The University of San Carlos (USC) Boys Class ‘78 is throwing the grandest reunion, celebrating its 40th year on January 18 to 22, 2018.
“High school is the best. It’s when friendship is pure. There are no inhibitions.” This is how Mel Sarmiento, who volunteered to initiate the gathering, remembers their high school days.
Sarmiento took the role after Ed Pebenito, who organized the reunion for both 25th and 35th year, migrated to the US.
“The reunion was supposed to be every 10 years. So the next would have been on our 45th year or perhaps celebrate 50 years. But we’re not getting any younger. We thought why not celebrate our grand reunion while we’re still fit, can play and enjoy,” he said.
“We’re already at our retirable age. Sad to say that a good number of our batch are not with us anymore. It’s high time to enjoy life. We tried our best to work hard, to provide for our family. This (reunion) is also for us to de-stress,” added Sarmiento.
The preparations
What is quite challenging with his task, admits Sarmiento, is gathering people as he has lost contact with some people while a few others are unresponsive.
And so the preparations started early. The first talk about their reunion plans happened in December 2016. “We opened a chatroom for our batch and from there we assigned committees. We named point persons per area,” Sarmiento said.
The organizing group also prioritized funding and checked their costing. They decided not to solicit and instead go for corporate sponsorship as they want to provide free tickets to the event and encourage attendees.
Sarmiento and three others even went to Las Vegas on a mission. The purpose of their visit was to encourage their batchmates already residing there to come home to Cebu and join their grand reunion.
Retro at 40
The theme for the Grand Reunion is “USC Boys Class ‘78 Goes Retro at 40”. It will be a five-day activity and some of the highlights to look forward to are Pinoy Olympics, Jamming Night, Feeding Program, Sportsfest with tennis, golf, billiard, table tennis and basketball tournaments.
Sarmiento said they expect 176 batchmates to attend their grand reunion. “We have batchmates coming from abroad, Luzon and other parts of the country. We want to maximize their stay here that is why we have outlined various activities for them to enjoy.”
For more details of the Grand Reunion, you may contact Steven Sasam of Green Concepts and Events at mobile +63.923.5223321 and +63.917.5787964. For activity schedules and latest updates, visit the official website of USC Boys High ‘78 at www.uscboyshigh78.wordpress.com or official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/uscboyshigh78. (Press Release)
