1993-1995 Art Henares, President

In 1993, 32 founding members held a meeting in San Diego to organize an alumni association. They voted to call it "Notre Dame of Gen. Santos City Alumni Association USA". Membership includes all the graduates of Notre Dame Schools located in the city of Gen. Santos, ND Lagao and ND Dadiangas High School (Boys and Girls Department), Notre Dame of Dadiangas College and all the elementary departments affiliated with each school. Members elected their officers and entrusted them with the job to draft the by-laws and define the purpose of the organization.To promote closer ties among the alumni of Notre Dame Schools of Gen. Santos City now residing in the U.S.(Two years later, "residing in the U.S." was changed to "North America" to include Canada).

To extend moral support to its members and material aid to its Alma Mater.

• The thrust for Art and the officers was to accomplish the first goal of the organization. To accomplish this, they
  Started a database and published an alumni directory of its members that has grown from 32 (1993) to over 300 (2001)
• Increased attendance at the reunion from 65 in San Diego, 1993 to 206 in Las Vegas, 1995. Bro. Joe Damean Teston, Guest Speaker.
• Launched programs like the Sponsor-A-Mentor Program by sponsoring three mentors, the Souvenir Program and Newsletter, an Invite-A-Classmate program. Six alumni from the Philippines attended.
• Drafted bylaws. A copy is available upon request.

1995-1997 Prima Guipo Hower, President

Accomplishments

• This administration created the first Reunion Committee to oversee and manage the reunion. Sol Santos was appointed the first Reunion Chairman. She organized a committee composed of alumni who locally reside in San Francisco. 
• A centralized banking and accounting operation was established.
• The association applied for and received 501(c)(7) non-profit status.
• Sponsored the second largest group of mentors, 13 total (4 Dominican Nuns, 2 OMI priests, and 7 Marist Brothers). Fr. Joseph Milford, OMI, the first director of Notre Dame School in Gen Santos City, was the guest speaker. Bro. Joseph Damian, the founder of Notre Dame of Dadiangas, was in attendance, and the former President of NDDC, Bro. Henry Joseph Ruiz, Bro. Paul Mueten and Bro. James McKnight. The first mentor sponsored by the association coming from the Philippines was Sr. Estrella Vicente, OP. 
  

• Increased the reunion attendance from 206 in Las Vegas to 3ll in San Francisco, representing 13 states, Canada, and the Philippines.
• Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of Notre Dame of Lagao (1947-1997).
• Donated monetary help towards the Covered Court of NDD College and helped organize a reunion in Manila.
• Likha, a Dance Ensemble in San Francisco, provided a medley of Filipino dances for entertainment. 

Thanks to founding Board of Advisors, Lourdes Murillo Wallace for providing us the first draft of the by-laws, and to Dr. Anastacio Hoyumpa for helping to fine-tune it. Thanks too to our Membership Committee Chairman, Gloria Plateros Santos, NDD60 and her husband Milo. They worked very hard to find as many alumni from Notre Dame of Dadiangas.

1997-1999 Rayland Rogan, President

Accomplishments...

1. Under Ray Rogan's leadership, officers worked toward accomplishing the second goal, to provide material/financial aid to our Alma Mater.
2. Ray and the officers laid the foundation for fund-raising projects that will benefit all the Notre Dame Schools in Gen. Santos City.
3. An alumni hall in NDDC was established, and Ray contributed to refurbish the chapel.
4. He pledged to match every dollar up to $7500 that the next administration is able to raise.
5. Sponsored 25 mentors to the reunion in New Jersey, Mrs. Rosky Santos Munda, Guest Speaker, 9 alumni from the Philippines attended.

1999-2001 Angel Boloico, President

2001-2003 Sol Santos Cuenco, President

2003-2005 Henry Rogan, President

2005-2007 Minda Hingco Zamzam, President

2007-2009 Magno "Ding" Mateo, President

2009-2011 Jess Mendoza, President

2011-2013 Nena Guipo Adonay, President

2013-2015 Leilanie Z. Gammon, President

Accomplishments:

• Lanie’s administration was marked with the creation of the Benevolence Fund. A total of $4,845 was raised and earmarked for this fund alone. They solicited funds for the Oblates of Notre Dame (OND) Sisters at Notre Dame of Jaro Leyte School, devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, for the roof of the Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Lagao was falling apart. An organ for the choir was also donated.
• Sponsored 12 Mentors, including a Bishop, two priests, 5 Marist Brothers, and 5 OND Sisters.
• 146 Reunion Attendees enjoyed the Mexican-themed Talent Show Welcome Party, where alumni showed their singing and dancing skills, a Masquerade Ball, and a Hawaiian-themed Picnic.
• For the official tour, Dameans explored a cave called Natural Bridge Cavern, the largest in the US. It was one of the unique official tours ever. Kudos to the adventurous alumni imbued with the famous Notre Dame spirit, young and old went down 180 feet below the earth's surface.
• Started a tradition of indoor picnics within the hotel grounds due to inclement weather
• The hotel's proximity to numerous historic attractions like The Alamo, the San Antonio River Walk, and the Mall allowed a lot of individual tours during Free Time.
• While the attendance at 146 was not as high as the other reunions, 17 states, including Canada and the Philippines, were represented.
  Arkansas, Bahamas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington State, Canada, and the Philippines.

Thanks to Allan Palacios Chan, Jr., who wowed the audience during Gala Night with his flawless rendition of the Phantom of the Opera Favorite – Music of the Night. Special thanks also go to Josie Ferrariz Tizon for soliciting donations from Genesis Voorhees Center in the amount of $1500 and the late Mr. Richard Huffman and his late wife, Ligaya Ramirez Huffman, to rebuild the ND Jaro School after Haiyan demolished it. Many alumni also donated to the Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church to repair a damaged roof and an organ for the choir. The individual donation was donated directly to our childhood church from Mr. Vincent Matthews and his wife Odita Maamo Matthews.

2015-2017 Carlito S. Ferrariz, President

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Accomplishments:

1. Carlito and his Vice President Sonny Sagalongos conducted their ocular visit to Las Vegas and chose the Westgate Las Vegas Resort as the host hotel.
2. 363 Reunion attendees, the most attended reunion ever. They came from five countries and numerous states of the USA.
3. A fundraising “Timeless” dinner concert was held for the first time in the history of the association. Thanks to the generosity of pro bono performers Allan Palacios Chan, Jr., tenor, Ms. Rane Rose, and their friends, the association was able to raise $1500, which was donated to Notre Dame-Sienna College for the Chapel Fund.
4. Donated $600 towards Benevolence Fund for members of the association who lost loved ones, including to the family of dedicated alumnae Remy Young and Virgie Llido.
5. Six Marist Brother mentors were sponsored by this administration.
6. Two buses (104) and two vans traveled four hours plus to Grand Canyon for the Official Tour. The most attended tour ever.

2017-2019 Elena T. Gonzalez, President

Accomplishments:

1. Attendance was at 221 despite the concern brought about by the split of the association. They came from numerous States in the US, Canada, and the Philippines.
2. A live band performed during Gala Night.
3. After the land reunion, 55 alumni and their families set out to sea for a memorable Alaska Cruise spearheaded by Lilia Salangsang Perez, who donated her commission to the association.
4. A Photo Booth was introduced and successfully launched.
5. The association sponsored five Marist Brothers and two Dominican Nuns.
6. In 2021, former President Elena partnered in a project with her predecessor, current President Lulut Palacios Chan, to celebrate the 100th birthday of Bro. Joseph Damian Teston, FMS. The project raised $1930 for Bro. Damian’s chosen charity, The Carmelite Sisters of Savannah, Georgia, to build their convent.
7. The Official Tour of the Museum of Flight and the making of a 787 Dreamliner at the Boeing airplane manufacturing company were two of the highlights of the reunion. It was topped with a scrumptious lunch buffet at Haiku Sushi and Seafood Buffet. There was also a National City Philippine Grocery serving Filipino delicacies that the alumni frequented often. During free time, alumni took advantage of the very efficient Sound Transit’s Link light rail to downtown Seattle to the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, Pike Place Market, etc.
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2019-2023 Lulut P. Chan, President

Accomplishments:

A complete summary of the accomplishment of Lulut’s Executive Officers and Board Members will be posted after the culmination of her term on October 14, 2023, when a new president has been elected and take the helm. 

Due to COVID-19, Lulut’s term was extended for four years. The by-laws state that officers are elected every two years during the national reunion. Because of the lockdown, the reunion was postponed from 2021 to 2023. Lulut holds the longest-running presidency in the 30-year history of the association. It is the most active administration benefiting from the technological offerings of Zoom, Messenger Chat, Facetime, etc. They meet frequently and get busy raising funds and recruiting new members.  They hope you will join them in Rhode Island to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of our association, 1993-2023. 

1. The pandemic affected the association’s leadership most profoundly. President Lulut lost her sister Pilar, (NDGSCAA President of the East Coast Chapter) to COVID-19 two months after it was declared a pandemic and hit the USA. With everything closed down, the administration voted unanimously to postpone the biennial reunion from 2021 to 2023.
2. The administration decided to hold fundraising projects amid a lockdown. In collaboration with the previous administration of Elena Tingzon Gonzalez, the association celebrated with a souvenir program the 100th birthday of Bro. Joseph Damian Teston, FMS, on January 25, 2020. Bro. Damian was the founder of Notre Dame of Dadiangas. $1930 was donated to Bro. Damian’s favorite charity, The Carmelite Sisters, helped build their convent and church. 
3. A year later, on January 25, 2021, the former president of Notre Dame of Dadiangas College, Bro. Willy Lubrico died suddenly. Lulut’s administration decided to sponsor Bro. Willy’s Book; was published in 2022. It was written by Past President Prima Guipo Hower with Briccio Baynosa. All proceeds are donated to BW’s favorite initiative, Abante Lumad Scholarship Fund. So far, the project has raised close to $3000 and has turned over P100,000.00 to the Abante Scholarship funds of Notre Dame of Marbel University to support Indigenous students to go to college. More funds will be released during the reunion.
4. The association sponsored a dinner concert in the Philippines featuring Allan Palacios Chan, the tenor who donated his performance pro bono and profits of $500+ for the Abante Scholarship.
5. The officers and members of the board are currently busy organizing the 15th Biennial Reunion to be held in Rhode Island on October 12-15, 2023. The association will celebrate its 30th Founding Anniversary.
   

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