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<\/p>\nPCC\u2019s Annual General Assembly took place on June 3, 2021, at 7 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual meeting was conducted online via Zoom. At the assembly, the annual report was presented, followed by the election of the new board members.<\/p>\n
Prior to the start of the meeting, Maz Jobrani, the famous comedian, actor, and honorary member of PCC, was the guest of the program and opened the meeting.<\/p>\n
After calling the meeting to order, PCC\u2019s 2020-2021 president, Shahla Salah, reported last year\u2019s activities. Hamid Rafizadeh presented the financial report and Ali Sadr presented the reports for the Iranian School of San Diego (ISSD) and Peyk<\/i> magazine. A summary of last year\u2019s activities is listed further below.<\/p>\n
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2020-2021 Board of Directors and Committee Assignments<\/b><\/p>\n
PCC\u2019s board of directors and committee members for the past year were Shahla Salah (President), Amir Farshad Babakhani (Vice-President), Hamid Rafizadeh (Treasurer), Nikoo Atefi (Secretary), Parnian Badii, Hamid Beikzadeh, Hossain Hajimowlana, Ali Sadr (ISSD Principal), Venus Safaei, and Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian. The advisory board consisted of Shahri Estakhry, Saeed Jalali, Rosita Bagheri, Shaghayegh Hanson, and Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi.<\/p>\n
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The PCC board of directors held monthly meetings over the past year, while committees held meetings as needed. At its first meeting, the board of directors elected its executive committee members and established the following committees:<\/p>\n
Arts and Culture<\/b>:<\/span> Hossain Hajimowlana (Head),<\/b>\u00a0Ali Sadr, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Farshad Babakhani, Parnian Badii, Anahita Babaei, Abdy Salimi, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, Sohile Bigdeli, and Nikoo Atefi<\/span><\/p>\n Membership<\/b><\/span>: Farideh Fazel (Head), Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Sara Alaghehband, Parnian Badii, and Shahrzad Julazadeh<\/p>\n PR<\/b>:<\/span> Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian (Head), Sara Alaghehband, Ali Sadr, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Farshad Babakhani, Nikoo Atefi, Farideh Fazel, Hossain Hajimowlana, and Shahrzad Julazadeh<\/p>\n Grant and Financ<\/b><\/span>e<\/b>: <\/b>Hamid Rafizadeh (Head), Shahla Salah, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Shahrzad Julazadeh, and Cheryl Encine<\/p>\n Fundraising and Nowruz<\/b><\/span>: Nikoo Atefi (Head),\u00a0Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Farideh Rasouli Fazel, Shahla Salah, Venus Safaei, Parnian Badii, Hamid Rafizadeh, Bahar Bagherpour, and Mohammad Ayari<\/p>\n PCC Charity<\/b><\/span>: Venus Safaei (Head),\u00a0Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Shahla Salah, Parnian Badii, Nikoo Atefi, and Shahrzad Julazadeh<\/p>\n Education<\/b>:<\/span> Ali Sadr (Head),\u00a0Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Parisa Amini, and Shahnaz Ahmadian<\/p>\n ChaharShanbeh Soori & SizdeBedar<\/b><\/span>: Hamid Rafizadeh (Head),\u00a0and Hamid Beikzadeh<\/p>\n Building<\/b>:<\/span> Hamid Rafizadeh (Head),\u00a0Ali Sadr, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Hamid Beikzadeh, Shahla Salah, and Shahrzad Julazadeh<\/p>\n PCC Youth<\/b>:<\/span> Farideh Fazel (Head),\u00a0Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, and Venus Safaei<\/p>\n Peyk<\/i>:<\/b><\/span> <\/b>Ali Sadr (Head), Shahri Estakhry, Aria Fani, Saeid Noori Bushehri, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Shaghayegh Hanson, Reza Khabazian, Ali Sahebolzamani, and Rachel Tait<\/p>\n Governance:<\/b><\/span> Ali Sadr (Head),\u00a0Shaghayegh Hansen, Nikoo Atefi, Shahla Salah, Farideh Fazel, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, and Shahrzad Julazadeh<\/p>\n Summary of Persian Cultural Center Events and Activities<\/b><\/p>\n During 2020-2021, PCC was active in organizing traditional celebrations and programs for the Iranian American community. PCC also collaborated with other organizations to reach out to the community at large. Due to the limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, all these programs were virtual.<\/p>\n \n PCC sponsored or co-sponsored the following programs:<\/b><\/p>\n 1- Mehregan celebration in collaboration with San Diego Museum of Art, a virtual concert by Damsaz Ensemble<\/span><\/p>\n 2- Collaboration with Pacific Art Movement for the 21st Asian Film Festival<\/span><\/p>\n 3- Virtual Yalda celebration, a virtual concert by the Velshodegan Band<\/span><\/p>\n 4- Virtual screening of African Violet<\/i> and Q&A session in collaboration with Venera Film<\/span><\/p>\n 5- Virtual screening of documentary Coup 53<\/i> in collaboration with Amirani Film (twice)<\/span><\/p>\n 6- Virtual writing workshops with Hossein Mortezaeian Abknar<\/span><\/p>\n 7- Dornab Electric Quartet virtual live concert <\/span><\/p>\n 8- Virtual City of San Diego Nowruz celebration<\/span><\/p>\n 9- Presentation of Haft-seen along with literary, cultural, and historical exhibits in four public libraries throughout San Diego County<\/span><\/p>\n 10- Virtual PCC Nowruz celebration with Rastak Band<\/span><\/p>\n 11- Four virtual Nights of Poetry and Literature (on the third Wednesday of the month)<\/span><\/p>\n 12- Six virtual Film and Discussion series on every last Thursday of the month <\/span><\/p>\n 13- Virtual Jong e Farhanghi with guest Hooshiar Afsarzadeh with Racism Awareness Project<\/span><\/p>\n 14- Virtual Jong e Farhanghi with guest Dr. Aria Fani of the University of Washington<\/span><\/p>\n 15- Virtual Jong e Farhanghi with guest Dr. Dominico Ingentino of UCLA<\/span><\/p>\n 16- Virtual Jong e Farhanghi with guest Hossain Mortezaeian Abkenar<\/span><\/p>\n 18- Virtual Jong e Farhanghi with guest Naser Rahmaninejad <\/span><\/p>\n 19- Virtual cooking sessions with \u201cThree Chefs in the Kitchen\u201d on every second Saturday of the month (3 events)<\/span><\/p>\n 20- Collaboration with Docunight to virtually show documentary movies followed by Q&A sessions<\/span><\/p>\n 21- Panel Discussion \u201cImmigrant Rights & Racial Justice, Past & Present\u201d collaboration with Professional Organization of Iranian Americans, PCC of Atlanta, and Racism Awareness Project<\/span><\/p>\n 22- Collaboration with Pacific Arts Movement on 10th Spring Showcase <\/span><\/p>\n PCC\u2019s virtual Yalda and Nowruz programs were watched by thousands in the U.S. and abroad.<\/p>\n ISSD: <\/b><\/p>\n The academic year 2020-2021 was the Iranian School of San Diego\u2019s 33rd year of operation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all ISSD classes and events were held virtually via Zoom. With 160 students, ISSD had a total of 18 classes on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings, which were separated into six levels, including two classes for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten and two Persian classes for adults. Extracurricular classes such as Dance and Setar were offered as well. Because of the virtual nature of our classes, we had students from other cities in the U.S. and even from Europe. ISSD is planning to continue with the online classes in the future, as the cooperation of parents and students in coping with virtual classes has been exemplary.<\/p>\n ISSD\u2019s Persian language program is accredited by all local school districts as well as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which means that high school students can fulfill their second language requirements by taking Persian language courses at ISSD. PCC\u2019s Education Committee has completed 6 textbooks for teaching Persian as a heritage language. In addition, audio versions of the textbooks were also made available to students. Several Persian schools around the country are using our textbooks and our curriculum.<\/p>\n During the past year, ISSD organized two photographic competitions for students, entitled COVID-19 and I<\/i> and Haft-seen<\/i>. The winners were announced and their pictures were printed in Peyk<\/i> magazine. The school\u2019s virtual Nowruz<\/i> program was held on March 21, 2021. The virtual End of the Year<\/i> event and graduation for the Class of 2021 took place on May 23, 2021.<\/p>\n ISSD has a website (issd.pccsd.org) and is also active on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.<\/p>\n Persian Dance Academy: <\/b><\/p>\n The Persian Cultural Dance Academy met virtually on Sundays. The 20 dance students performed at the PCC Nowruz event, ISSD\u2019s Nowruz program, and ISSD\u2019s End of the Year<\/i> program.<\/p>\n Building:<\/b><\/p>\n The Iranian American Center (IAC) typically hosts a variety of cultural activities for the Iranian community (such as the Iranian American Scholarship Fund and Dollar a Month Fund, San Diego State University, and University of California San Diego). The IAC has a library with more than five thousand books. During the past year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings and events were held virtually via Zoom.<\/p>\n Peyk<\/i> Magazine:<\/b><\/p>\n Peyk<\/i>, PCC\u2019s bilingual cultural publication, is one of our most successful outreach instruments\u2014it is registered with the Library of Congress and recently received a grant from the Persian Heritage Foundation. Every two months, Peyk<\/i> is mailed to thousands of subscribers in San Diego and other parts of the country. Typically, thousands are distributed through business and cultural centers in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties, the Bay Area, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Dallas, Atlanta, and many other cities.<\/p>\n Peyk<\/i> is also available online at\u00a0peykmagazine.com<\/span>. This site is interactive, and readers can directly communicate and leave comments for the editorial board. The past issues of Peyk<\/i> are still available at the Peyk<\/i> archive,\u00a0pccsd.org\/peyk<\/span>.<\/p>\n Outreach Programs:<\/b><\/p>\n PCC has continued its joint programs with local organizations, such as San Diego city libraries, San Diego Museum of Art, UCSD, Dollar a Month Fund, Iranian American Scholarship Fund, Iranian American Bar Association, PAC Art, Amirani Film, Dornab, Persian Cultural Center of Atlanta, Professional Organization of Iranian Americans, and the Racism Awareness Project.<\/p>\n \n PCC has worked with SDG&E\u2019s \u201cEnergy Solutions Partners\u201d <\/span>campaign. As an \u201cEnergy Solutions Partner,\u201d PCC has joined other nonprofits and environmental groups in a collaborative effort to make all of California\u2019s consumers aware of how they can save energy and money through energy efficiency. PCC was chosen as a partner because of our ability to target a specific demographic and translate important emergency news alerts into Farsi, as necessary.<\/p>\n Membership<\/b>: Public Relations<\/b>:<\/p>\n Thousands of people all over the world view the PCC\u2019s website (www.pccsd.org<\/span>), Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube platforms. PCC issues a weekly electronic newsletter that reaches thousands of community members. The PCC website provides quick access to Peyk<\/i>, ongoing programs and activities, as well as other cultural information and events.\u00a0 <\/span>People can refer to the website to read about PCC\u2019s many activities, to renew their membership, and to make tax-deductible contributions online.<\/p>\n In the past year, several PCC events were featured on KPBS radio in San Diego, KIRN Radio Iran in Los Angeles, Chekhabar.com, Kodoom.com, and on the San Diego Arts and Sol website. These programs not only reached out to the Iranian American community, but also other communities who attended our featured programs.<\/p>\n The PCC Foundation-A Charitable Organization:<\/b><\/p>\n The foundation continues to raise funds for the following projects: helping members of our community who are facing many challenges with layoffs and furloughs due to COVID-19; supporting a young woman by paying for one month of food and rent; helping others with food; and continuing to support two young students who lost their parents and need help (this is a long-term project).<\/p>\n Youth: <\/b><\/p>\n This committee has been behind the planning of many PCC events, both for members of the center and for charity.\u00a0It is responsible for organizing Family Fun Night, hosting baking events, and working on the logistics and promotion of other events every month. The committee\u2019s board has also spent time helping different charity organizations raise money, and the student board has organized fundraisers for PCC, collecting hundreds of pounds of food for the San Diego Food Bank. In addition, the Youth committee has offered free remote tutoring to any student who needs help while attending classes from home. The committee continues to have the following activities: food and toy drive, fundraising at different restaurants, virtual baking classes, virtual family game night, and free remote tutoring.<\/p>\n **********<\/b><\/p>\n Special Thank<\/b> You:<\/b><\/span> We would like to take this opportunity to thank the board members who are leaving us. We are grateful for the time, energy, and talents they generously gave to PCC and our community. We look forward to having them back on the PCC Board again. The following members have served their terms and are leaving the board: Hossain Hajimowlana and Venus Safaei. They can run for re-election.<\/p>\n We are continually looking for volunteers to join our committees and subcommittees. Please step forward and GET INVOLVED with various groups to HELP US better serve the community.<\/p>\n =====================<\/p>\n 2021 PCC Board of Directors Election:<\/b><\/span> After the Board of Director\u2019s report, candidates to fill the vacancies in the Board introduced themselves and presented their plans for joining the Board. Mr. Mohammad Ayari and Mrs. Sholeh Dadkhah observed the election, which was performed by secret ballot. After counting the ballots, including the absentees and electronic votes, the results were announced.<\/p>\n The following were elected as voting members of the Board of Directors: These new members will serve along with the current board members: Shahla Salah, Nikoo Atefi, Parnian Badii, Ali Sadr, Hamid Beikzadeh, Hamid Rafizadeh, Farshad Babakhani, and Farideh Fazel.<\/p>\n The general assembly adjourned at 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held on June 9, 2021.\u00a0Subsequently, the Board elected members of the Executive Committee, who will serve PCC for one year:<\/p>\n President: Shahla Salah Other members of the Board of Directors will be leading various committees such as Arts and Culture, Education, PCC Charity, Building, Grant and Finance, Nowruz and Fundraising, PR, PCC Youth, ChaharShanbeh Soori & SizdeBedar, and Membership.<\/p>\n If you are interested in joining any of the committees, please contact PCC by phone at (858) 552-9355 or email at pcc@pccsd.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Annual Meeting and Election Persian Cultural Center of San Diego June 3, 2021 33 Years of Service PCC\u2019s Annual General Assembly took place on June 3, 2021, at 7 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual meeting was conducted online via Zoom. At the assembly, the annual report was presented, followed by the election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pcc-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/span>The PCC continued advertising and inviting members of the community to join. PCC provided new online membership software via Join-it and issued membership cards.\u00a0 <\/span>Members receive a special discount for PCC events and to various Iranian American businesses.<\/p>\n
\nFariba Babakhani-Ghazi and Sara Taghavi
\nSoheil Bigdeli and Venus Safaei were elected as alternative board members.<\/p>\n
\nVice President:\u00a0Amir Farshad Babakhani
\nTreasurer: Hamid Refizadeh
\nSecretary: Nikoo Atefi<\/p>\n