In the blink of an eye, summer has passed. It was an eventful summer nonetheless. Summer of the Arts was a huge success with the children learning hymns, participating in arts and crafts, sharing a meal and practicing dances for the Greek American Festival. We had a wonderful time at our annual summer picnic. About 130 people were in attendance and despite the weather and last minute venue change everyone had a great time. Thank you to Persilla Zervos, Kyp and Harry Proestos and their committee for making this event so fun! Our summer luncheons were also a success this year, despite the competition with the downtown food trucks. We were able to serve over 1,100 meals over the summer and will have our net profit available soon. Thanks to the committee for working so hard to make the lunches happen. A lot of “behind the scenes” preparations take place and this crew never once complained whether there were only a few people to help, or an army of volunteers. Special thanks to Connie Mynihan for her help with the lunches and spearheading the Festival workshops. Connie and her merry band of volunteers continue to make preparations for the festival and her continued leadership is appreciated.
The Greek American Festival is right around the corner. Please make sure to sign up and help. We are in need of volunteers everywhere. The more staffing that we have to pay for, the less profit we see. I would like to reach out to the parents of the dancers: Please sign up for a shift or two. Speaking with firsthand experience, you can help out by volunteering AND still support your child. Our parish is aging and those parishioners who have worked from the days of the International Festival have earned the right to not work every shift of the festival, but feel compelled to do so because we are short of volunteers. WE NEED EVERYONE. Call a friend, call a family member, but help us get them to the festival. We need over 400 people to cover all of the shifts and we cannot do it without you.
Finally, a special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Hulles of Venice Florida, who made a sizable donation in honor of Louis’ parents, George and Sofia Hulles to be used in the Cathedral. We appreciate your kind gesture toward our community.
As always, call, email, text or grab me at coffee hour if you have a question, comment or concern.
