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The coming together of nearly 100 Zoroastrians in Orlando for three consecutive meets from May 1 to 5, 2019 was repeatedly described as "historic.” Afsaan Kermani, the youthful president of the Central Florida Chapter of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) who spearheaded the logistics for the three meets, stated in his address, "We are proud that WZCC and FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) selected our proposal to be the host association for this historic meet… We welcome all of you with warm hearts and open minds to our Sunshine State.”
WZCC global president Edul Daver recalled ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM) on May 1 and 2, "It was a year ago at the 2018 FEZANA AGM that the Central Florida Zoroastrian Community made a proposal to host both the WZCC and FEZANA AGMs together in 2019. This will be a historic first and an opportunity for cross fertilization of ideas between WZCC, a global business organization and FEZANA, a North American religious/cultural organization.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEZANA president Homi Gandhi who chaired the 32nd AGM on May 3 and 4 noted, "This is the first time in our Zoroastrian history that we have come together to discuss and make decisions on matters relating to both our local and global communities. We may have differences, but through honest discussions, open minds and welcoming attitudes we can advance our harmony and collectively put (ourselves) on a positive path for the future.”
The fifth day of the proceedings was reserved for the Global Working Group (GWG) and as remarked its non executive chair Neville Shroff, "GWG is the only international body comprising of leaders from nearly all global regions and that is why… we should leverage on this congregation, to work together in harmony for the better good of our communities around the world… Although we are inclusive with limitations, we need to adapt to moderate change which preferably does not affect our identity and culture.
The popular and practical priest Ervad Soli Dastur from the neighboring Zoroastrian Association of Tampa Bay Area recited in his invocation on the first day, "Hold your feet, hold your hands, hold your understanding in readiness for the purpose of doing proper charitable deeds and for the purpose of avoiding improper, untimely, uncharitable ways…”
An inspiration and beacon to the nearly 80 Central Florida residents, he had urged the ladies in the community attending the Gala Awards night three days later to come dressed in saris. And, of course, they obliged. The pungent green chutney accompanying all the meals and relished by the guests was specially made by the jovial priest himself.
The other mainstay of the local community, Dinyar Mehta, showed his unassuming and charitable nature in countless ways. He is the founder and president of Quest Hotels which since 2003 operates two limited service hotels, Wingate Orlando International Airport where the guests availed of lodging facilities for over five days and Ramada Suites Orlando Airport. He serves as the treasurer of the WZCC Central Florida Chapter, the other office bearers being vice president Zenia Shroff who works as a financial product analyst and secretary Dilnavaz Irani who is a cardiac certified medical assistant and X-ray technician.
The nearly 30 volunteers who toiled as a team divided responsibilities among themselves. Whilst some were assigned the duty of personally receiving guests at airports, a few were busy cooking or ferrying Parsi style food for the guests who had converged, yet others took up the mantle of entertaining guests with songs, dances and a magic show.
Sharing the financial burden with the host association was the platinum sponsor: The Incorporated Trustees of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hongkong, Canton and Macao of which Shroff is president. The silver sponsors were: WZCC Global HQ, WZCC New York Chapter, Dastur and his wife Jo Ann, Niloufer and Edul Daver, Hootoxi and Arda-e-Viraf Minocherhomjee, the latter being the president of The North American Mobeds Council.