Philip Christopher Is In Charge, The Parade Will Go On – Despite Many Problems…

PHOTO: Philip Christopher at the center with Fr. Evagoras and two vice chairmen of each side: Gonias and Siokis, Bardis and N.Kastana.

Philip Christopher tried his best to avoid discussing the thorny issue of the unethical and illegal account transfers at the Federation bank accounts. Still, in the end, the issue was brought to the front and caused heated exchanges.  The Parade preparations will continue despite all problems – we had equally complex problems last year.  Helleniscope will participate in every possible way in the effort – and even more actively in the struggle to bring positive change to the organization. The time has come for the younger generation and especially the American-born leaders of our community, who are successful professionals and business people, to take charge and bring fresh air to Stathakion…

By Nick Stamatakis

I live in Long Island, and in my place, we organize a “neighborhood party” every summer.  We rent some equipment, but we have also bought with communal funds a couple of tents and big-size toys and games to use every year, which I keep in a shed in my backyard.  A few weeks ago, my next-door neighbor, without asking me or anyone first, entered my backyard, broke the lock of the shed, and transferred everything on his property “to keep it for next year,” he said… And he explained: “They belong to all of us – so I decided to take them.”  What is this called? Embezzlement, which means theft…

This little tale is helpful at this stage to teach a first-year law lesson to those supposedly “younger” – but irresponsible – who pretend they are ready to lead the Federation of NY., such as Polykarpos Kotronis... Who tried yesterday to explain the unexplainable… (you can watch the heated exchange here in a video by anamniseis.net).  Yes, dear Mr.Kotronis, in plain legal terms, what you did is “embezzlement.” In your case, this is an even graver offense, as a specific court order (LINK HERE  FEDERATION – COURT ORDER APRIL 13, 2022) prohibited anyone from touching these accounts. An even more specific agreement was in place between the two opposing factions determining how money for the parade and partially for the Federation is used.

Photo: P.Kotronis unsuccessfully tried to explain his unexplainable, illegal, acts.

Even worse, Mr. Kotronis and everyone else on the Georgopoulos (“sidewalk”) side do not realize that they have committed suicide in legal terms: Any Judge would kick them out of the Courtroom after what they did – and I do not think Judge Livone of the Queens Supreme Court will be an exception…

And one more thing: Since I have spent a good part of 2021 and 2022 dealing with these issues – and I have interacted personally at length with many involved – I can assure all of you that both sides, but especially the Georgopoulos side, do not represent the best of what our community has to offer.  Our community, as some recent events proved, is full of young professionals and business people who are eager to offer their talent, time and money and get involved in organizing much more than a mediocre annual parade… Everyone has a place in the Federation – regardless of wealth, education, skills, or other qualifications. But for any social organization to advance, the best-qualified individuals must take the leadership posts – with priority to those willing to offer their time and money.

PHOTO: 95-yr old past president Nick Diamantidis took the initiative, and Maria Markou followed him in asking questions on the bank account transfers. Maria Markou and her husband Gus Lambropoulos, represent precisely the type of persons we need at the Federation: Young, successful, professionals, parents, continuously contributing to the community with largesse and willing to sacrifice time and money. Why are they not promoted?

This point allows me to move on to some positive notes and suggestions. Here are a few points:

1. Philip Christopher mentioned his goal to expand the “gamut” of events with a patriotic performance at Kings Theater in Brooklyn… This is the right direction for the Parade – to move a bit away from the usual venues and expand the scope… The Greek culture offers us limitless opportunities in this respect. Above all, what unites ALL generations, ALL of us, is our culture – and it should be brought to the front and center in “heritage events” such as the parade.

2. Doubling the Parade Budget to over 300,000 was discussed, but nobody said a word about transparency.  Did we forget that our main problem at the Federation is handling money? How about posting accounting reports on the website as regularly as possible?  How are we going to regain the trust of possible donors without such reasonable acts? With people (mainly from the Georgopoulos side) who were directly involved in the sinful past of the Federation and formed the network of corruption around past boards, transparency rules are now more critical than ever.

3. In a very productive exchange I had with Fr. Evagoras, it was clarified that the Archdiocese and he personally never intended to enter the internal election process of the Federation as I had suggested – they were urging and advising toward an amicable solution between the two sides. Philip Christopher also agreed that the Archdiocese had to stay out of the Federation’s internal process.

4. I also pointed out that there is a line between the “secular” and the “sacred” or the “church” and the “state,” if you prefer.  Last year this line was crossed, and we all watched an impossible theatrical mix of the “Evzones” with the “Priests” handling them.  Fr. Evagoras explained that things would be handled differently this year.  There is absolutely no reason for the Evzones to be mixed with priests… It is symbolically tasteless, to say the least…

Finally, we should reflect on what we did right and wrong last year. A few days after last year’s parade, I wrote a detailed critique of our Parade in English and Greek.  Let’s take a look and see what we can do better this year.

P.S.  Last night I was treated quite disrespectfully by Nick Bardis, who was upset with my reporting about his past behavior and untrustworthiness. This community has suffered for a long time from the lack of true, fearless journalism.  If Helleniscope existed 30 years ago, people like Galatoulas and Bardis (and several others) would never come close to any leadership role…

January 26, 2023, n.stamatakis@aol.com   www.helleniscope.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.