A Message from the President – June 2017

Dear friends,

June is a very special month for the Hellenic Community as it marks the end of the school year. Our Supplementary Education schools have already held their graduation ceremonies, while École Socrates-Démosthène graduation will be held on the 16th of this month. With report cards in their hands our students will leave behind the books to enjoy the summer holiday. Many of École Socrates-Démosthène students will have the opportunity to spend the summer in Greece, through en educational trip organised every year by our school. At their first stop, they will be staying at the breathtaking fortress town of Monemvasia and (under the programme of the Centre of Environmental Education of Molaoi) they will visit natural habitat sites, as well as, museums, landmarks and historical monuments.
I wish to extend my congratulations to the principals, the teachers and the staff of our jewel of a school École Socrates-Démosthène, for the realisation of the annual “Festival Sportif” that was held with great success at Jarry Park in Montreal. I would like to further commend them for giving our students the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of physical exercise and to appreciate the values of emulation.
The “Children First. We Can” event took place on May 11th, 2017 at Palace Centre de Congrés. Once again this year, the event benefited two great institutions: the Giant Steps School of Montreal and École Socrates-Démosthène. It was an initiative spearheaded by two prominent members of our society, the Honorable Senator Leo Housakos and the Vice-chairman in wealth management of RBC, Tony Loffreda, who I would like to thank, as well as, all donors and sponsors whose contribution made this initiative a great success. Many thanks to Nick Tsatas and Terry Nikiforos for their great contributions.
On May 6th and 7th, the Hellenic Community Centre Adrian-Maris opened its doors to the Canadian Initiative for Lesvos (CIL), who hosted a Wine Tasting Festival in support of the “Smile of the Child” NGO. Congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly in making this two-day event a success and especially to the CIL coordinators, Zoi Batsis and Maria Fotopoulos.
In the next two weeks, the HCGM will be hosting two outdoor Festivals. The first is St-Jean-Baptiste Greek Festival, organized by our South Shore Regional Council which will commence on June 23rd to the 26th on the grounds of our South Shore Community Centre. The second is the Laval Hellenic Summer Festival, organized by our Laval Regional Council, which will begin June 30th until July 2nd. It is a great opportunity for all of us to celebrate in our unique Greek style.
For another year, the HCGM Fundraising Committee “Lottery 2017” was a great success. I wish to wholeheartedly thank all involved who put their heart and soul into making this event possible.
Finally, the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal, the Lyceum Club of Greek Women of Montreal and the Hellenic Congress of Quebec will be presenting the City of Montreal for its 375th Anniversary with a beautiful gift from the Community, a bronze sculpture “The Greek Immigrant” by renowned sculptor George Chouliaras. On June 30th, at 1:00 p.m., we will proudly unveil this masterpiece at the intersection of Parc Avenue and Jean Talon Street. I wish to thank all those that financially contributed to this monumental project.

Sincerely,

Nicholas T. Pagonis

President