Two
Mapúans (Alex Roxas and Dom Tolentino) from the beautiful province
of British Columbia decided to make Calgary their new home in
the late ‘90’s. They brought with them not only a wealth of
experience from their chosen field, but also an indomitable
pride of being true Mapuans, pride that they wanted stirred
up in the hearts and souls of all Mapúans in Alberta.
It
so happened that the Calgary Mapúa boys had been toying with
the idea of organizing themselves for a long time and this extra
push from the new B.C. transplants ignited their interests.
Soon, an invitation for a meeting among the Mapúa alumni in
Calgary was sent out. The venue was the Devonian Garden in downtown
Calgary. Few interested parties showed up: Alex Roxas, Dom Tolentino,
Bobby de Guzman, Leon Monzon, Cesar Caparino, Cesar Jorge, Jose
Abesamis, Tony Cejalvo, Danny Eustaquio, Robert Gutierrez, Danny
Gamboa and Roger Encarnacion.
The name
Mapúa Alumni Association, Alberta Chapter was unanimously adopted.
Roger was asked to draft the association bylaws. After lengthy
deliberations that took two sessions, the membership finally
ratified the bylaws in January 2001. In March 2001, an application
for registration at the Alberta Registries was submitted.
It was approved on April 30, 2001.
During
the latter stage of the association’s formation, many new faces
came and went. Among those who stayed and became the mainstays
of the association are: Ben Ang, Roger Encarnacion, Danny Eustaquio,
Pepe Abesamis, Espie Forbes, Boy de Leon, Jiggs Bascon, Ed Juan,
Eugene Sicat, Edgar Apolonio, Ritz Landeta, Bert Perez ,Ray
Alvarado, Reginald Villarama, Marybeth and Jeff Miranda.
To
date the association has fifty registered members. Pepe Abesamis,
the first elected president of the association, has been instrumental
in increasing the membership count to where it is now. Eugene
Sicat, the newly elected president for 2008-2009 term, is making
sure that the level of interest among current members stays
high.
Past Presidents
2001 - 2003 Jose Abesamis
2004 - 2005 Ben Ang
2006 - 2007 Jiggs Bascon
2008 - 2009 Eugene Sicat
