It was during this time that, in the early 1950's, my friend Charles Skouras started a drive to build a new Greek church in Los Angeles. The old church building was dismal and located in a poor section of town. It did not reflect well on the Greeks of Los Angeles. The city was growing and Greeks from all over the country were moving to Los Angeles. Mr. Skouras arranged to buy an entire block of land in the center of the city located at Pico and Normandy Streets. It was just a few blocks from the famous Ambassador Hotel. He had plans to build a fine cathedral and eventually to add schools and others structures to serve the people of that area.

However, he had difficulties. A number of Greeks who had been leaders of the community hated to relinquish their power and the glory. They put all kinds of obstacles in his way. From time to time he called on me to go to speak to them in order to bring about quicker and better results. I was delighted to do so. The cause for which he was working was something that I loved very much. My respect for Skouras was such that there wasn't anything that I wouldn't do to help him. He invited me to preside as master of ceremonies at a banquet for Archbishop Athenagoras at the Embassey Room of the Ambassador Hotel.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new church was held the next day. I was asked to speak, this time for the purpose of encouraging the participants to contribute funds for the building. Over the period of the next three years I must have made twenty trips to Los Angeles solely to speak on behalf of the church building drive. I attended luncheons, dinners and whatever other function for which Skouras needed me. I even raised some money here in San Francisco for the church in Los Angeles.