By Giuliana Harris
In mid-March 2019, various members of UHAS, United Hellenic American Societies / the Hellenic Federation of Northern California, met to determine whether UHAS should re-organize. This meeting was called due to the recent passing of Ted Laliotis, former President and major champion of UHAS. The current Ranking Officer, James Vorrises, who is the Vice President of UHAS, called and led the meeting. The meeting was held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco, CA, which was attended by UHAS members and interested community members.
Discussion included honing in on the mission statement and the most recent copy of the by-laws. Furthermore, a major topic was the Greek Independence Day Parade which UHAS used to host in San Francisco, CA. With this, conversation ensued as to other sources of events and gatherings that UHAS could produce in the future, specifically, events that would be more feasible to the organization and its fellow Greek-American organizations and community members. Conversation also took place that discussed how to involve the incoming generations (such as those of 20-30 years of age). It was agreed that encompassing all generations is important and necessary in order to continue preserving and celebrating the Greek-American culture in the Greater Bay Area of California.
Along with UHAS Board Members attending such as Joan Rinde, UHAS’ Secretary, and Peter Bagatelos, Attorney and UHAS Consultant, there were representatives from the following organizations: Arcadian Society, Hellenic American Heritage Society, Hellenic American Professional Society, Hellenic Law Society, Kytherian Society, Messinian Society, and the Zakynthian Brotherhood. Lastly, there was representation from The Hellenic Journal in attendance as well. All attendees were invited to share their thoughts and opinions.
After the meeting, in a statement provided to The Hellenic Journal, Vorrises said, “I am pleased to report that we had a very successful first UHAS meeting after three and a half years without a meeting.” Continuing, Vorrises stated, “We had two hours of very fruitful discussion as how UHAS should proceed in to the future, knowing that the UHAS scope needs to be updated.” Everyone left with encouragement for the next meeting.
The next UHAS meeting will be Saturday, May 18th, 2019 at 11 AM in the Holy Trinity Community Center at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco, CA. Per Vice President Vorrises, everyone is invited to attend.
Email the author: Giuliana
