A new era has been heralded for the Pan-Macedonian Association of Melbourne and Victoria, with the appointment of a new president.
Representatives from across 24 Macedonian clubs gathered on Sunday to elect a new board of directors.
Selected for the top job was Panagiotis Jasonides, while Sophocles Kitharidis was elected as vice president and manager of public relations, Dimitris Vrontzou for the role of secretary and Joseph Manaridis as treasurer.
Mr Jasonides succeeds the association’s longest-serving president Dimitris Minas, who was at the helm of Macedonian Hellenism Down Under for more than 20 years.
In his address, the former president referred to the many initiatives which were led under his guidance, including the publication of a book entitled Μακεδόνες Έλληνες της Ωκεανίας (Macedonian Hellenes in Oceania) released in March 2015.
Mr Minas also stressed the need for continued cooperation with other collective bodies, making reference to the constructive cooperation between the Pan-Macedonian Association and the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies over the past five years.
While he declined to reapply for a position on the board, Mr Minas made it clear he would continue to support the association as he could.
In his first public announcement as president, Mr Jasonides informed members that a new program would soon be made available.
He also went to on state a number of initiatives which will be taking place under his authority, including increased participation of second and third generation members, an upgrade of IT infrastructure, and improvements to the annual Demetria festival, among others.
