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AHEPA E-News Volume 17, Issue 24 | Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Supreme President attends AHEPA Hellas Conference

Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas attended the 24th annual AHEPA Hellas Conference on June 9 in Nafpaktos, Greece. U.S. Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis was an honored guest at the conference's banquet. Kokotas addressed the audience and thanked them for the warm welcome. He also spoke about AHEPA and the fact that the relationship between the United States and Greece has never been better, a success attributed in part to Ambassador Tsunis. The evening was dedicated to Greek expatriates who excelled and continue to excel abroad, and to the help they most often returned to the motherland. Other dignitaries in attendance included Supreme Governor Region 10 Yiannis Mitropoulos; District 25 Governor Konstantinos Varsamis; His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios; Nektarios Farmakis, Regional Governor of Western Greece; Vasilios Gizas, mayor of Nafpaktia, among many others.

District 11 Donates to East Palestine Relief

Last February, the nation watched as a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. AHEPA Buckeye District 11 family members quickly mobilized and asked the AHEPA family nationwide to do what they could to assist in their emergency response. On June 8, District 11 Governor John Karipides and District 11 Treasurer Nick Cassudakis presented a $7,500 donation to Lisa Wallace and Scott Lewis of the Brightside Project. The Brightside Project is faith-based nonprofit supporting and assisting the families of East Palestine devastated by the train derailment. By working with The Brightside Project, Lisa and Scott assured Brothers John and Nick that 100% of the funds donated would go directly towards the citizens of East Palestine. District 11 thanks all of our AHEPA family and friends who donated to this worthy humanitarian crisis.

Spotlight: Memorial Day 2023

Two weeks ago, we asked you to share with us how your Chapters honored the fallen this past Memorial Day. George E. Loucas Chapter 480 reported that they assumed the duties that the American Legion Hellenic Post #453 took on every year to honor, along with the Orthodox Clergy, all Veterans at St. Theodosius Orthodox Cemetery of Brooklyn, Ohio with a Memorial Service Blessing.  After the clergy concluded their service, Chapter President Ernest Bozikis gave a speech to let everyone that attended know that the Legion is no longer in existence and that AHEPA Chapter 480 will continue the Memorial Day tradition that the Legion started over 50 years ago. After the speech, Ahepans, some who are also veterans, placed a memorial wreath at the Veterans Monument, lowered the flag to half-staff. The service concluded with a Bugler playing Taps.  We thank Chapter 480 for sharing this special memorial event.

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 92 U.S. representatives.

View the Caucus membership list (Updated 6/8/23)  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 15 | AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day 15-18 | District 2 Convention District 16 Convention 16-18 | District 17 Convention District 22 Convention 16 | SOP Scholarship Due

June 17 | District 6 Convention  23-24 | District 14 Convention  23-25 | District 11 Convention 30 | Supreme Convention Preregistration Due July 23-29 | AHEPA Supreme Convention

Greek American News Digest  Editor's Note: Editorials, commentaries, opinion pieces, and articles 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 Poland seeks ally in Greece in campaign for World War II reparations The Washington Post (June 13) Senior Polish officials Tuesday said they plan to expand a campaign to seek massive World War II reparations from Germany, turning to Greece and other European countries as potential allies. Poland last year formally demanded compensation of $1.3 trillion — an amount close to the size of its annual gross domestic product — while Greece is seeking more than $300 billion for damage incurred by occupying Nazi Germans during World War II. read more Turkey’s president unwavering on two-state policy to resolve Cyprus’ ethnic division AP (June 12) Turkey’s president said Monday that any deal resolving Cyprus’ ethnic division of nearly half a century must be based on recognition of a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the island nation’s northern third. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks in the north during his first overseas visit after his reelection last month aren’t new, but suggest that Ankara’s policy line on Cyprus remains unwavering, despite international condemnation of the two-state deal proposal that runs contrary to U.N. resolutions calling for a single, federated Cyprus. read more Greece: 90 migrants rescued from US-flagged yacht in distress AP (June 12) Authorities in southern Greece said Monday that 90 migrants, including 37 children, have been rescued from a U.S.-flagged yacht believed to be sailing from Turkey to Italy. The rescue took place on Sunday after a passenger made a distress call off the Greek island of Kythira, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Athens. The coast guard said three vessels were involved in the rescue of 35 men, 18 women, 27 boys and 10 girls from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iraq, and Egypt. read more  The 17th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival Red Carpet Closing Night, Orpheus Awards The National Herald (June 13) The red carpet Closing Night of the 17th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) on June 11 at the Silver Screen Theatre, Pacific Design Center, featured the LA Premiere of the award-winning film ‘Listen’ (Greece, 2022), written and directed by Maria Douza. Douza and actors Efthalia Papakosta and Dimitris Kitsos were in attendance. The 2023 Orpheus Award ceremony followed the screening and was emceed by AFI’s Chris Schwartz. Guests included VIPs, celebrities, dignitaries, jurors, and sponsors, along with filmmakers from Greece and Cyprus and international filmmakers of Greek descent. A lively reception catered by Nick The Greek concluded the evening. read more Now Available!

Celebrating 101 Years of Brotherhood