Shahri Estakhry
For Mehregan 1991, Reza Khabazian started a one-page newsletter to inform the community of the Persian Cultural Center’s activities and programs. All hail to him! That is when I began my support and work with the newsletter that eventually became today’s Peyk.
Over the course of the following three decades, the newsletter expanded from its humble single page beginning to its current 8-16 pages, and it also became bilingual in the process. In the early years, Rahim Mohammady–with much credit to him–and I went through the cut and paste era during crazy hours way past many a midnight. Then came the era of today’s Peyk, with Ali Sadr at the helm, the creativity of Saeed Jalali, and a team of Editorial Board members who deserve so much gratitude. The name changed from the PCC Newsletter to Peyk and I took the responsibility of the English editorial.
The years and the times tell us when we must make certain decisions… oftentimes these decisions are not easy, but necessary.
In a few months I will be seventy-nine years old. I am the main witness to my own body and mind growing older and being in need of rest. Many years have passed since I promised my daughter that I would write for her about my amazing life and my adventures. It is time for me to honor that promise and, therefore, I have decided this will be my last editorial for Peyk.
I strongly believe it is a huge mistake for anyone in a leadership role not to have the vision of who could and should replace them and move the entity forward with fresh and up-to-date possibilities. There is no private ownership in what we do but passion to present and preserve our cultural heritage and to serve and make a difference to move forward our community in our new homeland.
In finalizing my decision, I began to look for my replacement knowing I wanted a female writer who was familiar with all of the perspectives of our community, as well as the dos and don’ts of Peyk. My dear friend Shaghayegh Hanson, Esq., who has served on the Board of PCC and is its legal advisor and has contributed powerful articles to Peyk, came to my mind. She is a zealous and resourceful advocate for our community, with a strong and solid voice, bringing much-needed diversity. Happily, she has agreed to replace me on this Editorial page. In welcoming her, I would like to ask you to please give her a very warm welcome and support her with every issue.
This is my heartfelt thank you to my community and deep gratitude to those of you who encouraged me throughout the years and those of you who challenged me to do better. A very special thanks to Sara Agahi for being my behind-the-scenes editor. Reza, Rahim, Ali, Shaghayegh, Saeed, Aria, Shahrzad, and Rachel forever have my gratitude. Thank you one and all.
We are on the doorstep of 2021 when a new era will begin. I hope this era will be one of respect, honesty, dignity, and justice… an era of sincere concern for humanity and our environment. Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year, in good health.
