A few days after we opened the office I received a telephone call from Kansas City, Missouri, at about 7:00 AM. I was astounded. I didn't know anyone in Kansas City. When I heard the voice on the phone I realized it was Spiro Skouras. He was traveling west on business and at the same time working to develop contacts for the Greek War Relief. He asked me to meet him the following morning in Denver, Colorado. I took a plane to Denver and registered at the Brown Palace Hotel. Shortly thereafter the clerk told me that I was to move into a suite of rooms that were reserved by Mr. Spiro Skouras and that he would be arriving by train in about two hours.

When he arrived at the hotel, Mr. Skouras informed me of an incident that had occurred at a station just before the train reached the main station in Denver. He was approached by the General Chairmen that I had appointed for the Denver area and asked to get off there. Mr. Skouras refused to do so because he had notified the local manager of Fox West Coast Theaters in Denver to meet him at the main depot. Subsequently, I discovered that the reason my friend, and brother AHEPAN, wanted Mr. Skouras to get off was so that he would not meet with some Greeks with whom he was at odds over the work being done on behalf of the Greek War Relief. The other Greeks belonged to GAPA, a rival of the Order of AHEPA. I told Mr. Skouras not to worry and that I did not think we would have any trouble.

That afternoon I saw to it that everything was arranged for the meeting which included a luncheon. After lunch I called the meeting to order. Present were members from both AHEPA and GAPA. I explained to them that the drive was not intended to glorify an organization or an individual. It was for the sole purpose of raising funds, as much as possible, as quickly as we could, to help our fellow countrymen in their hour of need. I brought to their attention the fact that in Greece all the many political parties had united in fighting the common enemy. It was our duty on this side of the ocean to do the same thing. My remarks were well received; everyone was satisfied. Mr. Skouras was pleased with the way the meeting was handled and with what we accomplished. The next day we left for Salt Lake City.

On the plane I sat with Spiro and we had a broad discussion. He asked if I was married and I said, yes. He then asked if I had children, and I replied, no. He asked, why. I explained to him that, unfortunately, my wife had female problems which required an operation which precluded her from having children. I also told him that my wife wanted to adopt one or two children from an orphanage but that I objected. I felt that unless I knew where the children came from and who the parents were, that I could never take such a step. Being from the old school, I could not just take a chance and adopt a child unless I was sure it came from good stock. I didn't want to give my love to someone else's child and then be disappointed.

Spiro then asked me what business I was in. I told him that I was operating a restaurant on Market Street in San Francisco near his Fox Theater. He wanted to know if I was making money. I answered by telling him that that was a good question. It all depended on what you considered money. As far as I was concerned, I was not making enough, but that was the only business that I knew. I was always looking for "greener and better pastures" to get into, if it were possible.

He said to me, "Peter, we got a break and I'm going to see to it that you get a break. I'm sorry we cannot bring you into the organization. You're over age. I was then about forty-eight years old. However, I will see to it that, before very long you will acquire an interest in a number of theaters. You will be able to make enough money to have the time to devote to the Greek War Relief and other causes pertaining to our people." He also said, "You are a very good man. You have ability. I am very pleased with the way you handle matters. You can rest assured that what I'm now telling you will happen within six months." I cried, and thanked him very much. I told him that this seemed more like a dream than reality. As it turned out, I was right!

When we arrived in Salt Lake City we had another luncheon. We met with the officials of the Intermountain Theaters which belonged to the Fox West Coast Corporation, a part of the Skouras enterprises. They were asked to participate in, and co-operate with, the local Greek-American committee to help organize the drive in order to achieve the best possible results. There was some misunderstanding with the man I had appointed to act as director for the State of Utah. It was cleared up, and we left by plane for Seattle, Washington.

The next day we had lunch at the Olympic Hotel in Seattle. Present were officials from the various theaters owned by Skouras. The officials were very co-operative and agreed to help. Present was Thomas Leventis, an insurance broker, and a man with whom I had served on the Supreme Lodge of the AHEPA. I had appointed him Director of the State of Washington. He had done a marvelous job and we were all very pleased. From there, we stopped off in Portland Oregon. We held a meeting at which, once again, the officials of the local theaters were present. Also present were Jim Faturos, a man who operated a haberdashery store, he was the local chairman, Panos Lambros, who was in the wholesale grocery business, John Demis, an attorney, and my koumbaro and friend, Alex Saterion.

The next stop was San Francisco, my home-town. We held a meeting at the Withcomb Hotel across the street from my restaurant. Before the meeting, Mr. Skouras, through his public relations men, called a press conference. He discussed the Greek War Relief and asked the local reporters to give the cause good press. He also asked them to deal with Peter Boudoures and not to concern themselves with Spiro Skouras. He was kind enough to emphasize that I was the chairman so that I would have more influence with the local press. As a result there was a lot of publicity for the Greek War Relief in the local press. The meeting was successful and we then went on to Los Angeles.

We registered at the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel. Immediately we went to the headquarters of the Fox West Coast Theaters to visit Charles Skouras, then general manager and vice-president of National Theaters. Spiro asked me to discuss with his brother, Charles, the need for him to head the Greek War Relief in Los Angeles. I explained to him that even though I had already appointed a local attorney, E.J. Fostinis, as chairman, who was active in the local Greek-American community and very capable. I didn't think this would be a problem. Charles would be the best man to head the drive. He was very well known; he had headed many other drives, and knew the very best people. He was the man to get the best results. I was, however, hesitant to ask him. I told Spiro that I thought he, himself, was the man to ask his brother to take on the task, not me. Spiro pleaded with me to listen to him and to follow his advice. If we were to obtain the best results with Charles, I would have to be the one to ask him to help.