Dear Asher:
Once again you hit the
nail on the head. Please know that I recently received calls from very
prominent Greek-Americans in our Community to expressed their similar outrage
at the National Heralds, myopic, to say the least decision.
My response to these
callers was simple, that notwithstanding my position as immediate
Past-President of the Federation of Hellenic Societies that I am powerless to
do anything about this other than to express my similar displeasure. Sadly,
such misplaced platitudes as planned by our Community's sole daily paper only
turns-off and tunes-out those true and valued community organizers who, as a
result of this "Honoree's" actions have refused to get involved (or
have stopped bothering) with the Federation. I have regrettably had the experience of approaching such similar people of quality during my term to ask them to step up their efforts to assist the Federation in all that it does and most especially allthat it can and should be doing, only to be told
point-blank that so long as the "Honoree" is involved that they are steering clear of the Federation
over which he maintains choke-hold due to his ample free time, resulting
from his "disabilities". Regrettably his hobby and his desire to elevate himself through his gamesmanship and manipulation at theFederation has truly reduced the credibility of our Community.
In addition to the
points you raised, just to give you another more immediate fact of the games
that our "esteemed honoree" is playing along with his partner in the
"Greek-American Organizational Purge", the present President of the
Federation, (who happens to be another National Herald past Honoree), last
night an "Emergency/Special" Board meeting was held at the
Federation, where I remain as a duly elected Board Member. Notwithstanding the Federation possessing all my telephone numbers and email address, I was never advised of this meeting. Other members were invited last minute but
with no notice of the details of the meeting's agenda, as usual. At the meeting, after discussing a few Parade issues, the President re-raised the "findings" of a
committee he formed, that he initially advised was to review certain serious left-over issues from the previous
administration. Please know at the end of my term, just before the elections, it came to my attention that the "Honoree" on his own
and without any Board approval, executed a Contract on behalf of all the
Federation, valued at over $12,000.00 to lease a copy-machine when the old copy
machine's lease had not yet expired. Moreover, and for unknown reasons, he used his home address as the
Federation's address on the Contract where he explicitly stated that he was acting with full authority of
the Federation. Additionally, just before Mr. Tsekridies took office, I was given a letter
from a paid Parade Secretary that we had retained advising that the
"Honoree" had compelled her to do work for the his New Democracy Party, during hours where
she was receiving pay from the Federation allegedly under his supervision as General Secretary. These and other serious issues were to be the subject of this
Committee's review. However, in his unique wisdom, the President decided to
white-wash these issues and used this biased committee to solicit selected "complaints" against past Federation administrations as payback for daring to uncover the
"Honoree's" nefarious acts.
Accordingly, and true to any classic Stalinistic Purge, the
Committee's results were preordained,
whereby yours truly and other have been charged with and convicted by this of
violating their duties from events that occurred nearly four years ago. Events
that have been previously reviewed and cleared by the independent Auditing Committee and accepted by the General Assembly. In the meanwhile, no-one beyond the inner circle is even aware that this committee exists.
I could go on and on,
but I do not wish to further preach to the choir. Sadly as we celebrate Greece's over-throw of
the tyranny of the Ottoman Turk, our community at home is mired in a similar tyranny that prevents us from flowering to our full potential. Tragically, the Greek Press, for unknown
reasons, seeks to praise, rather than expose such parasiticpractices.
Sincerely,
Demetrius Kalamaras
ב"ה
20 Adar
5772 March
14, 2012
Ill-considered
Reported Forthcoming Laudatory Edition
As
is my wont, and prior to my daily trek to the synagogue for morning worship, I
make a stop to glance the headlines, editorials, and op-ed pages of the New
York Times, along with the highlights of the Greek National Herald
and the dispatches of the Greek-American News Agency.
Please
forgive my astonishment that a major article was devoted to the publisher's
consternation, intensely shared by me, that the respected Greek daily, in
operation for 97 years, and recently featuring the substantial accomplishments
in Greek-American education of the distinguished Demosthenes Triantafillou, is
poised to publish a thoroughly undeserved encomium, on March 17, for embattled
long-time general-secretary Petro Galatoulas of the Federation of Hellenic
Societies of Greater New York!
Having
experienced, at close range, his organizational machinations, while serving as
Greece's representative of the New Democracy Party in the Greek-American
community; actively manipulating the minutes of official meetings during which
accepted resolutions, condemning anti-Semitic violence in our native land, were
excised and not acted upon; for living with a stream of allegations of official
and personal misconduct, including his demonstrable contempt of regulations
banning smoking in close quarters (he, in the unfortunate manner of our
compatriots in Greece, believes that the law applies only to others), makes him
hardly a poster child to emulate!
Finally,
and I trust in vain, his troubled tenure at the pinnacle of Greek communal
life, reflects the paucity of people with talent and energy in our mainly
immigrant enclave willing to ascend the treacherous, but necessary ladder of
leadership. Thus, individuals with less probity, and more able to manipulate
and game the existing system rise to positions occupying the proverbial chairs,
all the way, examples of an inherent mismatch of required qualities and
personal vainglory.
Let
the respected, admired, even dear friend Antonis Diamataris, publisher-editor
of the aforementioned National Herald reconsider his well-intentioned
initiative to profile a worthy Greek-American who has rendered long and
impeachable labor on behalf of us all and withdraw this applicant from
consideration. Searching for a worthier substitute, one whom we can universally
feel proud should be an immediate priority, the better to bury this unfortunate
and untimely disclosure. Under the circumstances, it is the only right thing to
do.
Sincerely,
and with fraternal affection,
Asher
Prof.
Asher J. Matathias
312
Longacre Avenue , Woodmere , NY 11598-2530
,
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