A Message from the President – October 2016

Dear friends,

As fall slowly begins to enter this month, the HCGM is hard at work organising several important events: our first-ever televised Marathon and the celebrations of Thessaloniki’s liberation on October 26, 1912 and the Hellenic Epic of October 28th 1940.

On October 16th, the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal’s (HCGM) Fundraising Committee is holding its first-ever TeleMarathon, whose goal is to support our Greek Schools and the education of our youth. I wish to encourage everyone to contribute the best that they can in order keep our schools alive and allow our students the opportunity to embrace the love of our heritage and language.

I wish to extend my congratulations to the staff and teachers of École Socrates-Démosthène, our jewel of a school, for the realisation of the annual “Alexandria” cross-country race that was held with great success at the Centre de la Nature in Laval, as well as, for giving our students the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of physical exercise and to appreciate the values of emulation.

Once again this year, the HCGM has successfully organised the annual exams for the Certificate of Attainment in Greek, and the official results have been published in our community newspapers. You will find in this month’s newsletter a brief reference on the importance of this Certificate, especially for anyone intending to work in a Greek environment. Congratulations to all the individuals who successfully passed these exams.

The reconstruction of our Koimisis tis Theotokou Church is in progress and we will continue to inform you as the work advances. Despite the “Kassandras” who constantly doubt our efforts, we are determinedly moving forward to complete the reconstruction project.

Last but not least, October marks the celebrations of Thessaloniki’s liberation from the Ottomans as well as “OXI” Day. of Fighting against fascism and nazism, October 28th 1940 was a milestone in our nation’s struggle for freedom and democracy. In this month’s edition, you can read about the first crucial hours of the war, the importance of the Greece’s stance and how it was seen by both allies and enemies.

I hope you enjoy your reading!