OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE FILIPINO AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN October 2014

W OW….What a night! What a fantastic, glorious, glamorous and totally rockin’, incredible

night. If you weren’t at THE EVENT of the year on Saturday, September 20, well then you missed out…. BIG TIME! This year’s FAAWIS annual Dinner Dance Gala, held at the beautiful Calatrava, was a smashing suc-cess, with 356 attending guests. Guests started to arrive, dressed to dazzle, at 5:30pm. Upon arriving, attendees visited the registration table to register and buy raffle tickets. Top raffle prizes of the night in-cluded an iPad Air, an iPad Mini and a 42 inch screen TV. While guests were busy registering and finding their table assignments, attendees were allowed to “browse and shop” at our extensive, lavish “Silent Auction”, with a wide array of goodies, ranging from jewelry to restaurant vouchers; spa and hotel pack-ages; various and unique gift baskets and even a Vegas vacation package! The display was vast and everyone enjoyed browsing the wares and checking up on their “bid for” items to make sure they weren’t outbid by someone else. I think a little competition ensued! It was even fun for those who chose to just “window shop”. Oh, and the beautiful artwork that was displayed in our 2014 FAAWIS Community Art Show. The theme was a study in the art

of giving. Twenty-five wonderfully talented community artists showcased their amazing works in one of the grand galleries of the Milwaukee Art Museum to a very apprecia-tive crowd during the Dinner Dance this year. Original works of art lined both sides of the beautiful Baumgartner Galleria. Against the backdrop of Lake Michigan,

hundreds of guests strolled through the gal-lery, many stopping to absorb a captivating work, to talk with the artists, to snap a pic-ture, even to purchase or offer to purchase a piece that they found fascinating. Beyond the gift of sharing their talents, those artists that sold work generously donated 20% of their sales to FAAWIS for community out-reach. The artwork consisted of fine art photography, mixed media, oil, pastel, India ink, pencil and sculptured works capturing the beauty of Wisconsin, the beauty of the world around us, the beauty of the human form and soul, and the everyday, all in their own unique way. Many of the pieces also captured iconic Filipino culture; from the jeepney to the bayanihan hut, to the mytho-logical creation of the Philippine Islands. Even a stunning floral display shared the story of the Ibong Adarna. Some art was even shipped in from around the country by native Wisconsinites for this event. The artists themselves ranged from those just learning to express their artistic visions, to those that had studied at major art institutes throughout the world. Everything came together, with the diligence and hard work of everyone who participated, to showcase a spectacular celebration of Filipino culture and community. To add to the "art theme", guests were treated to an on-the-spot photo shoot, cour-tesy of photographer, Mr. Joel Singson. Oh the smiles that appeared when families re-ceived . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . continued on pg. 3

FAAWIS DINNER DANCE AT THE CALATRAVA By Amy Schemenauer

Ninette Santos Outstanding Community Service Award recipient Irene Stewart (2nd from

left) with Isabelle Kayla Chico, Dale Stewart, Dr. Violeta Singson, & Dr. May Azcueta

Presidential Award recipient Zen Edralin

with President Joyce Coury and

Dr. Marie Rebancos

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I have never been more excited to write my message, than now. The reason for my ex-citement is the recent success of our annual Dinner Dance Gala this past September 20th. The event took place at the wor ld- renowned

Milwaukee Art Museum and truly the venue did not disappoint. A marvelous 90-foot-high glass rooftop, a floor-to-ceiling window over looking Lake Michigan, clean and crisp white walls – the place was beaming with elegance and grandeur. But what I’m most proud of is the turnout and support from the Filipino-American community – a smashing record of 356 of the most beautiful people that night. And I am not kidding when I say that I had to turn down some last minute requests. Thank you very much to all who came and attended our most successful Dinner Dance ever. Please accept our sincere apologies to those who were not able to attend. And because our Dinner Dance Gala is also our once a year effort to raise funds for FAAWIS, I would like to share that we raised a whole lot of money for the Organi-zation. Yehey and yahoo! Mission accom-plished! This is in part due to the very successful Grand Raffle and Silent Auction with a total of 95, yes ninety-five, fantastic items that included jewelry, art, gift certificates, ser-vices, sports and other event tickets from our local stores, restaurants and community part-

ners. Thank you to all who participated, I hope you are all happy with your pur-chases. Thank you to all who generously donated whether through raffle prizes, adver-tising, patron sponsorship and even to those who shared their precious time and talents, May God continue to bless you and your good heart. Special Thank you for the lead-ership of Ms. Becky Abraham. Without your guidance and energy we would have been lost. Thank you to Becky’s angels (you know who you are) for sharing your time and working hard behind the scenes. A shout out goes to Deacon Art Ysmael for your artistic flair. Everything came together so beautifully. What is an Art Museum without ART? We are so proud to say that 25 Filipino American artists also came to showcase their artwork. The Baumgartner Galleria was filled with tables and easels of different art-works from our most talented local artists. Some were even lucky enough to sell their

artwork. Kudos to Mr. Tom Hey for putting it altogether and thank you to all our artists for shar-ing your talents. We were very impressed. Finally as we are draw-ing to the year end. I would like to invite you to some important events. First, November 21st to 23rd, come celebrate the culture of the artisan at the 2014 Holiday Folk Fair International. This year FAAWIS will be participating in the Cultural Booth, International Bazaar (Market Place), World Café (Food Booth) and in the Music Pavilion where our very own FAAWIS Dance Troupe, under the di-rection of Mrs. Sheila Jackson, will be per-forming. For those who are looking to help out --- We are still in need of volunteers in our food, cultural and marketplace booths and in the two-day food preparation on Nov 15-16 at the Marian Center. If you are interested in helping on any of these dates please email faawis @gmail.com or call me at (414) 562 7201. We would love to have you. Second, save the date for our Annual Brunch with Santa, Sunday, December 7th. This year’s venue will be at the Milwaukee Country Club. One special attraction will be a musical presentation from our little ones, the Munting Tinig Choir. Preparations are already underway for their end of the year performance. I am so looking forward to it! To give back to our community, children ages 12 and under can attend and eat for FREE! They will also be getting a special gift from Santa. More informa-tion to follow, please stay tuned or contact Committee Chair Mimi Ballesteros. Other important events to watch: Election of New Board Members 2015-2016 and FAAWIS and Friends Simbang Gabi at St. Alphonsus on De-cember 19th. Please watch your email, as information will be shared. I would like to end this mes-sage by leaving you with this blessing: May the Peace and Joy of this Holiday Season be yours through the New Year and may your Season be filled with beautiful moments and cherished memories.

From our Family to Yours,

Joyce, Richard, Kelly, Gavin,

Mark & Michael Coury

President’s Corner

Joyce Coury

PEDIATRIC & ADULT

MEDICINE ASSOCIATES, SC

535 N 27th Street

Milwaukee, WI 53208

Telephone: (414) 345-3000

FAX: (414) 345-3001

Violeta A. Singson, MD

Save the DatesSave the DatesSave the DatesSave the Dates Holiday Folk Fair: Nov. 21-23 Wisconsin State Fair Park 640 South 84th St., West Allis

FAAWIS Christmas Party: Dec. 7 Wisconsin Club 6200 W. Good Hope Rd., Milwaukee

FAAWIS Simbang Gabi Dec.19 St. Alphonsus Church 6060 W Loomis Rd. Greendale

WEBSITE: www.faawis.org

EMAIL: faawis@gmail.com

President Joyce Coury and Friends at the Dinner Dance Gala President Joyce Coury and Friends at the Dinner Dance Gala

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their complimentary photo presented in a beautiful photo folder, cre-ated by Dr. Violeta Singson. Before dinner was served, MCs Renee and Donald Mondano started things off by introducing the two national anthems. Amy Sche-menauer led off singing the Philippine National Anthem, Lupang Hinirang. Mr. Richard Coury followed by beautifully singing the American National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. These num-bers were just a warm up. They were followed by Sheila Jackson’s rendition of America the Beautiful, which was both sweet and moving, starting off the entertainment for the evening. While attendees ate their delicious meals, numerous musical acts were performed, as is Filipino custom. Diners were treated to delightful solos and rousing, boisterous dance numbers, by various community singers and dance groups. One of the highlights of this exciting event was the presentation of the Ninette Santos Outstanding Com-munity Service Award, which was awarded to a very deserving Mrs. Irene Stewart. What a blessed and meaningful tribute was given to Irene by the Azcueta family and Dr. Violeta Singson, complete with a wonderful slide-show. Con-gratulations to Irene Stewart for a job well done and for all she does for our community. Maraming, maraming salamat po! While the dancing was under way, raffle prizes were drawn and winners announced. Congrats to those LUCKY souls that won this year’s coveted prizes…you know who you are!! Good luck next year to everyone else. Finally, the very success-ful Silent Auction was closed and the “winners” were posted on large boards. Those who had bid the highest on their items came to collect and pay for their “loot”. How excited everyone seemed when they saw their names in the “winners” slots. Not enough praise or thanks can be given to our hard-working Silent Auction Committee, led by Becky Abraham and Dr. Elma Racadio, and all those generous individuals that donated the abundant array of goods. The amount of time and energy they ex-pended organizing this portion of the dance is mind boggling. Thank you! While we're thanking peo-ple, special kudos go out to the never-tiring Dinner Dance Committee, led by president, Joyce Coury. Everyone worked so hard. It was an exquisite evening that will remain in our minds and hearts for a long time to come; a night to remember and cherish. FAAWIS is truly blessed with wonderful lead-ership!

FAAWIS DINNER DANCE continued from pg. 1

“More photos at www.faawis.org"

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Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to PCCCF whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. Support the PCCCF/Free Medical Clinic by

starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com. Select the Philippine Cultural & Civic Center Foundation

under organizations.

YOU SHOP, AMAZON GIVES.

Irene Stewart, Recipient of the

Ninette Santos Outstanding Com-

munity Service Award By Patrick Moloney

I rene Patolot Stewart was a most deserving recipient of this year’s Ninette Santos Outstanding Community Service Award.

The presentation of this year’s award featured video testimonials from community members who have witnessed and been recipi-

ents of Irene’s generosity, kind-heartedness, dedication to selfless volunteering, and organizational skills, particularly in coordinating fund raising events in times of need. Some of the many activities she has helped coordinate are: fund rais-ing to help pay for a kidney trans-plant for Rose Rick’s nephew, Chris-topher, who was diagnosed with kid-ney failure; a memorial service for Jocelyn Domblesky; assisting Anne Benthien in fundraising $1,500 to

send goods and supplies to needy children in Bacolod City, Phil-ippines; helping coordinate a variety of fund raising events and ultimately a memorial service for Ellen Mira who passed away in 2004 after battling aplastic anemia for almost five years; and assisting Ellen’s family negotiate the bureaucratic maze in claim-ing Ellen’s life insurance. Irene’s selfless generosity can also be seen in her commitment to provide, one Saturday once every two months at her own ex-pense, a sumptuous lunch of gratitude to up to 25 Free Medical Clinic volunteers at the Philippine Center. Irene has worked for many years as the chief financial officer for Metro Home Health Services Inc., and through her influence Metro has hired many other Filipinos and allowed its facilities to be used for various Philippine Community fund raising events. Irene is originally from Caloocan City. In 1986 she graduated from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila cum laude with a Bachelor of Science, Accounting Major. In 1987 she married her pen pal sweetheart, Dale. Dale and Irene have five wonderful children: Dianne, Emil, Nathan, Serena and Samuel.

All Nations Bible Church Led by Pastor Paul Clemente

will be again leading a Christian Worship Service at the Holiday Folk Fair on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on

November 23, 2014. We plan on singing at least one worship song in Tagalog.

Come and join. Any questions, email Pastor Paul at anbc@juno.com

Watch "After all the terrible things I do" Please watch "After all the terrible things I do" a play writ-ten by Filipino American Rey Pamatmat and directed by May Adrales. The play is a “heart-wrenching and deeply personal look at the shared pasts and second chances”. The play will be at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater through November 9. Any group interested in going can call: Joy Surber at

(414) 290-5340 to look at prices and availability on any particular day.

T he PMA-W Auxiliary and its predecessor, the Philippine Medical Society Auxiliary, has a long proud history in Milwaukee. The

focus of each group was to teach their cultural heritage to the children, to give back to the Milwaukee community and to support the Philippine Medical Association. Many capable and dedicated leaders led the Auxil-iary and each president left a positive mark on the membership.

Recently, the Auxiliary has seen a shrinking membership, due in part to competition from other civic groups for people willing to serve. After serious reflection and a deep concern for the Auxiliary's future, the Board laid out a plan this past summer. 1) Schedule a General Meeting on August 3, 2014 following the annual picnic 2) Seek nominations for a 2015-2016 slate of officers 3) Contact all members by postal mail and by e-mail 4) Advise the PMA-W Board in advance that the Auxiliary's future will be decided at the August 3 meeting The meeting began with words of praise for all of the Auxiliary's years of successful programing in the Milwaukee area. Unfortunately, the Board could not present a slate of officers because no one had responded to their appeal to serve. After a lengthy discussion of possible options, the group came to the difficult decision to dissolve the Auxiliary. A motion was made and passed to dissolve the Auxiliary. A motion was made and passed to donate $7,000 to the PCCCF, ear-marked for two flagpoles in front of the Philippine Center at Zablocki Park, along with the naming rights. A motion was made and passed to donate the balance of $697.20 to the Feed the Hungry Mission in Binmaley, Pangasinan in honor of the late Virginia Vinluan, two-term past president. The Board is grateful to everyone who attended the final meeting and helped design the Auxiliary's final act of "giving back". The American and Filipino flags flying proudly over the Philippine Center today, represent the unique collaboration between the Philippine Center and the Milwaukee County Parks and Recreation Department. The flag poles are a lasting legacy to the Auxiliary leaders and members who created its proud history.

PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN AUXILIARY TAKES ITS FINAL BOW By Linda Ravelo, 2014 PMA-W Auxiliary President

Bulalakaw 5

I t’s been a busy month for the nurses! On the morning of October 18, we had our annual Fall Educational Conference at Froedtert Hospital. Our

education committee diligently assembled expert speakers: Sol Atienza Yoder on the topic of melanoma, Cibele Pinto from Otsuka Pharmaceuti-cals on hyponatremia in SIADH and heart failure, and Harvey Padek gave

an inspirational speech on living a more fulfilling life with a chronic con-dition. Delilah Dijamco talked about The Roadmap to Retirement. The Annual General Assembly and Membership Drive followed in the after-noon from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the same venue. It was highlighted by the creation of the PNA WI Scholarship Award from the generous dona-tion of Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals. On October 25, we hosted our annual Spooktacular Fest at the Philip-pine Center from 5pm to 9pm. There were trick or treat, arts and crafts, a raffle, a photo studio and a costume contest. Tom Kainz, Deacon Art Ys-mael and Becky Abraham comprised the board of judges. Marivic Gilbert in a sexy pirate costume won the Queen of the Night and her husband took the King of the Night for his buccaneer’s outfit. Prince and Princess of the night were also awarded to the best in costume for boy and girl. PNA WI also participated at the Health Fair on August 23 held at the Philippine Center grounds. We are looking forward to our annual Christ-mas Party on December 6, 2014 at the VMP Trinity Village. For more info, check us out at www.pnawi.org.

Asuncion Miteria Austria PhD, Professor Emerita of Psychology

Asuncion Miteria Austria, PhD, Professor Emerita of Psychol-ogy, Founding Chair and Director of Clinical Training of the Graduate Program in Clinical Psychol-ogy, received the 2014 Sue

Rosenberg Zalk Award for Distin-

guished Service from The Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35) of the American Psychological Association at the APA Convention held in Washington, DC in August 2014. The Zalk award is “In recognition of her long and distinguished service to SPW, to APA, and to the profes-sion. Siony is one on the most dedicated, most respected, and longest-serving member of SPW’s Executive Committee. She has chaired committees and task forces and represented SPW on APA Council. She prefers to avoid the limelight and to focus her considerable energy on promoting other women’s careers. She is a wonderful colleague, role model, mentor, and friend, and a strong and effective voice for feminism, equality, and social jus-tice for all.” Dr. Austria is a recipient of numerous awards, among which is the 2007 APA Presidential Citation, the 2007 Distinguished

Elder/Senior Psychologist Award from the American Psycho-logical Association National Multicultural Conference and Sum-mit (NMCS), and the 2006 Award for Distinguished Leader-

ship for Women in Psychology. From Cardinal Stritch University, Dr. Austria received the Cardinal Stritch University 2010 Distinguished Scholar

Award for her scholarly activities which are at the forefront of her discipline. In 2007 she also received The Teaching Excel-

lence and Campus Leadership Award, recognized for model

classroom teaching, campus leadership, pioneering teaching

methodology, and creative course development and instructional

support.”

The 2012 Asuncion Miteria Austria and John Robinson

Distinguished Mentoring Award was created by the Society of the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (APA Division 45) in honor of Drs. Austria and Robinson for their distinguished contributions to the governance of the American Psychological Association and for their outstanding mentoring of ethnic minority psychologists into governance roles. The award is given annually during the American Psychological Annual Convention. Dr. Austria is a Fellow of five APA divisions and is currently Chair of the Fellows Committee of the Society for the APA Psy-chology of Women and Chair of the Finance Committee as well as the Governance Committee for the APA Society for the Psy-chological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race (Division 45).

BulalakawBulalakawBulalakawBulalakaw

Editor in Chief: Patrick Moloney

Advertising Committee:

Amy Schemenauer, Sol Yoder, Tom Hey

Layout: Mario Ballesteros

Photos: Edgar Catacutan, Ed Escall

Submit Articles and News Events to:

patrickmoloney2@yahoo.com

PNA WI Happenings by Gem Cubos

Save the Date: Philippine Consulate on Wheels at the Philippine

Center on November 15, 2014 at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Consular Services offered:

Voter Registration (Presidential Election in May

2016), Passport and Visa, Birth & Marriage Regis-

tration, Notarization of Documents.

Thank you to all the artists who participated in the

2014 FAAWIS

Community Art Show at the FAAWIS Dinner Dance

●Pete Arteche ●Steve Benthien ●Amelia Catacutan ●Edgar Catacutan ●Chris Guzman ●Tracey K. Hey ●Dannika Jackson ●Braydon Jackson ●Jylian Jackson

●Matthew Lemes ●Mikey Lemes ●Roger Mendoza ●Séamus Moloney ●Alexandrea Nicolet ●Gigi Nicolet ●E. Raquel Racadio ●Carisse Ramos ●Gerry Ramos

●Jojo Ramos ●Ryan Ramos ●Tess Rivera ●Kevin Tenorio ●Cody Tilistyak ●Arturo Ysmael ●Young Artists of FAAWIS

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UPAA-W Scholar Announced Sierra Lomo, a graduate of Walden III High School, Racine, with a 4.05 GPA and ranked 1/76 was recently named by the UPAA-W as the recipi-ent of the $1,000 Guansing-Regala scholarship for 2014. Sierra is the daughter of Lowell (Filipino) and JoAnn Lomo. She lives with her brother and her mother, who works at Hospice Alliance. The Schol-arship Committee used criteria based on merit and financial need in the selection of the recipient. Aside from the UPAA-W award, Sierra is receiving the Diversity Achievement Award from UW Eau Claire where she is taking courses leading to a degree in materials science. A gifted young artist, she worked for two successive years as Young Artist for the city of Racine; she par-ticipated in the U.S. Academic Decathlons for two years as an honors competitor, was a tutor in French for two years, volunteered and donated time to vari-ous organizations. Eligibility and application requirements for the UPAA-W Guansing-Regala scholarship have been modified for the year 2015. The maximum family income requirement has been dropped and the re-quirement to submit a 2014 1040 tax return has been made optional. The eligibility requirements include: 1) Filipino parentage, 2) Resident of Wisconsin, 3) GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, 4) Graduating from a Wisconsin high school and admitted to a degree/certificate program at a fully accredited pub-lic/private institution (2-year technical and continu-ing to 4-year or 4-year bachelor’s program). The selection criteria are still based on merit plus finan-cial need. The UPAA-W Tulod-Printz scholarship is a sec-ond $1000 award offered to Wisconsin students with Filipino parentage and selection criteria based on combined merit and financial need. Applicants for this scholarship must be either an undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate college student. Details on these scholarships can be found on the UPAA-W website (www.upaaw.org).

The Barber TGY Style

In Southridge Mall 5300 S. 76TH ST. #420 GREENDALE, WI

(1st floor, next to Old Navy)

Saturdays 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

"By appointments only”

Cell: (414) 232-0531

Call/text Salon: (414) 421-9620

Email: Rubylync@hotmail.com

RUBY

FILIPINO HAIRSTYLIST

COLORIST/AESTHETICIAN

A Tribute to Filipino-American

Veterans By Cream Pepito

Marquette University has offered our community a chance to recognize and honor Filipino-American veterans during one of the NCAA Big East Women's Basketball games in January. This will take place on January 11, 2015 at the Al McGuire Center. Marquette was a major sponsor dur-ing MacArthur Memorial Week. They are also com-mitted to helping build relationships across real or perceived social divides. If you know of a Filipino-American veteran, please send their information to creamheld@yahoo.com. Please include name, service details, and contact infor-mation. We want to recognize and honor as many veterans as possible. Your help is greatly appreciated.

UPAAUPAAUPAAUPAA----WWWW Christmas

Party

Date: Dec. 13, 2014

Join UPAA-W for

dinner and top-

notch entertain-

ment on Dec. 13

during the UPAA-

W Annual Christmas Party.

Contact any UPAA-W

member now to ensure you

don't miss this event!

Louis S. Crisostomo is 90 years young on Dec 7. He recently spoke for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Military Historians

Club “The Bugle Call” – ‘Honoring those who served by preserving their stories of combat and sur-vival’. Louis fought with the Filipino guer-illas in WWII. Under direct orders from Gen Douglas MacArthur, his first-hand stories were of his involve-

ment in the planning and rescue of allied pris-oners of war including more than 3,000 for-eign and American hostages at the University of Santo Tomas internment camp.

Isabel Maria Piana celebrated her 45th Reunion dur-ing the Homecoming Week at Mount Mary University.

Isabel Maria Piana, M.A. Director: Archdiocesan Teacher Resource Center Mount Mary University 2900 N. Menomonee River Pkwy. Milwaukee, WI 53222 (414) 258-4810 ext. 240

Delilah Dejamco I would like to share this award that I re-ceived on October 11 at Los Angeles. I was given the President’s Award by the Philippine Heritage Institute International in Los Angeles CA for Outstanding Fili-pino American Community Leadership in the Financial Professional category. The ceremony was held at Double Tree by Hil-ton Los Angeles, CA The Philippine Heritage Institute Inter-national was founded in 1989 as a private, non -profit organization, whose main ob-jective is to improve the quality of life

affecting Filipino American communities through research, education and recogni-tion of the accomplishment of Filipino Americans that make significant contribu-tions to the Filipino American experience.

Sierra Lomo

Bulalakaw 7

T here’s no doubt about it, these are challenging times in which we live. If you’ve lost sleep in recent

months due to stress about paying for college, having enough money for retirement, or even keeping the roof over your head, you are not alone. With so many compo-nents outside of your control, it’s easy to feel adrift without a lifeboat. And since many experts say the economy’s in-stability is the one thing we can count on for the indefinite future, taking action now to help strengthen your financial position is essential. Five steps you may want to consider taking immediately: 1. Don’t panic and pull out. Most financial experts agree now is not the time to simply stop investing or cease con-tributions to your retirement plans. That’s especially true if your target retirement date is ten or more years away. Re-visit your portfolio, your risk tolerance and how to reallo-cate funds if necessary to minimize losses and maximize gains. 2. Pay off unsecured debt. Now is the time to pay down credit card and student loan debt. Trim your budget to make extra pay-ments. Set a target goal date to become debt free once and for all. 3. Save, Save, Save. If the worst happens and you lose your job, do you have enough savings to carry you through? If not, start socking away at least 10% of your income if at all possible. In this economy, it could take six months or more to find a compa-rable new job, so six to eight month’s living expenses should be your target goal. 4. Review your insurance coverage. Now is the time to review, update or purchase insurance policies to make sure you are ade-quately covered. If you have neglected to purchase life insur-ance or disability insurance, it’s time to explore the benefits of these important financial safeguards. 5. Inquire about annuities. With many retirement account bal-ances taking a tumble in recent months, searching out ways to establish a secure guaranteed stream of income during retirement is important. Variable annuities offer a wide range of profession-ally managed investment options, guaranteed death benefits, and a variety of payout options including guaranteed income for life. Surviving the recent economic storm is difficult, but not im-possible. It will take discipline, planning, and yes, even courage. But the good news is, taking positive, proactive steps now can help put you back in the helm and keep your financial dreams afloat for years to come. Investors should consider the contract and the underlying port-folios’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses care-fully before investing. This and other important information is contained in the prospectuses, which can be obtained from your financial professional. Please read the prospectuses carefully before investing. Variable annuities are appropriate for long-term investing and designed for retirement purposes. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's unit values, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Withdrawals or surrenders may be subject to con-tingent deferred sales charges (CDSC). Withdrawals and distri-butions of taxable amounts are subject to ordinary income tax and, if made prior to age 59 ½, may be subject to an additional 10% federal income tax penalty. Withdrawals, for tax purposes,

are deemed to be gains out first. Withdrawals can reduce the liv-ing benefit, death benefit and account value. Optional benefits have certain investment, holding period, liquidity and withdrawal limitations and restrictions; you should see the prospectus for more information. Our products contain exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits and terms for keeping them in force. Your licensed fi-nancial professional can provide you with costs and complete details. Insurance is issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America and its affiliates, Newark, NJ. Variable annuities are issued by Pruco Life Insurance Company (in New York, by Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey), Newark, NJ and distributed by Prudential Annuities Distributors, Inc., Shelton, CT. All are Prudential Financial companies and each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obli-gations. Variable annuities offered by Prudential Financial Companies are available at an annual cost of 0.65% to 1.65% for mortality expense & administration fees, with an additional fee related to the professional investment options. The fees will vary depend-ing on the underlying annuity and investment options selected. Payments of guaranteed principal and income, as well as liv-ing and death benefit guarantees, are contingent upon the claims-paying ability of the issuing company. Guarantees do not apply to the investment performance or safety of the underlying subac-counts in the variable annuity. Optional living and death benefits are available for an additional fee and may not be available in all states and may not be elected in conjunction with certain optional benefits. The fees are in addition to fees and charges associated with the basic annuity. See the prospectus for complete details. 0217612-00001-00, Ed 09/08/2014, Exp 02/28/2016 Provided courtesy of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Newark, NJ. For more information, contact Delilah Di-jamco,MBA, a Financial Professional with The Prudential Insur-ance Company of America's Greater Wisconsin Financial Group agency located in Wauwatosa, WI. Delilah Dijamco's private of-fice is located in Belgium, WI. She can be reached at deli-lah.dijamco@prudential.com and (262) 476-5084.

NAVIGATING UNCHARTERED WATERS:

HOW TO STAY FINANCIALLY AFLOAT IN A SEA OF FISCAL UNCERTAINTY

Bulalakaw 8

FAAWIS

504 Cambridge Avenue

Waukesha, WI 53188-4657

T he raising of the American and Phil-ippine flags on September 27th was a historic event. This was the first

time that the two flags have flown side by side on government property, in the state of Wisconsin. It was a thrill to watch this ceremony complete the partnership that started several years ago between the Mil-waukee County Parks System and the PCCCF. The beautiful flag poles welcome visitors

to our Philippine Center and were made possible through the generous contribution of the Philippine Medical Association of

Wisconsin Auxiliary. The PCCCF board members and officers, dressed in tradi-tional Filipino costumes, were joined by dignitaries that in-cluded the American Legion Post 416, Milwaukee Parks Director John Dargle, Philip-pine Vice-Consul Ricarte Abe-juela III, Greenfield Mayor Michael Neitzke, Milwaukee County Board Supervisor John Weishan Jr., Kaye Garcia rep-resenting Forest County Po-tawatomi Foundation and Jim

Marks, the former Vice President of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The raising of the flags was accompanied by the voices of our Munting Tinig Chil-dren’s Choir singing the Star Spangled Ban-ner and the Philippine National Anthem, Lupang Hinirang. The choir is under the direction of Jojo Ramos and assisted by

Amy Sche-m e n a u e r , M a n i k a Clemente and Noni Di-jamco. As the two flags w a v e d proudly in the air, our outside program ended with a 21 gun salute fired by the American Legion. The program then moved indoors to pro-vide a more personal setting for the remarks by our honored guests, more selections by our choir, a solo rendition of Bayan Ko by Camille Ramos Rhodes, and the closing re-marks by PCCCF Chairman of the Board, Dr. Henry Ravelo. The festivities ended with a traditional merienda featuring Filipino deli-cacies. We look forward to the installation of a memorial plaque near the flag poles which will forever memorialize this event and this partnership.

FLAG RAISING CEREMONY AT PHILIPPINE CULTURAL & CIVIC CENTER, ZABLOCKI PARK SEPTEMBER 27, 2014 By Mareta Prill