June
5 2004
"A Party Worthy of Guests"
The night was festive and everyone in attendance including
the guests of honor, were curious ... just what kind of
night lay in store for them? After all, the hype surrounding
the party said "honor, roast, reflect" ... many
in the audience were wondering about the roast part —
for sure.
Some thought the night would be filled with 'BOT' and 'JORGE'
bashing ... but it wasn't. Instead, the night belonged to
the stars — the guests of honor!
"Dar and I agreed. We sure weren't spending all this
time and money to talk about people who we didn't invite
to the party ... instead, we opted to do what SHOULD have
been done since January; honor Dr. J and the rest of the
gang leaving the school."
With over 130 people RSVP 'd, and a few more showing up
last minute, the party had a little bit of something that
everyone could enjoy.
Even political big shot, Speaker Ben Pangelinan showed up
to present the ANCIENT ORDER of the Chammoro to those who
were relocating off-island. This special award is bestowed
only to select people deemed worthy of the honor to represent
GUAM as ambassadors.
Dr. Jenkins was also awarded a special legislative resolution
signed by all the senators as well as the Governor —
honoring him with a special respect that he truly deserved.
After a delicious meal and with most of the award ceremonies
finished, a special video was presented in honor of Dr.
Jenkins. If you missed it, we'll be broadcasting it on this
website shortly, so stay tuned.
Along with the prepared presentations, special speakers
came up to the stage to reflect on those individuals being
honored. Bob Kelly ever the talent of gab, made the crowd
laugh in delight as he told one amusing story after another.
Following Bob was former BOT president Mark Fish and former
BOT director Jere Johnson.
Mel Santos, lower school principal honored us by her presence
with her thoughtful and personal words for both Kedel and
Michelle. She even said a few good things about Dr. J, her
ol' time pal ...
Next up on the agenda was
the the LATE SHOW with Kaz Endo ... a mock 'late night show'
format where he would have each teacher come up for an 'interview'.
With some 'roasting' and some serious questions for all
the guests of honor, the interviews seemed to be a refreshing
way of informing the crowd what lay ahead in each of their
futures.
As the night wound down towards midnight, Dr. Jenkins was
asked to pick the winning raffle prize winners from the
box ... with the big prize of a trip for two to Manila,
Saipan, Bali, or Palau up for grabs,— the winner ended
up being Alex, a 2004 Senior...
The night ended with lots of photos and video moments and
many conversations to be cherished. 'Closure' seemed to
be the buzzword within the party. As for SJS Alumni President
Kaz Endo, he may have said it best in his closing address
to the audience "...Someday, when the school is better
... I would like to reconsider coming back to the community.
I would ask that those leaving share my sentiments. But
regardless of what happens, no one will forget your contributions
to the school. Thank you for all that you have done."
[Dr.
Shieh, Speaker Ben Pangelinan, Dr. J and Kaz Endo]
Dr. Jenkins is awarded the "Ancient Order of the Chamorro",
a special ambassadorship given to only
select individuals who have contributed to the community
and will be leaving off-island.
[Dr. Shieh, Speaker Ben Pangelinan, Rick Linkenhelt, Janette
Deagle, Berni Duckrow, Gretchen Hull, Dr. J and Helen Chu]
"So much talent will be leaving Guam for other parts
of the world. What a shame for Guam."
[Dr. Shieh, Speaker Ben Pangelinan, Rick Linkenhelt, Janette
Deagle, Berni Duckrow, Gretchen Hull, and Dr. J]
"The group shares a laugh as Kaz cracks a joke off-stage."
[Rick, Doug, Helen, Dale, Berni, Janette, Ellen, Kedel,
Gretchen and Michelle]
"See you guys! We sure will miss you all."
Ten huge
3 feet by 3 feet posters of each teacher leaving were displayed
and available for 'signing' by over 120 guests attending
the event. The teachers leaving were then presented the
posters as a gift from the SJS Alumni Association.
[Jere Johnson, Dr. J, Kaz Endo, Janette Deagle and Ngirai
Tmechual]
"Way to screw up a great picture opportunity Dr. J!
You're posing like Berni now!"
[Kaz
Endo and Mrs. Dar Johnson]
"Taking a quick break from the party activities."
"Old buddies sharing a quick photo opportunity."
" 1AM ... whew it's over! We did it! "
Special
Edition "Tribute to Dedication" T-shirt
Want one?
We still have a few more! Just email us, you might get lucky!
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