The Honorary President - Mr Constantinos Baltas
Constantinos Baltas - Brief Biographical Note
Constantinos Baltas was born in northern Greece in 1940.
After completing his secondary education and fulfilling his military obligations, in December 1963 Constantinos migrated to Australia, and settled in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, where he lives with his family, and ran his business, ever since.
Constantinos' presence in Oakleigh coincides with the foundation of the Greek Orthodox Community of Oakleigh and Districts (GOCOD), of which he became a member in 1964.
Mr Baltas had served in the Management Committees of GOCOD from 1964 to 2003, with the exception of the two year period 1982-1984.
From 1970 to 1987 Mr Baltas occupied the position of Secretary of GOCOD, and from 1987 to 2003 he served the organisation from the position of President.
During this period, GOCOD embarked upon a developmental program in the areas of educational, social, cultural and philanthropic services unprecedented within the Greek community of Melbourne.
Owing to this program, Oakleigh has become, within the overall Greek community of Australia, what Melbourne is reputed to be in the context of the Greek Diaspora.
Mr Baltas has played a pivotal role in the ascendancy of GOCOD to a leading community organisation, especially during the period of his Presidency (1987-2003), when Sts Anargiri College developed into a major educational institution, catering for the educational and spiritual needs of over 700 students, at the Preschool, Preps, Primary and Secondary levels.
In addition, within multicultural Melbourne, Sts Anargiri College has acquired aη enviable reputation as a centre for Greek and Orthodox studies.
Ιn recognition of his substantial, and over a long period of time, services to the Greek community of Melbourne, Mr Baltas was awarded by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ΙΙ the Centenary Medal in 2001, in the context of the commemoration of the centenary of Australia.
Ιn 2002 Mr Baltas was presented with the Award for Meritorious Service in the Community by the Premier of Victoria, the Ηοn. Steve Bracks, and the Chairman of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Mr George Lekakis.
Οn its part, the current Management Committee of the Greek Orthodox Community of Oakleigh and Districts, in appreciation of his outstanding services to GOCOD and the wider Greek community of Melbourne, in 2004 decided unanimously to make Mr Constantinos Baltas its Honorary President.
An Honorary Album was compiled as a further tribute and written testament to the long and substantial public service of Constantinos Baltas, and it was launched at a special function to mark this occasion οn 26 September 2004.