A birthday bash

Leo Ray Yanson, youngest son of transportation magnates Ricardo and Olivia Yanson, recently celebrated his birthday at their Capitolville mansion with close friends and relatives attending.

A wide array of delectable dishes was set up at the pavilion beside the pool with cascading waters.

A sugar planter and businessman, Leo Ray is married to New Yorker Pia Ortaliz, and they have a son, Brandon. A humble person, Leo maintains a low profile all the time. It was only through his cousin and best friend, Toto Magadia, that I learned that he is a bemedalled national champion, and the incumbent two-time national champion of remote control car raising for 2003 and 2005. He is also a champion in practical shooting and is a golfer par excellence. "He is a very sensitive and warm person, strict but very generous. Street smart", says his sister Ginnette Yanson-Dumancas.

Leo Ray is acknowledged by Negros yuppies as he played an important role in putting Bacolod City on the map of Philippine nightlife through North Bar, which is considered among the best in the Philippines. That night North was closed as its army of waiters was at the Yanson Manson serving guests at the party.*