
4. The group from the Area started their meeting and involved Eletta via phone and e-mails and resulted in the first grand reunion of SMC alumni in 1991 with Mr. Julian Bravo as its guest speaker and Eletta as the emcee.  The reunion was held for only one gala night. 
5. Since then, reunions occurred with the same group of planners except Carmelita who passed away at an early age a year after the first reunion.
6. The next reunions were hosted by the Bay Area members in 1993, 1996 and 1999.  The succeeding reunions were a three-day affair starting on Friday night, with a gala formal night on Saturday and a picnic on Sunday where the members vote the next host city/state to give the planners enough time to plan.
7. At the close of the 1999 reunion, Chicago, Illinois, requested that they host the 2000.  The reunion went well and once again, they requested to host the 2001.
   (A reunion was held in San Francisco, California, 1999) 
8. Annual reunion was not an idea that the members wanted during the discussion at the Chicago reunion in 2001 and therefore motioned that the reunion be held every two years.
9. British Columbia, Canada alumni members volunteered to host the 2003 reunion.  The year was a year of medical issues with bird flu and there were not many alumni graduates who attended the meeting.  The next meeting was scheduled for 2006 to be held in Tacoma, Washington giving the host alumni enough time to plan.
10. The Tiam, Tumaliuan, Abellera and Bennett alumni graduates started planning for the 2006 in 2004 and the “Bliss in Tacoma” reunion was well attended in July, 2006.
    (Actual reunion date was “Tacoma, Washington, 2006”).
11. The alumni members from Nevada asked to host the 2009 reunion.  This group was less than ten members and therefore, class of 1959 high school graduates and the Bay Area, California alumni members volunteered to assist Nevada in hosting the 2009 reunion in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Actual reunion date was “Las Vegas,Nevada, 2008”)
12. Toronto, Canada was voted to host the 2011 reunion in Toronto, Canada.  This reunion was now back to two year lapse, as the alumni members claimed the three years is quite a long wait.  This was the time that Judge Delano Europa, and others were involved. (Actual reunion date was “Toronto, Canada, 2010”)
13. The 2014 reunion was hosted by San Diego, California.
     (Actual reunion date was “San Diego,California 2012”,
    followed by “Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. 2014).
     
14. In 2016 we are back to the place that held the first reunion in 1991, San Francisco, California.
    (recently concluded San Francisco,  California, 2016,
    then Glendale, Southern California,  2018)

(Additions, corrections in red Italics by LeeTengco, 20160812)