THE BATTLE OF CRETE THE BATTLE OF CRETE - Pancretan ...

[president’s message]
4 KPHTH | MAY 2008
PANCRETAN CONVENTION IN CRETE
SUMMER 2009
DON’T MISS IT!
Dear Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, Christ has Risen!
I trust that by now, you are already aware that our 2009
National Convention will be held in Crete during the first half
of July 09!
Our Board of Directors is currently in the final stages of
deliberations regarding the actual convention venue. We
are actively considering two options: the more usual Landbased
Hotel option, and the much more exotic Cruise
Ship-based option.
For the Land-based Option, we are looking to book
a convention headquarters hotel at some place convenient
and strategically located, to allow us to travel to all main cities
of the island for various social and cultural events. For
the Cruise ship-based Option, the main idea is that the
Cruise ship will act as a “floating hotel”, which will visit
and dock at all major cities of Crete, where we will be able
to disembark and visit local attractions, hold meetings, attend
cultural events and receptions and all of the things that
we normally do during our conventions.
In this, as well as other future issues of KPHTH we will be
providing a great deal of details as to the exact itinerary of the
trip and program for this extraordinary Convention! Till then
however, and in order to wet your palette and appetite, here
are some preliminary details:
As already mentioned, for the Land-based Option, just
as we did back in 1999, the Convention will take place at
a Headquarters hotel and the social and cultural events will
be spread throughout the main cities of the island. For the
Cruise-ship based option after making the round of Crete, we
will then set sail for Alexandria, Egypt, where we will have
an opportunity to visit the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of
Alexandria and All Africa, and where will be received by our
own compatriot, His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II. We will
also have an opportunity to visit local attractions, such as the
famous library of Alexandria and perhaps even take a trip to
the Pyramids. From Alexandria, we will return back to Crete,
where we will disembark.
Moreover, as mentioned before, we are currently costing
both the land-based and cruise-based options to determine
which will be the most economical and less risky to the PAA. I
want to personally reassure you that we are exerting our best
efforts to keep the Convention cost to an absolute minimum.
Furthermore, in order to make the Convention more affordable
for our Youth, the Board has decided to initiate a special
fundraising effort, so that we may be able to subsidize all
of our college youths. We have set a lofty target of attracting
more than 200 youths and young-adults to this Odyssey
to our homeland!
During a recent trip to Crete, I have had the opportunity to
meet with many high-level public officials in Crete and Athens.
Even the first mention of the idea of the Convention being held
in Crete, generated quite a bit of excitement and anticipation!
They have all shown us their sincere desire to assist us to plan
and execute an unforgettable convention, both from the business,
as well as, the cultural/entertainment points of view.
As the organizing of the 2009 Convention gets into high
gear, and although we plan to engage professionals for most
of the travel-planning and organizational parts, we most
definitely need as much help and we can possibly get
from everyone who is willing to assist! Please take this
as a “call for volunteers” to join the Convention Planning
Committee! We will appreciate it a great deal.
In the meantime, in order to help us make the “right
choice” for the convention venue, we would very much
like to have your opinion! We urge you to communicate
to us your choice of venue-options, i.e., Land or Cruise-ship
based! Please complete the special questionnaire in this issue
of KPHTH and send it back to us indicating your choices, or
just drop me an email at EVelivasakis@TheTTGroup.com
Meanwhile, I urge you to “save the dates” and to start
your own planning to attend the most magnificent event
in early July of 2009! No matter what the final venue choice,
we promise that it will be one of the most memorable and fun
events that the PAA has ever undertaken!
Fraternally yours,
Manolis Velivasakis
PAA National President