AHEPA Family Attends Epiphany Celebrations

AHEPA Family Attends Epiphany Celebrations The AHEPA Family enjoyed participating at events in celebration of Epiphany in Tarpon Springs, Fla., including AHEPA Chapter 16's historic Epiphany Banquet, over the weekend. DOP Grand President Demi Thomas, SOP Supreme President Gregory Vourloumis, Supreme Secretary George Horiates, and MOA Grand Treasurer Michel-Gabrielle Legato represented their respective Supreme and Grand Lodges. photo gallery Program Announcement | National Scholarship, Journey to Greece Applications Available The AHEPA National Educational Foundation has posted applications for its National Scholarship program and Journey to Greece program.  Deadline: to apply for a National Educational Foundation scholarship is March 31, 2019. (apply now) (promo video) Deadline: to apply for the Journey to Greece program is April 20, 2019. (apply now) (promo video)   AHEPA on Twitter | Vandalism of U.S. Embassy Condemned AHEPA condemned an act of vandalism committed upon the U.S. Embassy in Athens on Monday.  According to news reports, the embassy was vandalized with paint. Ten persons were detained and two formally arrested.  ICYMI | Statement on Passing of Nikos Mouyiaris AHEPA is saddened by the passing of Businessman, Philanthropist, and Community Activist Nikos Mouyiaris, announced Supreme President George E. Loucas and Chairman of the Board Nicholas A. Karacostas, PSP.  read statement Hot Off The Electronic Press: The Ahepan The winter edition of The Ahepan is out! Read about the Birthplace of Hellas; how Odyssey Charter School is addressing the Greek language teacher shortage; and get caught-up on all the great service work our chapters provide to their communities. check it out Don't forget to follow AHEPA on social media:

Join AHEPA Today! In Our Own Words. What AHEPA means to us. Join AHEPA Now Upcoming Events & Deadlines   January 19 | Western Regional Banquet, Long Beach, California   February  1 | Deadline for the spring 2019 issue of The Ahepan  (submit online) 2 | Regional Banquet, Wilmington, Delaware February - March 25 - 2 | Monte Kofos Memorial Golf Tournament, Amelia Island, Florida Greek American News Digest   Editor's Note: Editorials, Commentaries, and Opinion pieces are shared for information purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the Order of AHEPA, its affiliated organizations, and members.     17-year-old Tarpon Springs boy retrieves 2019 Epiphany cross WFLA (Jan. 6)    This weekend marks the 2019 Epiphany celebration in Tarpon Springs.  The Greek Orthodox celebration focuses on the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. On Sunday, in one of the biggest Epiphany celebrations in the country, dozens of teenage boys dove into the Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs to try and retrieve a cross that was thrown in the water.   read more    Orthodox Men Dive for Cross in Constantinople's Waters     The National Herald (Jan. 6)   Dozens of Orthodox men dove into Constantinople's cold waters to retrieve a cross to mark the baptism of Jesus Christ.  On Sunday, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I led worshippers in the Epiphany, throwing a blessed wooden cross into the Golden Horn inlet.  Michalis Voznakidis from Greece took the cross and the men kissed it before coming ashore. He said "we are here for everyone, for our religion."  read more     Greek Cypriots mark epiphany with rare vigil to ghost town fringe Reuters (Jan. 6) Hundreds of Greek Cypriots marked the religious holiday of Epiphany on Sunday in a rare vigil to the fringes of an abandoned town wrecked by a war which split the island 45 years ago.  Against the backdrop of crumbling hotels and homes ringed with barbed wire, a Greek Orthodox priest cast a cross into the sea off the coast of Famagusta, symbolizing a blessing of the waters, and the manifestation of Jesus as the son of God.  read more    Greece: 10 Detained After Paint Thrown at US Embassy New York Times (Jan. 7)   Greek police detained ten people and formally arrested two of them Monday after the U.S. Embassy in Athens was vandalized with paint.  Police said the 10 were detained after a group of people on motorbikes threw red paint at the embassy's parking entrance at around 3:30 a.m. local time. An anarchist group known as Rouvikonas claimed responsibility for the attack in an internet post.  read more  'This is very personal to me': Eleni Kounalakis pushes education at inauguration The Sacramento Bee (Jan. 7) There is no issue more important than education, Eleni Kounalakis told the crowd as she was sworn into office as lieutenant governor Monday. Her grandmother, Katerina, never learned how to read or write. Her father, Angelo Tsakopoulos, came to the United States from Greece at 14 years old. He had little money and no English-speaking skill,s but went on to become a prominent and wealthy Sacramento real estate developer. read more Joint Ventures: Greece Cultivates Business Opportunities in Cannabis Wall Street Journal (Jan. 8) Christa Pappa quit her job as a research biologist last year to concentrate on her real career ambition: selling marijuana. When Ms. Pappa and her husband opened a shop in Athens in 2002, offering clothes and other products made of hemp, they soon found themselves facing criminal charges for drug trafficking. They were acquitted after fighting the charges in Greek courts for nearly a decade.  read more   Greek, US Marines in joint exercise Ekathimerini (Jan. 6)   Ministry of Defense sources say that about 300 US Marines have arrived in Volos to take part in a joint exercise with their Greek counterparts.  Marines from the US' 22 Marine Expeditionary Unit will join Greece's 32nd Marine Brigade in the "Alexander the Great" joint exercise.  read more