The Tipon Committee of SUACONA has announced that after several months of planning, it’s all systems go for Tipon Silliman 2011. This biennial gathering of Sillimanians in North America will be held in Fairbanks, Alaska on June 17-21, 2011. {{more}}
“This will be a new and exciting experience for Sillimanians,” said Betsy Merto Engle, president of the host chapter, Silliman University Alumni Association of Alaska, and also co-chair of the Tipon Committee. “Alaska is an exotic place that not too many people have been to. It offers a different kind of atmosphere, scenery, and activities.”
Faith Manigsaca Duran, Tipon Committee co-chair, shares the excitement awaiting the Tipon attendees in Alaska: “This event is purposely scheduled on these dates to experience and relish something that is unique to Alaska. These are the longest days of the year in the northern hemisphere, and everyone is looking forward to the strange phenomenon of the midnight sunlight. It’s practically 24-hour daylight at this time of the year.”
This will the sixth Tipon Silliman, and as in years past, has been a grand reunion that Sillimanians in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere around the world have always looked forward to. The 2011 event comes on the heels of a very successful Tipon 2009 in Orlando, Florida, which catered to alumni, friends and guests in unprecedented numbers.
“Tipon Silliman 2011 will be special because it will mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of SUACONA,” Zenaida Duran Bennett, SUACONA Chair, beams as she relates. “In a short span of a decade, we have come a long way, and so we want to celebrate with fellow alumni this important milestone.”
The theme for the upcoming gathering is a fitting affirmation of this milestone: “SUACONA–Celebrating a decade of growth and Christian stewardship.”
The first Tipon was held in 2001. Hosted by the Silliman Alumni Chapter of Chicago, this first convention resulted in the creation of the Silliman University Alumni Council of North America (SUACONA), an umbrella organization which would coordinate the activities of all alumni chapters in North America. It was also agreed that in order to sustain the enthusiasm and strengthen the bond among alumni chapters, Tipon will be held every two years. Without fail, and getting intensely better with each one, Tipon has steadfastly followed the prescribed timetable. The second Tipon was held in New York-New Jersey in 2003, the third was held in Anaheim, California in 2005, the fourth in Toronto, Ontario in 2007, and the fifth in Orlando, Florida in 2009.
In order to better manage each gathering, SUACONA has designated a Tipon Committee composed of representatives from chapters who have hosted the event. The co-chairs of this committee are Betsy Merto Engle and Faith Manigsaca Duran. The members are: Betsy Aya-ay Jackson, Evangeline Bravo Manjares, Rachel Tobias Alegado, Gedie Zamora Wilson, Joel Pal, and Zenaida Duran Bennett (ex-officio).
Details of Tipon Silliman 2011 are now posted in SUACONA’s website: www.suacona.com. This site will be updated from time to time as new developments come up – and there will be new exciting developments which will be announced periodically.
