PYA - Pancretan Association of America

PANCRETAN YOUTH OF AMERICA (PYA)

The purpose of the Pancretan Youth Association is and always shall be:

1. To promote and develop social and cultural relationships and mutuality among all of the Cretans and their descendants residing in the United States and Canada.

2. To promote and develop education; through scholarships and otherwise; to raise voluntary contributions and funds; and to distribute such funds legally to recognized philanthropic institutions, in the United States, Canada, Greece (i.e. the island of Crete), and for other philanthropic purposes.

3. To inspire and encourage loyalty and devotion of each member to his adopted country and its flag, obedience to its constitution and laws, and to instruct and encourage non-citizens members to become citizens of their respective country.

4. To give such moral encouragement and legal material assistance, which is considered necessary for the welfare and benefit of the members in the PYA.

5. To work in co-operation with and as a part of the PAA, promoting its activities and programs of the PYA.

6. To encourage those individuals who no longer qualify for membership to the PYA to enroll and continue to participate as members of the PAA.

If you ever have any questions about our youth association, want to know how to join, or have an idea of an event, please email to pya_president@pancretan.org

In the meantime, please visit our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram (@pancretan_youth).

PYA Facebook Page

PYA President: Georgia Tsoutsounis

Dear Family,

I am opening this message with “family” because after returning from the 45^th National PAA Convention, I have an immense sense of pride for the relationships we Cretans share. There is no better word to describe it than family. What a great time it was reuniting with our παρέα in the spirit of Cretan Brotherhood with friends from across the nation. Thank you to the members of our San Francisco family for facilitating this and for bringing us all together for a memorable week!

I will continue with thanking the outgoing PAA and PYA boards for their service to our Cretan-American Family. Next, I would like to congratulate the newly elected boards. It is my pleasure to work with you all for the improvement of our amazing organization.

We are all grateful to the Pancretan Association of America for providing us, with a connection to our beautiful Cretan culture. I have always been proud to call myself Σφακιανή και Κρητικιά, but being a part of this organization has made me even prouder!

I want to especially thank the youth for entrusting me with this honor. I can assure you that together with the board we will keep our passion for our culture alive and continue to celebrate in our own "Κρήτη away from Κρήτη" way. We have great role models guiding our great youth so I anticipate that our accomplishments together are nothing short of spectacular!

Instead of stating what our goals are for the term, I would prefer to show you, as it is evident that actions speak much louder than words. I will say, however, that the passionate flame of our homeland will not dwindle, but will keep burning stronger than ever before.

I encourage communication and welcome ideas from everyone. Involvement on both the national and local level are crucial to the success of our organization. If there is something you would like to see implemented, please share with us. There will be several opportunities to get involved so stay tuned. Remember, the PYA is run by the youth for the youth!

I humbly thank you again for this honor, and look forward to great times with an even greater PYA Youth!

Respectfully yours,

Georgia K. Tsoutsounis

pya_president@pancretan.org