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6 THE SHEPHERD • JANUARY 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO I credit my first real boss, with teaching me the value and importance of a deadline. He told me a deadline (even the self-imposed kind) will drive you to do your best work. It’s like cleaning your house before guests come over: the outcome is always better because you had a deadline and a goal. Our goals have been driven by a mix of fundraisers and performances to prepare our group for a very big deadline. The day after Thanksgiving we performed at a beautiful re- tirement community in Scripps Ranch. The performance drew 70+ residents who were all too excited to join us on the dance floor for a Greek dance lesson. In early December, we held our December Nights Parking lot fundraiser for the sec- ond year in a row. We parked almost twice the number of cars over the previous year, and our parking lot filled up to capacity (we think the free hot chocolate helped!) in less than two hours each night. On January 19th at 7:00 p.m. we will host Greek-American comedian Basile in the Cypress Room. (Hopefully you bought your tickets early because this event will sell out!) The event will include the show, music, a free appetizer bar, and cocktails and bever- ages for purchase, for only $60/person, with special advertising opportunities the night of the event and in our upcoming Greek Amer- ican Business Directory which will highlight our generous event underwriters. On February 4th after Divine Liturgy, we will host fellowship and have both our dance groups perform at our FDF Preview as a thank you to the Saint Spyridon community. This, of course, brings us to the grand finale, the goal and deadline we have been eyeing for so long… Saint Spyridon’s first trip to FDF in four years will be this February 15- 19, 2024 in Anaheim, California. It’s been in- spiring to watch our group over the last two years as they have developed as dancers and bonded as friends, and we can’t wait to see them perform on that big stage. Remember, we are available to perform at weddings, baptisms, corporate events, fund- raisers and as outreach for charitable orga- nizations. So if you would like to have our dance group perform, please reach out to stspyridondance@gmail.com or call 714- 931-2431. DANCE & CHORAL