BOD Meeting: February 2021
On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, the monthly meeting of the HCGM Board of Directors was held, in the presence of the media, on the Zoom platform.
After the establishment of Quorum and prayer, the President of the HCGM, Andreas Crilis, read to the Board a letter from the President’s Office addressed to the Right Honorable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, respectfully requesting Canada’s support for the Greek candidate for Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Ms. Anna Diamantopoulou.
President’s Report
Moving on to his President’s Report, on the occasion of International Greek Language Day, he first took a few moments to say a few words about the important role the HCGM plays in protecting and preserving our Greek language for generations to come. He also shared that on Sunday, February 7, 2021, he had the honour as President to host a panel discussion about the significance of the Greek language around the world. With him on the Zoom call were Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy and Greeks Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Chrysoulakis, award-winning professor of Modern Greek Studies at the Université de Montréal, Dr. Jacques Bouchard, and His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Zenoupolis. The discussion was moderated by the Secretary of Public Relations of the HCGM, Mr. Dimitris Katsaounis.
The President then went on to provide a few updates from various departments. Students at all our Socrates-Démosthène campuses and Supplementary Education schools celebrated Three Hierarchs Day on January 30. Water tests for lead were conducted at all campuses (a routine request by the Minister of Education) and results received February 5, 2021 show no problem at any campus. The President reminded all Board members as well as the media that all requests for interviews by any Board member must be brought to the attention of Paris Petrou through the Department of Marketing & PR. With regards to the churches, the President reiterated that the maximum number of people allowed is no more than 10, including staff and volunteers, with the exception of funerals, which allow a maximum of 25 people. Weddings and baptisms can now be performed too, again only 10 persons are allowed, including staff and volunteers. He reminded all that the fundraising luncheons continue at our churches. The President congratulated the team at St. George’s Cathedral for their sold-out take-out luncheon on Sunday, February 7. He also thanked all those that support not just this lunch, but every luncheon organized by our churches. In closing, he reminded all that Timio Stavro Church will be organizing a fundraising luncheon at the end of the month, Sunday, February 28.
Treasurer’s Report
In her report, Voula Neofotistos confirmed that DAS is being paid as usual. She also announced that our application for an additional CEWS subsidy has been approved and a check in the amount of $1.064 million will be deposited in the HCGM bank account on February 12th.
Secretaries Reports
The Secretary of Social Services, Anna Dimitrokalis, announced that our grant request for caregiver support in the South Shore region has been approved for one more year. We are awaiting news on our remaining grant applications.
As Vice President of the HCGM South Shore Regional Council, Aphrodite Stathopoulos announced that a bake sale fundraiser will be held on the South Shore on February 13 and 14th. The activity is being organized by the HCGM Regional Council with the collaboration of the South Shore
Ladies Auxiliary. She also reminded everyone that there are still some HCGM wall calendars available for sale.
The Secretary of Real estate and Procurement, Achilles Nicopoulos, announced that his department Is preparing to submit a new grant application to the Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec for St. George’s Cathedral. The deadline is February 21, 2021, and we expect to receive an answer by summer. Further to an announcement made last year, the Laval HCGM regional office on Notre Dame St. has been closed and moved to TImio Stavros Church. Mr. Nicopoulos shared that air quality
CO2 tests were completed for all our campuses as required by the minister of education. We are awaiting the final report. The real estate department also completed fire equipment inspections and are out conducting inspections and maintenance work on all our buildings every single day. An order was recently placed for more personal protective equipment in addition to the masks that are provided for our school by the Minister of Education.
The Executive Vice President and Secretary of Marketing, Constance Karvelas, shared that the HCGM has been celebrating International Greek Language Day all day on our social media platforms and invited everyone to review the many messages, videos, photos and student projects that have been posted. After a one-month hiatus, the next issue of the HCGM newsletter will be published this Friday, February 12. The issue is dedicated to International Greek Language Day. Ms. Karvelas also
informed the board that the HCGM membership campaign that began in November will be resuming and encouraged all to sign up or renew their memberships.
The Vice President of the HCGM Laval Regional Council, Dennis Marinos announced that contrary to what was reported in the media, TImio Stavros Church has completed 3 fundraising lunches, with a fourth lunch planned at the end of February. They are also working on plans for a luncheon to support St. Nicolas Church.
The Secretary of Athletics, Zach Tourlas, announced that we hope to have Summer Camps in all 3 of our regions (pending grant approval) and that a committee has been established to look into updating the program.
And finally, the Secretary of Public Relations, Dimitris Katsaounis, relaunched a call for volunteers to help the HCGM deliver on many of its marketing initiatives, namely our newsletter, TA NEA TIS EKMM. He also reminded everyone that the HCGM is working on plans to celebrate Greece’s Bicentennial but that this requires many volunteers for us to be successful.
A question period by the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Media followed.
The next meeting is scheduled for March 9, 2021.