AHEPA Honors America's Heroes

 

AHEPA E-News Volume 17, Issue 23 | Wednesday, June 7, 2023

AHEPA Honors America's Heroes

A proud, time-honored tradition continued on June 3, when Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas and Col. Nicholas P. Vamvakias (USA, Retired), chair of the AHEPA Veterans Committee and Past Supreme Treasurer, placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on behalf of the American Hellenic Community. They were assisted by Col. Panagiotis Vlachopoulos, defense attaché, Embassy of Greece, and Col. Georgios Ioannou, defense attaché, Embassy of Cyprus. A U.S. Army Band Bugler played Taps. Since 1924, Ahepans have returned annually to Arlington National Cemetery to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

PSP Grossomanides Honored with Service Award

Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas visited Rose of New England Chapter 110 in Norwich, Connecticut, on May 30, 2023. During his visit, he toured the AHEPA 110 senior housing campus that boasts 138 apartments in three buildings. AHEPA provides affordable housing for very low-income seniors through the HUD Section 202 program. He also met with the brothers of Chapter 110. During the meeting, Kokotas presented Brother Dr. John Grossomanides, PSP, with a special award honoring his many years of service to our Order. Also present, and pictured above, were Mayor of Norwich Peter Nystrom, John's wife, Daughters of Penelope Past Grand President Anna-Helene Grossomanides; and District 7 Governor E. Vagos Hadjimichael, Ph.D.

Spotlight On: AHEPA Day 2023

District 2, Chapter 356 Clearwater, Florida  Over 100 AHEPA family members, including four Past District Governors, gathered on May 21, 2023, to celebrate "AHEPA Day" locally and globally. AHEPA Brother Father James Paris, alongside Chapter 356 President Gus Pantelides, recognized the AHEPA family by reading an Encyclical from Archbishop Elpidophoros, a proclamation from the City of Clearwater, and highlighting their contributions to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox community. They also announced nice scholarship recipients who will receive $1,500 each. The celebration continued with a coffee hour social, offering refreshments and various pastries. It was a joyous day for the AHEPA family.

District 2, Chapter 489, New Port Richey, Florida Brothers of AHEPA West Pasco Chapter 489 made presentations at Saint George Greek Orthodox Church (See them here!) to members of the community, including Fr. Andrew Pavlakos, an Ahepan, for his support of the AHEPA and service to the community.

District 6, Chapter 25 New York, New York The brothers of Delphi Chapter 25 celebrated AHEPA Sunday by representing the Order of AHEPA at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City.

District 6, Chapter 319 Port Jefferson, New York On AHEPA Sunday, May 21, 2023, AHEPA Port Jefferson Chapter 319 awarded three scholarships worth $3,000 to students at Stony Brook University's Center for Hellenic Studies. The scholarship competition, created in collaboration with George Kallas and Dr. Stella Tsirka two years ago, focused on interviewing elderly Greek residents and exploring their integration into American culture, drawing connections to the current immigration environment. The ceremony took place at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Port Jefferson, following the liturgy, where Father Louis Nicholas blessed the Artoklasia and read Archbishop Elpidophoros' encyclical. AHEPA Vice President George Kallas introduced Dr. Stella Tsirka, thanked the chapter for its support, and presented the three winners—Georgiana Misthos, Eleftherios Apollon Zoumpanidopoulos, and Demetrios Kritikos—with $1,000 checks and certificates of achievement. Each winner expressed gratitude and shared their insights from the experience. The event concluded with a coffee hour sponsored by AHEPA and Philoptochos.

District 5, Chapter 517 Holmdel, New Jersey For AHEPA Sunday, the Garden State chapter's celebration took place at Kimisis Tis Theotokou Church in Holmdel, N.J. They organized a community pancake and omelet brunch, assisted by the Maids of Athena Theodora Chapter 282. A touching memorial service was held to honor the departed members of the AHEPA family. In addition, three exceptional high school graduates were awarded scholarships during the event. Fr. Panayiotis Lekkas had the privilege of presenting the chapter president with a cherished icon from the church, further strengthening the bond between the chapter and the religious community.

District 13, Chapter 205 Chicago, Illinois Chicago Lakeshore hosted AHEPA Sunday at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, and sponsored both an Artoklasia, and the coffee hour after church. The chapter also set up a table for a recruitment drive. Fr. Chrysanthos Kerekeres is a fellow AHEPA brother and strong supporter of AHEPA.

District 20, Chapter 528, Palm Desert, California Chapter 528 Ahepans in Palm Desert, Calif., presented three scholarship awards at St. George Greek Orthodox Church of the Desert on AHEPA Sunday in 2023. The Fr. TP Theophilos Award was deservedly given to Katrina Nicole Storton. Emmarie Shannazarian and Jack Shannazarian both achieved a unique mathematical score, resulting in them both being recipients of the Penelope Award. All three awardees demonstrated exceptional academic achievements, community service, and citizenship, reflecting the Hellenic tradition. A Memorial Service was held to honor the departed Brethren for their dedicated service to the chapter. A delightful coffee hour was served after the Liturgy to commemorate this significant day.

District 27, Cyprus AHEPA District 27, Cyprus honored “AHEPA Sunday” by contributing an amount towards covering the medical and accommodation expenses of a young Cypriot girl who needs to be hospitalized this coming July at Springfield, South Carolina. District Governor Georgios Kallenos, and the members of the District Lodge, Constantinos Kassianides and Nicolas Shakallis, have delivered the envelope with the financial aid to Father Marios of the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Dali.

AHEPA Journey to Greece Deadline Extended!

AHEPA is proud to offer emerging young students and future leaders of our diaspora the exciting opportunity to participate in our premier educational program, Journey to Greece. Established in 1968, the Journey to Greece program provides an opportunity for our youth to visit Greece and earn six college credits in the process! This year, we are proud to work with Webster University in Athens for a 17th year. We have a few spots left for this year's program and have extended the application deadline to June 15, 2023! If you're thinking of attending or have a student in your life who you think would be able to benefit from this program, please apply TODAY!

Learn More About the Program!

Apply Now!

AHEPA Partners with IOCC to Rebuild Houses

AHEPA and the IOCC have a longstanding history of partnering together for humanitarian causes, most notably, shipping medical supplies to Greece valued at millions of dollars. AHEPA has partnered with the IOCC again to help rebuild communities across America that have sustained damage from natural disasters. Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas asks that every chapter try to coordinate with the IOCC to assist in this rewarding community service program. Download the flyer!

SOP Scholarships Still Available

There's still time to apply for the Sons of Pericles National Scholarship! Any SOP member in good standing is eligible! Applications for the SOP Scholarship must be postmarked by June 16, 2023.

APPLY FOR THE SOP SCHOLARSHIP

Mavroyannis Scholarship Application Opens

AHEPA Educational Foundation Chairman George Vorkas, on behalf of Supreme President Kokotas, is pleased to announce its continued partnership with the Mavroyannis Family to offer the Constantine and Patricia Mavroyannis Scholarship. The Constantine and Patricia Mavroyannis Scholarship is open to graduate students who are either Greek or of Greek heritage and are enrolled in a PhD program in either theoretical physics or physical chemistry in the Faculty of Science at a North American university. The scholarship is in the amount of $5,000 and will be awarded in the fall semester. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Constantine and Mrs. Patricia Mavroyannis, this scholarship recognizes scholastic achievement and an interest and commitment to studying theoretical physics or physical chemistry by providing financial assistance to Hellenic graduate students to pursue their studies in these fields. Learn More & Apply Here!

Help Us Grow the Congressional Hellenic Caucus!

The 118th Congress is well underway. AHEPA congratulates the newly established leadership of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues: U.S. Reps. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL) and Chris Pappas (D-NH), who are serving as co-chairs. We are also excited to see the Caucus establish vice chair positions and congratulate U.S. Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who serve in that role. We look forward to working with the Caucus’s leadership, and the entire Caucus body, to help it meet its goals and objectives for the 118th Congress.   The AHEPA family can assist the Hellenic Caucus by helping it to grow. Membership stands at 91 U.S. representatives.

View the Caucus membership list (Updated 5/8/23)  Please review the list. If you do not see your U.S. representative listed, reach out to ahepa@ahepa.org to learn how to contact your U.S. representative and to ask them to join. Thank you.

AHEPA 2023 Supreme Convention

Book Your Hotel Room Now! Registration Form Sponsorship - Chapters Sponsorship - Corporate

While It Lasts! Get Your AHEPA Centennial Merch

Get it while it lasts! AHEPA centennial commemorative merchandise is available that includes a commemorative coin and stand and decanter set. Years of service and chapter officer pins, award plaques, and AHEPA t-shirts, watches, patches, and more!  Check it all out in the AHEPA Marketplace catalog.

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

June  9-11 | District 21 Convention Greeks in New York 15 | AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day 15-18 | District 2 Convention District 16 Convention 16-18 | District 17 Convention District 22 Convention

June 16 | SOP Scholarship Due 17 | District 6 Convention 23-24 | District 14 Convention  23-25 | District 11 Convention 30 | Supreme Convention Preregistration Due

Greek American News Digest