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| The Life and Loves of Sammy Lorenzana Jr. |
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So Sammy went to LA in the early 70s. "I stayed with friends. I cleaned apartments. I worked hard. I went into selling insurance and other jobs. My friends used to ask me, ‘You’re the son of a rich man, why are you working petty jobs here in LA?’ But I answered, ‘My father is not really rich; he only looks rich.’ You know, it’s very hard to enrich yourself in the Philippines if you are an honest man," Sam stated.
Sammy started to work on exporting the Lorenzana products in the US and established the Lorenzana Food Corporation, USA. He developed the market and soon expanded their product line from the original Lorenzana bagoong. "I was able to develop around 500 products --from frozen veggies, to coconut milk and juices, to sweet desserts and seafood," he said.
As demand for his products grew, so did his business. He set up franchises for his products, not only in the US but in many other countries in the world, like the Middle East, Canada, and Europe. Sammy Lorenzana, Jr. worked hard and became one of the biggest importers of Filipino products in the US. "By 1975, I was up there. I was on top of the world, buying new cars, houses, and buildings," he recalled.
In the late 70’s, Sammy met his second wife, Josephine "Joy" Orduna, a beauty queen and a valedictorian in high school, who he describes as "the most beautiful woman in LA" at that time. They have three children, Ariana, Karina and Sammyboy. "I’m so proud of the achievements of these children. Ariana has a BA in Psychology from Barnard College and Columbia University and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UCSD. Karina took up BA in International Relations at Tufts University ‘05 and will soon finish her Masters in Public Administration from Princeton University. Solomon III or Sammyboy has a BS Double Major in Decision Sciences and Policy and Management, Minor in Engineering Studies from Carnegie Mellon University," Sammy proudly stated. "With the marriage, I got distracted from business. Plus, I made a lot of mistakes and encountered many trials," he added.
Sammy expounded on his business struggles. "Being the pioneer importer, I was the one who encountered all the difficulties. I was always fighting the customs and FDA. You know at that time, our Filipino products were not acceptable to them - especially the bagoong. They were throwing it into the garbage, containers worth thousands of dollars. There was so much discrimination at that time and I lost all my cases in spite of so many appeals and petitions. It was just too hard to win. You either wanted to just give up or shoot everybody who were giving you such a hard time in customs and FDA, " Sammy said.
For two decades, Sammy did good in making money, at one time having a net worth of $30 Million. " But I wasn’t good in keeping the money," said Sam.
One weakness, Sammy admitted, is that he is too trusting. "I opened my heart and home to people who were in need. So many people came to me for loans, for financial help and I gave as much as I could. I helped thousands, here in the US, in other countries and in the Philippines. Once, I was in an airport abroad- a stranger, isang kababayan went up to me saying he had no money, no job. Naawa ako. I gave him what I had -- even my coat, kasi nilalamig siya eh. I wished him well. But sadly, many people also took advantage of my generosity and trust. Nagsamantala. I became a target of many sinister people. Some took my businesses; others ran off with my money. I can say that I am the most swindled person in history. But I believe God’s promise that there will be a Day of Reckoning and Retribution."
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