Minutes of the Dec 11 2023 Monthly Meeting

Minutes of the December 11, 2023 Monthly Meeting

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on December 11, 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
  • Jonathan Annobil
  • Emmanuel Ayiku
  • Mohammad Bagher Samimi
  • 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. Dimitri Papadopoulos seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.

    Minutes of the previous meeting:

    Roberto Hausman moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Rue Hyer Bians 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.
    • Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the online monthly meeting of December 11, 2023.  He hoped the coming new year will be great for everyone.
    • President Thomas Saras mentioned that the Annual Event on December 15 at the Hungarian Cultural Centre is fully sold out. The event will be attended by a number of distinguished individuals from all levels of Government. The food as always will be lavish and there will be plenty of entertainment.
    • At the Annual Get-together a few distinguished members from the community will be honored. Thomas Saras thanked Maria Saras Voutsinas and her committee members who worked very hard towards the preparation of the Annual Dinner.
    • There was a motion on the floor to approve gift baskets for VIPS at the Annual Event on December 15 at the Hungarian Cultural Centre. George Guzmas moved the motion, Rue Hayer Bains seconded it. The motion was carried.
    • Motion: President Thomas Saras proposed that the administration shall apply to the Toronto Dominion Bank, where we are retaining our accounts to open two additional accounts, each one of them for the program the NEPMCC is running. One for the Local Journalism Initiatives and the other for the Internship program, for the administration to have better control over the expenses of each of these programs. The motion was placed for vote on the floor. The motion was carried unanimously. As a result of this motion accepted unanimously, it therefore authorizes the office of the President to take the necessary action with the Department of the administration of the Toronto Dominion Bank for the opening of the two additional accounts under the name of each of the program.
    • President Thomas Saras explained that Internship program was on hold due to the delay by the Department of the Canadian Heritage.
    • 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 from Montreal Quebec. The motion was unanimously carried.
    • President Saras mentioned that we will be going through all outstanding Internship applications shortly and new applications will still be accepted. He also reminded all LGI 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.

    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:

    Yuri Natchetoi moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Kathy Lin seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, Dr. Tajdolati adjourned the meeting at 9:15 PM. The next monthly meeting will take place on Monday, January 15, 2024, via Zoom.

    The above notes from the minutes of December 14, 2023, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.