Following the results from the December 11 elections this year, the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia Inc. (GOCSA) has announced their Administrative Council and the appointment of two new positions on the Executive Committee.
The 15 newly elected members, along with members from the Electoral Committee, met on Tuesday, December 13 and Thursday, December 15 to announce the new Executive Committee for the 2023-2024 term.
Executive Committee:
- President: Peter Gardiakos.
- Vice President: Stephanie Skordas.
- Vice President: Peter Gonis.
- General Secretary: Smaro Skordas.
- Assistant Secretary: Chloe-Roxanne Kourakis Germanos
- Treasurer: Peter Psaroulis
- Assistant Treasurer: George Vasilias.
Board Members:
- Helen Chrisakis.
- Philip Galantomos.
- Hellas Lucas.
- Anastasia Mavrides.
- Eleni Mermingis.
- John Ninos.
- Sandra Sifis.
- George Vlahos.
In a press release, GOCSA said the two newly created Vice-Presidency positions will allow the organisation to streamline and strengthen its approach to Public Relations, Community Engagement and Government Relations.
GOCSA President, Peter Gardiakos, said that the new Board Members will bring a wealth of experience and skills to the organisation during this time of much-needed transformative growth.
“Our board’s focus will be to strengthen the foundations, bring back our youth, bring back equal agenda, bring back transparency and bring back open dialogue with our members,” Mr Gardiakos told The Greek Herald.
Vice President Peter Gonis added that GOCSA “want to create positive and strong relationships with our community and with other multicultural organisations.”
“Our 3rd and 4th generation Greeks today have more Australian values than ever before. We too need to adapt to that, but we need to do so in a respectful manner that preserves our history, our language, and our culture. The role our community plays is now more important than ever,” Mr Gonis said.
“This Board is armed and ready to get on with the challenges ahead. We want to ensure our community is stronger and more vibrant than ever before.”
This sentiment was echoed by GOCSA’s other Vice President, Stephanie Skordas, who said the Community’s focus moving forward will be on how to improve community engagement and foster media engagement.