Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on January 15, 2024 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
    • Khalid Hamid
    • Michale Li
    • Maria Swietorzecki
    • Lucy Lyang
    • Elsayed Nasr
    • George Guzmas
    • MB Samimi
    • Susana Donan
    • Neel Nanda
    • Mohammad Tajdolati
    • Olga Kaleev
    • AR Nathan
    • Ragee
    • Nishantha Don
    • Ayuban SriLanka
    • Basilio Giordano
    • Manan Gupta
    • Ernesto Donan
    • Kathy Lin
    • Sima Ghaffarzadeh
    • Denis Poirier
    • Ghanian News
    • Fiza Syeda
    • Rue Hayer-Bains
    • Leila Monteiro- Lins
    • Eugenia Bakchinow
    • Ghulam Rasool
    • Ranjith Wicks
    • Kathy Gerasklis
    • Hermie Garcia
    • Luba Cherny
    • Helen Wang
    • Taso Chatzitheofanou
    • Sean Pickard
    • Jonathan Annobil
    • Said Henry

    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 first virtual monthly meeting of 2024 meeting and declared the meeting open. George Guzmas moved a motion to approve the agenda. George Guzmas seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.

      Minutes of the previous meeting:

      George Guzmas 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:

      • President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the first online monthly meeting of January 15, 2024. He hoped the coming new year will be great for everyone.  He also reminded members to pay their annual membership fees to continue to get the benefits and privileges as a member of NEPMCC.
      • President Thomas Saras mentioned that the Annual Event on December 15 at the Hungarian Cultural Centre was a huge success. The event was attended by several distinguished individuals from all levels of Government. The food as always was lavish with lots of entertainment.
      • At the Annual Get-together a few distinguished members from the community were also honored. Thomas Saras thanked Maria Saras Voutsinas and her committee members who worked very hard towards the preparation of the Annual Dinner.
      • President Thomas Saras explained that LJI program was on hold due to the delay by the ministry of 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. The motion was unanimously carried.
      • 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. He also reminded the members for renewing their membership by paying their annual membership fees.

      New Business/New Members:

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

      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 8:15 PM. The next monthly meeting will take place on Monday, February 12, 2024, via Zoom.

      The above notes from the minutes of January 15, 2024, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.