The Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce & Industry (ACPACI) held its 7th General Membership Meeting (GMM), General Election and its annual Christmas party last December 5, 2014 at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Members and guests, dressed in their thoughtfully fashioned Luau outfits, attended the meeting/election and celebrated a fun-filled “Male Kalikimaka” party, that’s the Hawaiian for “Merry Christmas”.
Cup of Cheer
As always, ACPACI’s Yuletide gathering was a success for the attendees embraced an evening that gave nod to the cheeriest season of the year. They shared a delicious gourmet meal prepared by Hotel Intercon. The delectable array of entrees’ like the classic favourites: lapu lapu luxuriously bathed in butter lemon sauce, the mouth-watering barbecued pork spareribs topped with bell peppers, tomatoes and onions, and the tasty toasted chicken with paprika sauce sprinkled with scallions and cilantro sprigs.
The amazing appetizers and taste-bud tempting tidbits of assorted bruchetta, the sophisticated rosace tomato mozzarella, a motley of cold cuts, savory vegetable side dishes, fresh salads, and platters of sushi and sashimi turned the assembly into a party-extraordinaire. The hearty and delicious cream of pumpkin soup revved up with crunchy croutons warmed the soul and was a steaming bowl of comfort and joy. The festive fete concluded with sweet endings-- a dessert bar laden with ambrosial pies and cakes featuring succulent fruits and velvety chocolates with devine flair, creamy cheese cakes, drippy and pillowy crepe samurai-- just a bite or whole slice, these honestly delicious confections inspired the merriment of the season.
Kalikimaka. Kili-kili. Kabuki.
Sounds of laughter accompanied the gentle clinking of glasses and cutlery during the presentation of well-conceptualized and creative parlor games prepared by ACPACI Fellowship and Sports Committee. The program was hosted by the Fellowship Committee Chairperson, Ms. Kathie Sobremonte.
The first game was the “Lei Relay” contest, wherein each team member of the two groups, Team Kili-Kili and Team Pearly Shells, was tasked to pass the flower garland by slipping it from over the head down to their feet and giving it to the next member and the next up to the last member of the group assigned to drink the pina colada cocktail and shout: “Male Kalikimaka ACPACI!” in the finale. Team Kili-kili finished the game ahead and trumped team Pearly Shells.
The next one was “Dress a Hula (hoop) Girl”. This was again a relay contest with two groups competing, the “Young Once” versus the “Young Ones”. The object of the game was to assign a member to be the “Hula (hoop) Girl”. The other members would dress the Hula girl with grass skirt, leis and the whole shebang, and when they’re done, the designated “Hula girl” would spin the hula hoop thrice. This process was repeated with the other members, until the last member had been dressed like a “Hula girl” and had spun the hula hoop thrice. The Young Ones trounced the Young Once in this game (see video clips).
Another fun game readied by the Fellowship Committee was the “Make My Hawaiian Face Contest”. There were three “make-up artists”: ACPACI Directors, Cecille Carandang, Janis Maghinay and Nanette Tabuac, and three models or “facial canvasses,” who were ACPACI scholars and all guys. Ms. Tabuac was adjudged as the best “make -up artist” with her very un-Hawaiian Japanese “Kabuki” make-up style, also known as the “matte-finish” make-up because, “matte-tatakot ka pag finish na yung make-up.” (You’ll be frightened once the make-up is finished.) Her model’s visage looked so pale, reminiscent of a diseased hippopotamus with red-hot mouth and he could pass off either an extra in The Walking Dead series or a portrait in totem poles.
The best in costume that night went to Ms. Winnie Cuico, ACPACI’s Executive Director and Mr. Al Casa of Masepragma. Ms. Cuico was Vogue-ish in her elegant floral dress with matching leis. The parlor games winners and runners-up scored gifts and certificates given by various sponsors like 7Eleven, SM, Gardenia, Starbucks, UE, Interdent, etc.
Salutations, Election, Revisions and the Power of Four
On a serious note, ACPACI 2014 President, Ms. Ning Santos, welcomed the members and guests and delivered her Christmas message at the beginning of the program. During the festivity, ACPACIANs took time to vote and cast their ballots to choose the new officers of the Association for 2015. Also, they ratified some of the proposed changes in ACPACI’s Articles of Incorporation discussed by ACPACI Executive Director, Ms. Winnie Cuico, such as extending the term of a Board of Director from four (4) years to five (5) years, and allowing other CPAs who are members of other sectors such as ACPAE (Association of CPAs in Education), ACPAPP (Association of CPAs in Public Practice) and GACPA (Government Association of CPAs) to cross-over and become ACPACI members and vice-versa. The latter was not permitted in the old Articles of Incorporation of ACPACI. The ACPACI scholars saluted and thanked their generous donors- ACPACI and its members- with an intermission number; they crooned and danced to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas (watch video clips).
Capping off the celebratory night was ACPACI’s annual Mooncake Festival, a game of dice that venerates the winning power of four. Whether you are into numerology or not, it is quite obvious that in the Mooncake festival, four is the winning-est number. FOUR = PRIZE GALORE. The more dice of four you roll -- 2 fours, 3 fours, 4 fours, etc. -- the higher the prize. The participants, ACPACI members, guests and ACPACI scholars alike, enjoyed the game to the hilt and took home an abundance of prizes, practical and useable at home, such as towels, storage sets, electric kettles, rice bowls, kitchen gloves, flat iron, dining sets, and the grand prize-3D new generation electric oven.
Just like in the previous years’ Mooncake festivals, nobody went home empty-handed, everybody went home satisfied and their hearts filled with Christmas gladness. The good food, good vibe, camaraderie, relevant GMM, exciting games and prizes, these are the perfect ingredients for a memorable Yuletide evening. Crudely borrowing from Dorothy Gale’s (The Wizard of Oz) ruby-shoes declaration, “There’s no place like ACPACI.”