Fil-Am Press Club elects officers; Ricky Rillera is new president
The Press Club board (from left): Secretary Tambi Wycoco, Incoming President Ricky Rillera, Outgoing President Monette Rivera, VP Cristina DC Pastor, Board Members Marivir Montebon and Don Tagala, Treasurer Momar Visaya, and Board Member Noel Pangilinan. Photo by Lambert Parong
Also elected during the club’s December 2 meeting were Cristina DC Pastor of The FilAm online magazine and MAKILALA TV as vice president; Momar Visaya of Asian Journal as treasurer; and Noel Pangilinan of ImmigraNation, Marivir Montebon of OSM, and Don Tagala of TFC’s Balitang America as members of the board.
A special election will be called to fill in the positions of secretary and a fourth board member. In the meantime, Tambi Wycoco of Info Inc. Network News Service will continue as secretary in a holdover capacity.
“My vision is (for the press club) to become the organization of Filipino American journalists
creating positive change in this city and beyond, providing professional advancement for its members, and fostering collaborative work and fellowship among journalists,” said Rillera in brief remarks during the elections held at the Philippine Center building.
“It was our choice to become journalists, a calling that becomes our passion and therefore, our work should be an example of the best in us,” he continued.
The Fil-Am Press Club of New York is a group of reporters, editors and photographers covering the Filipino community in the Greater New York area. It was founded in 2011 by a group of journalists who found themselves covering an event – a restaurant opening — in Jersey City and decided that it was time to gather formally as a club.
The first president to be elected was freelance photographer Luis ‘Butch’ Gata of New York Balita who served until 2013. He was succeeded by Monette Rivera of TFC’s Adobo Nation, who was president until 2015. Rivera, as outgoing president, keeps her seat on the board.
Voting was conducted by the Election Committee headed by freelance writer Wendell Gaa. Present during the election meeting were Grace Labaguis of GMA News, Carol Tanjutco of Inquirer.net, Butch Gata, and Lambert Parong of Balitang Kutsero NY. – Cristina DC Pastor
