Message from Sarkis Karam to the Zgharta Community in Australia Dear Zgharta Community members, the following is a list of Achievements and activities completed during my three-year term in the service of the Zgharta community in Sydney as President of the Association of Zgharta (YBKBL) Australia (2011-2014): - Secure the sustainment of the association’s future with renewed youth membership. - Establish viable coordination and contact with Zgharta Lebanon. - Made the committee of the association the centralised body through which every member of the community including ladies and youth can offer and implement ideas. - Bolster ties with El Marada Australia Movement, the Independence Australia Movement and Rydalmere FC. Also enhance ties with all components of the Zgharta community. - Get in order all of the association’s financial records for the past few years (taxes, bookkeeping..) - Launch the new association website Zgharta-ehden.org and Facebook association group. Design of a new logo and t-shirts. - Develop a text message service to the community with more than 400 mobile phone numbers thus far. - Provide comprehensive media coverage of all of the association’s activities. - Three Our Lady of Zgharta Feast Day church masses in addition to a mass to pray for the beatification of Venerable Patriarch Estephan Doueihi. - Take part in the ordination of Fr Yuhanna Azizi. - Three annual receptions with attendance average of 550 people on each occasion. - Construct a new section for functions at the Zgharta House. - Host cocktail receptions in honour of six Zghartawi politicians, in addition to visiting and local priests, writers and community figures. - Held three book launches at Zgharta House. - Held two seminars at Zgharta House. - Held three successful Christmas picnics. - Issue three calendars. - Celebrate the association’s 50th anniversary in which all former association presidents were honoured. - Organise two fundraisers dedicated to the Divine Providence and one fundraiser for the Cancer Council and various activities including a Movie Night at Zgharta House. - Take part in tens of memorial masses, condolences, fundraisers, gala functions and many other social activities for the Zgharta community and the Lebanese community including greeting the Lebanese president Michel Suleiman & congratulating Bishop Antoine Tarabay. - Secure a NSW Government Grant via MP Tony Issa ($15,000) - Saved $80,000 (after all of the expenses) in the association’s account from revenue raised to make the total amount in association’s funds I hand over to new committee ($100,000). - Made contributions to Rydalmere Zgharta FC and the Zgharta Zawye Youth Movement. - Honoured the Aged Zghartawiyi. -Issue the new Zgharta Community Phone Directory. - Present association awards to numerous achievers And the list goes on with thanks to every past and current committee member who helped to the best of their ability and the biggest thanks to all of the Zgharta community and friends who donated and assisted in the organisation and in the sponsorship of many events. It is important to clarify that all of the above is achieved through our work as volunteers where we did not only dedicate time and efforts, but also paid from our own pockets for every function we attended and every donation we made as representatives of the association. Finally I extend my sincere and best wishes to the new association president Mr Joseph Mekary and committee members who were elected on 6 April 2014. I had the pleasure of having Joseph Mekary as one of the very active and creative members of my committee for the past two years where he showed enormous potential to serve the community of Zgharta through the association with competence and dedication. Joseph is a very promising young man who I am sure will succeed in his new post and will maintain the high level of success experienced by the association for years to come. Thank you and best regards. (Sarkis Karam 6/4/14)
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 20:22:22 +0000
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