Eastern Samar State University Main Campus celebrated its annual Year-end General Assembly on Thursday, December 19, 2024, at the Canuctan Hall, just a few days before the holiday break. As is customary, the celebrations started with a mass offering in grateful appreciation of the blessings and victories achieved by the institution as a whole throughout the year 2024.
The Canuctan Hall was a sea of red and gold with the employees dressed up in their best getup in the said color theme, just as the beautifully adorned stage was. A considerable number of employees went home with a bit of extra baggage as sacks of rice, cash gifts, grocery packs, and home appliances were given away to lucky raffle draw winners, even as University President, Dr. Andres C. Pagatpatan, Jr., occasionally splashed cash around the venue to the pleasant surprise of everyone, in what has become a signature display of generosity by the beloved President during important celebrations such as this one.
In this year's celebration, the leadership and employees chose to honor several retirees for years of service to ESSU, honoring them with gifts and tokens to go along with certificates of appreciation. Making the day extra fun was the friendly competition of dance presentations from five different groups representing the various colleges and administrative units of the entire University with cash prizes at stake. Program organizers from the Employees Union also prepared fun-filled parlor games that extracted loud cheers from the crowd.
Briefly lending their presence in the said festivities were honored guests from the local government, including Eastern Samar Lone District Representative, Hon. Maria Fe R. Abunda, with Ms. Cora Basada as her representative; Minority Leader and 4Ps Representative, Hon. Marcelino C. Libanan, proxied by former Vice Governor & Guiuan Mayor, Christopher 'Sheen' Gonzales; and Governor Ben P. Evardone, represented by Board Member, Hon. Ralph Vincent 'RV' Evardone.
All in all, the celebration was filled with festive energy, uninhibited fun, a bountiful atmosphere, and an unmistakable sense of gratitude from every direction as we are set to close an eventful year, ready to reset and run it back stronger as another one begins.
