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ear members, This is my first greeting to you in our magazine as president of the PAA. From the time I started out as legal advisor in 1978, I had a sense this day would come. In my 20s it was fun to go to the conventions, travel to board meetings and get to know Cretans from all over the U.S. The officers then and people around the country made me feel proud to be a part of the PAA. The educational, philanthropic and cultural programs John Sargetis designed for the youth instilled in me my love PAA President [email protected] for our history, culture and heritage. The PAA became a part of my life and I loved it. I went on to be an officer almost continuously since then, including first vice president, PEF trustee and general supervisor. For me, it was never about the title. I was proud to be in any office because the PAA had very worthwhile projects and programs that heightened my awareness of the unique culture, history and heritage we have as Cretans. I thank the Cretan Association of Akron in Ohio and the organizing committee for the excellent organization of the events during the convention. I thank the delegates and officers of the PAA who were present at the Akron, Ohio, convention and the chapters who sent them for electing and giving me the honor to serve the PAA as president. I thank my wife Vickie and our sons George
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?????? ????, ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ???????? ??? ???????????. ??? ?? 1978 ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ?????????, ???? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ????. ??? ????????????, ?? ??????? ????????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??? ???????? ??? ???????????, ?? ???????? ??? ??? ???????????? ??? ??????????? ?????????? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ??? ???????. ???????? ???? ? ??????? ??? ????????????, ??? ??? ???????? ??? ???????? ?? ?????, ?? ?????? ?? ?????????? ?????????? ??? ??? ?????????
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and Alexandros for their understanding of how much the PAA means to me and for their support as I lead this great organization for the next two years. I wouldn’t be here to even be a part of the PAA without my mother, Demetra, and my late father, Stavros, who raised us to be proud of our homeland and our heritage. I’ve been told my mother kept me occupied as an infant in the early 1950s by repeatedly playing a stack of phonograph records of Cretan music. The music must have stuck in my mind from then. My mother said she would have walked from California to Ohio to be at the convention to see her son become president of the PAA. I’m excited about serving as your president alongside a board with diverse backgrounds from one end of the country to the other. I hope to make all of you even more proud than you already are to be a member of the PAA. In closing, our deepest condolences go out to Margo Chryssis and her children on the untimely passing of her husband and former president of the PAA, George. He will be sorely missed and remembered by all who knew him as a wise, kind, gentle man who made a positive and longlasting impact on our organization. Our October issue will be paying a special tribute to him. May his memory be eternal. K
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