Minutes of the October 16 2023 Monthly Meeting

Minutes of the October 16 2023 Monthly Meeting

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on October 16, 2023, through video conference via Zoom

Present/Attendees

  • Thomas S. Saras
  • Mohammad Tajdolati
  • Neel Nanda
  • Maria Saras-Voutsinas
  • Rosemary Sadlier
  • Ricky Castellvi
  • George Guzman
  • Bill Fastis
  • Nishantha Don
  • Hon. Basilio Giordano
  • George Bakoyiannis
  • Dimitri Papadopoulos
  • AR Nathan
  • Arif Ahmed
  • Zenaida Ferry
  • Ravi
  • Ranjit Wicks
  • Hermie Garcia
  • Ghulam Rasool
  • Manan Gupta
  • Elsayed Nasr
  • Khalid Hamid
  • Thanasis Kourtesis
  • John Saraidaris
  • Ernesto Donan
  • Martha Pinzon
  • Nishantha Don
  • Bridgette Fontille
  • Sukumar Tamil Journal
  • Roberto Hausman
  • Kathy Gerasklis
  • Rick Esquerra
  • Mila Garcia
  • Medhat Oweida
  • Syed Hasson
  • Sima Ghaffarzadeh
  • Shahidul Mintu
  • Lui Queano
  • Denis Poirier
  • Jennifer Zhu
  • Hon. Joe Volpe
  • Ayubowan Sri Lanka
  • Leila Monteiro Lins
  • Deborah Shatz
  • Gezahegn Mekonnen
  • Daniela Spirlac
  • Lankathas Pathmanathan
  • Susana Donan
  • Kethes Kumar
  • Michael Li
  • Shail Prasad
  • Essie
  • Veronica Cusi
  • Ragee Arasaratnam
  • Fiza Syeda
  • Yuri Natchetoi

Agenda of the day

    • Welcome Remarks by the chair.
    • Minutes of the previous meeting
    • President’s Report/Discussions
    • New Members/New Business
    • Adjournment

    Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

    Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the virtual monthly meeting and declared the meeting open. Roberto Hausman moved a motion to approve the agenda. Ranjith Wicks seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.

    Minutes of the previous meeting:

    Yuri Natchetoi moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Roberto Ranjith Wicks seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.

    President’s Report/Discussions:

    • Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the online monthly meeting of October 16, 2023.
    • President Thomas Saras mentioned that this year Annual Event will most likely take place on Friday, December 15 at the Hungarian Centre, 141 Sunrise Ave. North York, On. M4A 1A9
    • Motion. There were discussions regarding the price of the ticket for the Annual Get-together. Motion was unanimously approved to have the price of tickets to be $50. It was also decided with unanimous vote that awards would also be held on the same day. President Thomas Saras mentioned that the Awards Committee would decide on the awards based on the nominations received by NEPMCC.
    • President Thomas Saras explained that LJI program was on and the administration was looking to receive applications.
    • President Thomas Saras encouraged everyone to attend the Annual Get-together. He mentioned that NEPMCC would be recognizing distinguished individuals in various field and encouraged members for nomination.
    • Motion: Bill Fastis appreciated President Thomas Saras for his tireless and selfless efforts for the members of the ethnic media industry. As such there is a need for the President to travel to various destinations pleading for the cause and rights for the ethnic media industry Bill Fastis moved a motion to authorize the treasury to cover the travel expenses of his flight to Ottawa and other destinations as required. The motion was seconded by George Guzman. The motion was unanimously carried.
    • President Saras explained that all Internship funding applications will be on hold until probably the middle of November 2023. President Thomas Saras reminded members to send in their invoice for in kind services. He explained why in-kind services are important for grant application.
    • President Saras mentioned that we will be going through all outstanding LJI applications shortly and new applications will still be accepted. He also reminded all LJI recipients to email Maria their tech requests.
    • President Thomas Saras thanked all the members who generously donated to NEPMCC. Although the industry and members of NEPMCC are struggling financially, he encouraged everyone that can do so to donate.
    • The president asked for three members to volunteer for the preparation of the annual get together.

    New Business/New Members:

    Maria Saras informed the members on the updates on LJI and Internship Program.

    The chair introduced new member Olga Kileev – Chief Editor at Knopka.ca

    Adjournment:

    Ernesto Donan moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Thanasis Kourtesis seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, Dr. Tajdolati adjourned the meeting at 8:15 PM. The next monthly meeting will take place on Monday, September 18, 2023, via Zoom.

    The above notes from the meeting of August 14, 2023, were prepared by Maria Saras-Voutsinas on behalf of Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.