The final event of 2016 calendar took place at the Watermark Hotel Glenelg on the 9th of December 2016 at 12.00 noon.

More than 60 members and their friends gathered for the Annual Christmas Lunch at the well- known Watermark Hotel to celebrate the holiday season and exchange Christmas greetings.

The December lunch is one of our annual fundraisers.

We are grateful to all who contributed to the success of this day and to our members who have been part of our long and successful journey!

 The Annual Christmas party-luncheon for the members of the Greek Women’s Society of SA “ Taxiarchis” Inc and the 30th anniversary celebration of the Greek Women’s Centre took place at the Goodwood Community Centre on the 23rd of November 2016.

The highlight of this year’s Annual Christmas party-luncheon was the commemoration of 30 years of work of the Greek Women’s Centre, one of the main projects of our organization.  

The aims and objectives of the Centre have been to provide a venue for Greek women to meet in an environment conducive to their ethics and culture and present a broad range of activities for their well- being, thus alleviating loneliness and isolation which, due to language difficulties, has prevented participation in the wider community programs.

The official guests who attended the luncheon included, the Hon Mrs. Zoe Bettison, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, The Honourable David Pisoni, Member for Unley, Mr. Michael Keenan Chair- person of the Goodwood Community Services Inc, Mr. Bill Gonis President, Greek Orthodox Community SA, Mrs. Chrisoula Heisler, and Mrs. Angela Krassos.  

Nibbles and refreshments were provided to the members, whilst they waited for the guests to gather before the opening speech of the President Mrs. Roula Soumas.

The President Mrs Roula Souma extended a warm welcome to the members and official guests and introduced Mrs. Hryssoula Heisler who was the main speaker of the day. Mrs. Hyrsoula Heisler a member of the Greek Women’s Society of SA “ Taxiarchis since 1965  and the organization’s Secretary for more 40 years spoke to the gathering about the history of the establishment of the Greek Women’s Centre, the hardships and obstacles which were faced by its founding members. Special mention was made to the contribution of Mrs. Angela Krassos, and the late Nikoleta Batzavali.  

In concluding Mrs.Heisler stressed the importance of the invaluable support and assistance rendered to the Greek Women’s Centre by the spouses of the members of the Executive Committee, namely  the late late Nassos Heisler, Alex Drummond and Antonis Katianos as well as many others, and how she was extremely grateful that that the Centre had reached this important milestone : the celebration of its 30th anniversary.

The Minister of Multicultural Affairs, Ms.Zoe Bettison also addressed the gathering and congratulated the organization for its notable achievements, followed by Mr. David Pisoni, MP for Unley. Finally, Mr. Bill Gonis, President of GOCSA addressed the members and congratulated the Greek Women’s Society of SA. Mr. Gonis thanked the organization for standing by the Greek Orthodox Community of SA Inc.in all its endeavours and for the financial and moral support provided which it had provided to the Community for the 79 years of its existence.

 The official guests then cut a special cake to commemorate three decades of successful operation of the Greek Women’s Centre.

The free Christmas Lunch has been provided for the Society’s members dating back many years.  

The cooking and preparation and the entire organization of the event is carried out by the Executive Committee members as sign of appreciation and  recognition for the support received from its  members ( monetary and in kind) for the Society’s  philanthropic work. Its aim is to provide recreation for its members and celebrate the Christmas period blending Greek customs with the local ones.

The ballroom and tables were decked with fresh bougainvillea creating a festive atmosphere. After the meal, the guests were treated to Christmas Carols which were performed by the GOCSA choir and of course Father Christmas himself paid a visit to spread the good cheer. 

The delicious lunch was enjoyed by all but most of all it was the friendly and welcoming faces of our members and their warm exchanges that put everyone in the Christmas spirit.  

The final highlight of the event was the raffle draw which included many prizes all of which had been contributed by the members of organization.

We are extremely grateful to all our members for the generosity and support and to all our volunteers and committee members for their hard work.

On 24th of July we held a very successful Annual General Meeting where members heard reports from the President and Treasurer on our work during the past year.

The meeting took place at the Goodwood Community Centre and was attended by many of our members.

This year a new Committee was elected for the term 2016-2018. 

Congratulations to the new Committee:  President Roula Soumas, Vice-President Hellas Loucas, Treasurer Georgette Psaltis Secretary Helen Vassos, Assistant Treasurer Sandra Sifis, Assistant Secretary Eleni Bogias: Effie Katianou- Paschalis, Katy Tsakalos, Evagelitsa Hatzi, Dionysia Angelakos, Katina Kakoogiannis, Dina Paschsalidis, Irini Michaeloglou, Effi Toubakaris, Panagiota Stamatopoulos, Eve Grant.

The new Committee members will bring additional ideas and motivation to our organization which next year will be celebrating its 80th anniversary.

We thank all of those members who attended and demonstrated their support for the Organization and the Executive Committee as well as all our volunteers and supporters.

The Mother’s Day luncheon has been a long established tradition with our association and is always an important fundraiser event for our organization.

This year's  Mothers Day Luncheon was held at The Pavilion on the Park a multi award-winning venue located in Veale Gardens, with a reputation of providing immaculate food and service.  

The lunch was held to raise awareness for autism and raise funds for AUTISM SA.   Louise Davies,  of  AUTISM SA spoke to the gathering about the main priority  of AUTISM  which has always been to support the people and the wider Autism Spectrum community as well as being  the lead provider of support and services to people on the spectrum.

The 50 patrons and members who attended enjoyed a sumptuous lunch and  a program which included aHomage: To Mothers by George Katsibris, Theatre Actor and Director,

Reading of Poems and a  Visual Presentation of Conceptual art by Niki Sperou Visual Artist

We wish to thank all the members and friends who attended this lunch and generously donated to the important cause.

The traditional Clean Monday picnic was held at Glenelg beach in front of the Stamford Grand Hotel at just before lunch.

Our members and their families came along and brought their food, chairs and rugs. All who participated had  an enjoyable time.

As usual it was fun filled event and many took part in the games and competitions.