The primary objectives and purposes of the Institute are to explore the principles and ideals of Hellenism, and to promote and preserve the Hellenistic Culture and heritage, past, present and future, including but not limited to the following: arts, letters, history, medicine, geography, archeology, religions, physical and social sciences, and other subjects of cultural and/or historical interest. To achieve this purpose, the Institute strives to encourage strong Hellenic-American relations, and promote cultural and educational activities between the Hellenic-American community and the public at large.

Mailing Address:

HELLENIC CULTURAL INSTITUTE CALIFORNIA CENTRAL COAST
P.M. BOX 184
484B Washington St.
MONTEREY, CA 93940-3052

E-mail:

Webmaster: Fotis Papoulias, papoulias@comcast.net

As citizens of our community we have the luxury of living in one of the most beautiful areas of the world. However, we have the responsibility to contribute to our community and society our best practices in life, for the future generations. All for the development of a better society, and for maintaining our country in a leading position in the world.

For centuries, the spirit of Homer, Socrates, and Plato have guided the path of our society in values, morals, ethics, respect of human life, and the joy of the Knowledge of Oneself. Over the last decade, our local public school system has been challenged by the reduction of resources, and thereby has been forced to eliminate many valuable programs including The Arts. These reductions are limiting the intellectual growth of the future generations.

As active citizens, we accept the responsibility of assisting our community by establishing the Hellenic Cultural Institute - California Central Coast with the purpose of promoting and preserving the Hellenic Spirit, Culture and Heritage, past and present. This includes, but not limited to, the Arts, History, Geography and Archeology, Physical and Social Sciences, and providing Scholarships for students that choose Classic Greek Studies.

The Hellenic Cultural Institute is not a Greek-American Club. It is the voice of local Americans who care about the quality of life and future of our society, and future generations.

You are invited to contribute to the enrichment of our local culture by becoming a member of the Hellenic Institute.

Sincerely,

Aris Zavitsanos
Founder and First President, Hellenic Institute, 2003.

I would like to thank you for your support and enthusiasm in HCI’s mission during this past year. In many aspects this has been an exciting year and much progress was made. It has also been a challenging year which contributed to our feeling of enjoyments for our successes. During this past year, HCI transitioned from a pay-as-you-go membership plan to a yearly plan where all accounts are billed and valid with a single start date, coinciding with the calendar year. Although this resulted in a predictable lapse in some membership renewals as all accounts were shifted to a start date of January 1, we fully expect that the streamlining of operations will result in more accurate membership tracking with less database management effort.

Our scholarship program had one of its most successful years ever with a plethora of excellent submissions from qualified high school students. I would like to thank the scholarship committee for their continuing efforts, both in front and behind the scenes. Their hard work and dedication is paying big dividends. Consistent with the primary mission of HCI, namely education, and with your support, I expect that our scholarship program will increase this coming year.

Our Greek school and dance program finished another strong year. This was accomplished with the background of an economic crisis in Greece, and the program’s success is a tribute to the hard work of the committee and the dedicated teachers.

We had another year where our participation in existing or organizing community events brought old friends together, helped us make new friends, and recognized those individuals who inspire us during our annual awards dinner. It is very hard to put together such successful events year after year, and once again the committee did a great job not just meeting but exceeding expectations.

Sincerely,

Fotis A. Papoulias
President, Hellenic Institute, 2011.

Fotis A. Papoulias, President
Nicolas Papadakis, 1st Vice-President
Elaine Hustedt, 2nd Vice-President
Maureen Richards, Secretary
John Tierman, Treasurer
Sam Alladeen, Director
Vikki Hoularis-Buksa, Director
Dennis Osmer, Director
Panagos Pateras, Director
Gus Scourkes, Director
John Scourkes, Director
Anthony Zavitsanos, Director

Theodore Cominos, Esq., Legal Counsel

For general inquiries and membership information please direct your questions to Mr. Fotis A. Papoulias, President, Hellenic Institute, P.O. BOX 184, 484B Washington St., Monterey, CA 939403052. E-mail papoulias@comcast.net

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