PAAD and its rich Community History
PAAD PALARO - Vision and Mission
Palaro Basketball League - How it all began
It all began in 1970, when a group of Filipino immigrants, mostly in the medical profession, came together in family-like gatherings. As they gathered more frequently to foster friendships, building better families, and community undertakings, the birth of PAAD became a natural response to the growth of more families and Filipino-Americans joining the cause.
As the years went by, PAAD leadership and its growing members evolved to what iis is today - dynamic, responsive, visionary and focused in fostering relationships among Filipino-Americans in Delaware and the nearby states.
To foster unity within the Filipino-American Community of Delaware by building stronger relationships through sports.
To strengthen the character of our Filipino-American Youth sector through friendly competition thereby promoting sportsmanship, discipline and active participation.
The PAAD Sports Committee
Core Committee Members:
Art Quiros
Ding Tanjuakio
Poochie Roldan
Bobby Gempesaw
Art Arcilla
Ruben Rubio
PAAD President
It all started with a PAAD vision of having an established bond among community members of Filipino heritage in the Delaware Valley. The PAAD management thought of having to achieve this vision is to have an activity that would cater to many, irrespective of social statuses and religious affiliations. Basketball being the most famous sport activity in our native land, a favorite past times sport that is played and watched by many from different walks of life, from the remote barrios and in major towns and cities, the management team thought that it would be the "thing" to do.
Therefore, in the spring of 2005, information was sent out to invite interested individuals to form their own basketball teams. Consequently, the first Palaro was held that summer at the Dickinson high school in Newark, Delaware. There was a significant interest and participation from many teams and their families. It was a successful tournament that it met the objective of fostering camaraderie and friendship in the Fil-Am community.
Due to the success of the first Palaro games and in order to effectively reach the organization's vision partly thru conducting Palaro games, in 2006 the PAAD Sports Committee was formed with a focused objective of continued improvement and marching towards the achievement of excellence in conducting this Palaro tournaments.
In 2006 and 2007, the second and third Palaro were held at Gauger-Cobbs and PAL Hockessin respectively. Eight teams competed during these tournaments. This year's 2008 Palaro, twelve teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware had joined the tournament.
Committee Volunteers:
Marita Rubio
Alma Tanjuakio
Bambi Roldan
Clavel Gempesaw
Yollie Arcilla
Om Ongtawco
Dennis Arcilla
