By: Ryan Tejero, Editor-In-Chief
The magic of friendship filled the four walls of Augusta Pines Golf Clubhouse on November 4th when the Tomball Filipino Community (TFC) 20th Anniversary Gala was graced by its founders, members, and friends. It was truly a memorable event with every guest having a story to tell of their humble beginnings in the organization, and how TFC became a group that provides support to one other.
For most of the members, TFC left them a strong impact, especially to their children. One of the families in the event said that “It was a group that kept our children close to each other. Finding a playmate was never a problem anymore as our kids have grown with each other, went to school and celebrated birthdays together.”
One of the touching speeches of the night was from Mrs. Marcia Swinehart. She was the previous Tomball Regional Hospital VP of Human Resources. She became instrumental in hiring several Filipino nurses from the Philippines who settled in Tomball, TX and eventually organized TFC. In her interview with One Philippines, she said that “All I did was hired them – the Filipino nurses. I am so happy to see them enjoying their lives here in Tomball and most of their have their own families already.”
Philippine Vice Consul Marco Lopez from the Philippine Consulate General in Houston stated that “It is inspiring to learn how TFC evolved as an organization. It is also inspiring to know that they got everyone engage through their activities.”
One of the Anniversary organizers, Wally Tomakin said that “this celebration is important to us. It is our way of bringing everyone together. We will continue what we have started in giving support to one another and create activities such as sports events that members will enjoy and participate.”
The Anniversary Gala featured selected few and finest performers from the TFC family. The group was not only s breeding ground of excellent leaders but also of talents. One of the performers, Jia Reyes said that “I grew up here in Tomball and my parents are members of TFC. I have been singing in many of our events. I enjoy doing it, and I hope to inspire other young people to share their talent.”
Sponsors include Breakthrough Personal Care Services, Filipiniana Too, Phoenix Healthcare Services, First Frontier Bookeeping, COnsultare Inc. Group, Roel Otero, Aesential Health and Wellness, LLC, The Baker’s Son by Valerio’s, Salad Master, E&M Air 360, Inc. Forexm Basil’s Kitchen, A Home for Mom and Dad, Electricity Service Unlimited, NorthPoint Healthcare Services, Rweber Homes and Gerry’s Grill.
One Philippines was invited to cover the event. Publisher and owner, Bhong Zausa expressed that “Our newspaper One Philippines will always support FilAm community organizations especially those who bring together everybody. We are also looking to find more support for our newspaper, which is the only one in the State of Texas, so we can continue to produce articles that talk about our unity in the community. Please reach out to us or any of our correspondents.”
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