A memorable evening was organised on Saturday by the Central Pontian Association Pontiaki Estia as members and friends celebrated together the Club’s grand reopening.
The evening was dedicated to all the volunteers, sponsors, organisations and individuals who helped repair the major damages that occurred to the club, after the front wall of the building collapsed unexpectedly in June 2018
In a heartfelt speech, the president of the Pontian Association, Pontiaki Estia, Kostas Tseprailidis, stated how pleased he was that the club was finally reopening, an event made possible due to the support of so many and especially the Victorian Multicultural Commission.
“We found ourselves in an extremely precarious position,” Mr Tseprailidis said. He described, how after they were told that the insurance was not going to cover the damages, they desperately searched for other means to fund the repairs, and discovered that they could be eligible for the Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund.
Two weeks after they submitted their application to the Victorian Multicultural Commission, former Minister Jenny Mikakos, called to give them the good news that they had successfully secured the substantial amount of $250,000, Mr Tseprailidis said.
“We are so grateful that agencies such as the VMC, play such an important role in supporting Clubs like ours. Without their help, we do not know how long it would have taken and whether at the end we would have been able to raise that kind of money,” he said promising that this celebratory dinner will become an annual event.
Present at this dinner on Saturday, were the new Consul General for Greece in Melbourne, Mr Emmanuel Kakavelakis, the Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Vivienne Nguyen, representatives of the Victorian government, and Pontian organisations, amongst others.