• PETER’S PINOY PATTER — JANUARY 2021

    Bridge Generation

    (Today’s Bridge Generation – now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s – are a rapidly declining population. Over the years, most members of these American born children of the first wave of Filipino immigrants have passed away.  To remember their contributions to the history of Filipinos in America, a deceased BG individual has been a recurring feature of this blog. This issue features Roy Flores, higher education executive, Filipino American activist,  die-hard sports buff, and devotee of the finer things in life.  November 19, 1943-March 12, 2013.)

    Roy’s career in higher education spanned forty years beginning in 1972 when, at the relatively young age of 29, he was named the first director of the Ethnic Cultural Center at the University of Washington. He went on to serve ten years as Assistant Director, Washington State Board of Community College Education.  His long tenure as Vice President of Student Development Services  at North Seattle Community College began in 1984 and ended with his retirement in 2009.  At the time of his retirement, Roy was the longest serving Vice President in the state’s community college system. For his distinguished service at NSCC, a 44,000 square foot facility was posthumously named the “Roy Flores Wellness Center” in his honor.  The Center’s dedication on November 14, 2014 was attended by scores of Roy’s family, relatives, friends, and colleagues.

    I met Roy in 1970 at the home of Fred and Dorothy Cordova, shortly after my family’s move to Seattle. He was part of a group of Bridge Generation Filipino Americans at the Cordova’s to support another Filipino seeking public office. This was the beginning of the “Young Turks” (dubbed by Filipino Community of Seattle president Sylvestre Tangalan) — a close-knit, politically-savvy group of activists who would become my close friends. Their goal — to help the Filipino community become part of the Seattle sociopolitical mainstream. Over the years, Roy worked on political campaigns of Filipino Americans Tony Baruso, Bob Santos, Dolores Sibonga, and your faithful blogger — balancing activism with his positions in higher education. He also served with community organizations such as Filipino Youth Activities of Seattle, Washington State Human Rights Commission, Seattle Urban League, and the Governor’s Task Force on Washington Learns.

    Roy was a sports buff who loved all sports, especially the athletic exploits of his alma mater — O’Dea High School.  But he didn’t always follow his favorite team.  Once, along with his brother Larry Flores, he flew to San Francisco at the last minute to watch a high school basketball tournament consisting of teams he barely knew.  Roy also was player/coach and manager of the successful Pinoy softball team that won several Seattle City League championships and tournaments during the early 1980s.  Not only did Pinoy fans celebrate the team’s successes, they celebrated with extra vigor when larger, physically imposing players on opposing teams watched in disbelief at the power and athleticism of the smaller Pinoys. (Peter Jr. was the team’s third baseman; his five sisters, Mom, and Dad were among his and the team’s loudest fans.)

    As to Roy’s interests in the finer things in life.  He was a debonair dresser who wore the latest in men’s styles.  He enjoyed jazz, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop music equally. He was an avid reader of books on leadership. He was a seasoned traveler to warm weather destinations, especially Hawaii.  Roy loved trivia. Finally, he was an unabashed prankster with unsuspecting friends!

    The eldest of five children of Severo and Josephine Flores, Roy moved with his family from New Orleans to Seattle at a young age.  He went to Catholic schools at St. Teresa grade school and O’Dea High School before earning a Bachelor in Marketing and a Master of Adult Education at Seattle University. He is survived by his wife Angie (Quintero) Flores; daughters Shawna, Dina, and Marisa; grandchildren Nathan, Marius, Makai, and Miguel; and siblings Larry, Linda, David (deceased), and Teresa.

    Happy January Birthdays

    Al Baguio, Leatrice (Bantillo) Perez, Frank Carido, Beverly (Daquioag) Ventura, Nina (Dublin) Gonzalez, Larry Flores, George Jamero, George Ramirez

     

    Pinakbet — News Across America

    Meet Four Filipino-American Achievers

     

    Cecilia Aragon is the author of Flying Free, a memoir of her journey from a fearful child, to an airshow pilot, and to a daredevil stunt pilot. Today, she is a professor at the University of Washington.

     

     

     

    Las Vegas Raiders teammates Oklahoma native and running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Walker from Maryland have been named to the NFL Pro Bowl. Click HERE for more details.

     

     

     

    Jenette Ramos, Boeing Company executive who started out as a summer employee while an undergraduate student at Washington State University, is joining the WSU Board of Regents.

    Did You Know

    Todd Gloria, of Filipino, Latino, and Native American ancestry, was elected mayor of San Diego on November 3.  As mayor, he will preside over California’s second largest city and the nation’s eighth largest municipality………..Why does America have the most Filipino nurses than any other foreign country?  According to professor/author Catherine (Ceniza) Choy of the University of California, Berkeley, “It’s because they have similar professional nursing training and have fluency in the English language.”………. Congratulations to Mike Magpayo for being named head football coach at U.C. Riverside — the first Filipino to serve as head coach of an NCAA, Division 1 university……… Thanks to the City of Watsonville CA for its formal apology on November 24 to the Filipino people for the mob violence that led to the 1930 murder of Fermin Tobera……….. Speaking of the plight of farmworkers, the current exhibit at Stanford University by journalist/photographer David Bacon is not-to-be-missed.

    Corrections to December Blog:

    Judge Lillian Lim was reported to be the first Filipino American judge appointed in California.  Actually, Los Angeles Judge Mel Recana, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 1982, was the first. Also appointed by Governor Brown was San Francisco Judge Ronald Quidachay in 1983.  Judge Lim, appointed in 1996 was the third. (Thanks for the correction, Juanita Tamayo Lott and Ron Quidachay.) ……….. Cora and Santos Beloy of San Francisco were inadvertently omitted among those recording an English version of the Philippine classic “Dahil Sa Yo”.  (Thanks to David Urbiztondo of Fresno, CA)

     

    Musings

    Election Takeaways

    Impeached President Donald Trump continued his failed efforts to nullify the presidential election.  Of more than sixty lawsuits brought by Trump, only one case was upheld.  The remaining court cases were all dismissed, including two unanimous 9-0 U.S. Supreme Court rulings on December 8 and 11.  Regardless, Trump’s efforts to overturn the election by falsely claiming voter fraud continued to embolden his base. Polls reported 77% of Republicans believe the election was rigged.  At the same time, the president has refused to formally recognize President-elect Joe Biden‘s election victory. Trump’s inept actions have resulted in increased chaos and divisiveness — so divisive that public officials across America have been subjected to death threats and protests at their offices and even their homes.

    Covid-19

    A scientific miracle!!  After research-based biopharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderno reported 95% success rates in clinical trials, Americans began to be vaccinated on December 14!!!  While basic coronavirus vaccine research began more than 20 years ago, the Covid-19 vaccine was developed only nine months after the onset of the virus in America! Truly a scientific miracle!!

    States are responsible for distributing the vaccine within federal CDC guidelines that consist of three major priority phases, each with several categories.  Phase 1: frontline people who work or reside at acute care, psychiatric, and correctional facility hospitals; skilled nursing facilities; and assisted living facilities.  Phase 2: persons with significant illnesses, essential workers who cannot telework, teachers and school staff, older adults, people in homeless shelters, and incarcerated persons and staff.  Phase 3: the general public, by far the largest group, who will begin to be vaccinated in late spring or early summer 2001.

    I have several concerns about the prioritization plan. We already know that persons with status infected with the virus received anti-body treatments not available to the general public — including Trump, his wife, two of his children, his personal attorney Rudy Guliani, and more than thirty persons within his circle. Will black and brown persons, infected at 2-3 times that of whites, be of high priority in receiving the vaccine? Will farmworkers — first in America’s food chain — be included within the essential workers category? Will front line black and brown persons in food and transportation industries be considered as essential workers?  Or will political, wealth, or celebrity status prevail?

    Record highs in Covid hospitalizations and deaths continued to surge as a result of the high number of travelers and resultant large gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday.  To date, 334,000 Americans have died. One American is dying every 30 seconds.  According to Industry State of Health Statistics, the Covid-19 death rate for the U.S. is much higher than other countries, including South Korea, Thailand, Japan, India, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.  Upon learning of the airline industry’s prediction of eight million passengers during the holiday season, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, predicted record highs  in hospitalizations and deaths for January.  So please follow CDC guidelines — wear your masks, observe social distancing, wash your hands, and only gather in groups of ten or less.