AHEPA Visits Delaware Valley, Kicks off Journey to Greece Fundraising

 

American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association

AHEPA Visits Delaware Valley, Kicks off Journey to Greece Fundraising

Supreme President Savas Tsivicos led a contingent of AHEPA's Global leaders in a visit to the Philadelphia Region chapters, hosted by the Camden Chapter 69 of Cherry Hill, NJ. Over 100 members of the organization with delegations from Philadelphia, Upper Darby, Wildwood, Vineland, and Cherry Hill attended a dinner reception in the Danielle Kousoulis Greek Cultural Center at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church. Joining the Supreme President was Supreme Governor Dean Moskos, Supreme Secretary Zenon Christodoulou, and Supreme Vice President Chris Kaitson from Houston, Texas. A mass initiation of the chapters spanning two regions ensued with the assistance of the District Five Lodge, led by District Governor Ion Kontolios and his lodge, Lou Stefanou, George Perentesis, Evans Farres, TJ Borzekas, Peter Doulis, and the host chapter President Jon Patouhas and his officers. The AHEPA Heroes Medal was bestowed on many from various communities for a lifetime of outstanding service. The Supreme President awarded this honor to Philip Nicolaides, Dr. Elias Iliades, Eleftherios Klekos, Peter Doulis, Peter Kallitsopoulos, Tony Ringos, George Giordas, John, George and Jim Armentani. Members of the Supreme and District Lodges assisted the Supreme President in making these presentations.

Also receiving the Heroes medal was Cherry Hill member Anastasios Efstratiades, Esq. in recognition of a generous $200,000 donation to the Journey to Greece program. The Supreme President announced the Journey to Greece Fundraiser on December 15 at The Graycliff, and set a goal of matching the $200,000 donation with combined proceeds from individual, chapter, and district donations for the event. The fathers of three students who participated in the 2024 Journey to Greece Program, Dennis Papadeas, Bobby Pantelous, and Dimitri Krontiris, gave testimonies to the group on their children's experience this past year, thanking AHEPA and the Supreme President for his initiative. At the end of the presentation and as a kickoff to the Journey to Greece December fifteenth fundraiser, the Cherry Hill and Vineland Chapters pledged an additional $10,000 to the program.

# # # American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association For Immediate Release | November 6, 2024 Contact: AHEPA Headquarters Phone: 202.232.6300 E-mail: admin@ahepa.org AHEPA Congratulates President-elect Trump, Greek American Champions   WASHINGTON, DC — Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos issued the following statement on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election:   “We congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance on their election. We look forward to working with the Trump-Vance administration on the public policy priorities of importance to the American Hellenic community.   “Furthermore, we congratulate the champions of the American Hellenic community who won re-election to Congress, including Hellenic Caucus Co-Chairs U.S. Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Chris Pappas (D-NH); and Vice-Chairs U.S. Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY). We also congratulate Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), and Ahepan and former Chapter 60 President Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), on their elections to the U.S. House of Representatives. We look forward to their strong support as we work with them in the 119th Congress.   “Finally, we commend all Ahepans, Greek Americans, and Philhellenes who sought public office at the federal, state, and local levels—whether they were successful in their bids or not—because we applaud their dedication and commitment to public service.”              The mission of AHEPA is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.    For more information, please visit www.ahepa.org. AHEPA E-News Volume 18, Issue 34 | Wednesday, November 6, 2024 AHEPA Sends Additional Aid to Hurricane Helene Victims in Asheville, NC Once again, the AHEPA Family has answered the call for help. We opened the emergency fund for Hurricane Relief and our Chapters from all over the globe have helped us raise thousands of dollars in the days since our first appeal. Because of this, AHEPA has been able to send $20,000 in funds to our North Carolina chapters to aid in their efforts to recover. AHEPA Marathon Chapter 2 in Charlotte, NC was able to fill another truck full of supplies, including generators, blankets, sleeping bags, clothing and more to be distributed to those affected by the hurricane in Asheville, NC. They loaded the truck and hand delivered these goods to the parish of Holy Trinity in Asheville, NC where they were received by parish council president and Brother Ahepan Sokratis Katsadouros. AHEPA continues to collect funds for Hurricane relief and thanks each member and chapter that has supported our effort so far. "Each and every chapter that has donated, whether it be a dollar or a thousand dollars, is a part of this recovery effort. Our reach is wide and our fraternity continues to work to bring communities together. We are the ONLY organization of Greek Americans that works with its chapters to assist those in need. Bravo to all of these chapters for their hard work and generosity!" stated Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos. If you would like to contribute to the AHEPA Emergency Relief Effort, you can do so online at ahepa.org/donate. AHEPA to Award Presidential Service Awards Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos has announced that AHEPA will be presenting Presidential Service medals to two members of the Pensacola, Florida AHEPA Chapter on November 11, 2024 during the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Park of Pensacola. Members Mr. George “Doc” Dodge and Mr. Joe O’Neil who exemplify the Order of AHEPA's mission and have served for decades in the Pensacola area, will be honored at the event. Both honorees will be awarded the Presidential Service Medal for Volunteerism which is an authorized White House medal. “AHEPA has stood by our service men and woman since its inception, and we could not be prouder of the hard work and service it provides in our communities” stated Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos. Congratulations brothers! Read More AHEPA Senior Living Quarterly E-news is Out! Get caught up on happenings at AHEPA Senior Living--a leading nationwide provider of affordable housing and quality aging services for seniors--by checking out the "Meraki Mailer!" Groundbreaking at AHEPA 100 Phase II Apts., South Bend, Indiana Successful annual meeting and board elections Indiana State Senator visits Hellenic Senior Living assisted living community Our blog, podcast highlights, latest corporate news & more! Sign up for the Meraki Mailer at ahepaseniorliving.org (bottom of home page). Read the Meraki Mailer Visit AHEPA Senior Living News ICYMI: Throwback Thursday! Check out our social media pages every Thursday for a fun blast from the past! Each week, we'll be highlighting a different moment in AHEPA History. Comment on the posts and let us know what you want to see more of so we can showcase some of your favorites! Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Instagram! Publicize Your Chapter & District Events! Is your Chapter or District hosting an event you want publicized on a National Level? Starting this week, you can submit your event to have it posted on the AHEPA Website! Fill out the form linked below with your event information to have it publicized. Remember that this information will be public on our website, so keep that in mind before you submit personal phone numbers or home addresses. We recommend listing an email address as a point of contact rather than a telephone number. Submit Your Events! Upcoming Events & Deadlines November 6 | Deadline: 2024 Winter Issue of The Ahepan magazine 8-10 | Sons of Pericles & Maids of Athena Present Greeks in Boston 15 | Cyprus-US Chamber of Commerce Dinner Honoring Philip Christopher 17 | AHEPA Family of Clearwater Scholarship Golf Tournament December 15 | AHEPA Educational Foundation Christmas Benefit 31 | 2024 Dues Payment Deadline! 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 In Cyprus, officials from Algeria to Iraq train to keep WMD from crossing their borders AP (November 4) From as far as Algeria, Iraq and Georgia, an assortment of senior government officials converge on this small facility for training by top U.S. experts to prevent the kinds of materials used to build weapons of mass destruction from crossing their borders. In just its third year of operation, the U.S.-funded Cyprus Centre for Land, Open Seas and Port Security (CYCLOPS) has far exceeded expectations. From the dozen courses that officials were initially hoping to hold annually, demand has skyrocketed, with scheduled training sessions for next year expected to surpass 50, says the center’s director Chrysilios Chrysiliou. read more Greece mulls migrant facility on Rhodes to tackle rise in arrivals Reuters (November 5) Greece is considering setting up a migrant detention facility on the island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean to tackle a rise in arrivals from neighbouring Turkey, Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said on Tuesday. Hundreds of migrants have arrived on the islands of Rhodes and nearby Symi in recent months, local officials say. Images on local media has shown them setting up tents and sitting on cardboard boxes in Rhodes town centre, drawing criticism from local people. read more Greek police arrest third suspect over bombing as minister warns of new generation of extremists AP News (November 4) Greek police arrested a third suspect Monday in connection with an explosion in central Athens last week that authorities have blamed on an alleged aspiring domestic extremist group. The 30-year-old woman surrendered to Greek authorities Monday at Athens International Airport after being located in Switzerland, authorities said. read more Eighty years after thousands of Greek Jews were murdered, Thessaloniki’s Holocaust museum is finally set to open The Guardian (November 3) Few places are more representative of the horrors that befell Greece during Nazi occupation than the old railway station of Thessaloniki. It was here, in what is now a dusty building site on the outer edges of this northern city, that thousands of Greek Jews were loaded with brutal efficiency on to cattle trucks that took them to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. And it is here, on ground set aside for the construction of a long-awaited Holocaust museum, that Germany’s head of state, Frank–Walter Steinmeier, last week launched an emotionally fraught three-day visit, declaring: “Anyone who stands and speaks here as German president is filled with shame.” read more Archaeologists uncover long-sought sanctuary of Poseidon near Samikon, Greece Archaeology News (November 4) Archaeologists from the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Greek Ministry of Culture have made significant progress in their excavation of a large temple complex at Kleidi-Samikon in western Peloponnese, Greece. Originally discovered in 2022, the structure, identified as a temple likely dedicated to Poseidon, has proven to be more monumental than previously thought. The temple measures approximately 28 meters in length and nearly 9.5 meters in width, consisting of two main rooms, a vestibule, and possibly a rear hall, making it one of the most significant finds related to ancient Greek sanctuaries in recent years. read more ‘Transformative encounters’: Henry Moore seen through the prisms of Ancient Greece and Georgia O’Keeffe The Art Newspaper (November 4) A hundred years after the sculptor Henry Moore completed his studies at the Royal College of Art (RCA), in London, in 1924, and 47 years after Moore set up the foundation that bears his name, the Henry Moore Foundation has recently engaged in international loan exhibitions that examine the artist’s legacy and his global reception through the prisms of Ancient Greece and a fellow 20th-century game-changing artist, Georgia O’Keeffe. read more Click the link above for the latest in Greek American Sports News!

Founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, on the principles that undergirded its fight for civil rights and against discrimination, bigotry, and hatred felt at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, AHEPA is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 chapters across the United States, Canada, and Europe.  AHEPA's mission is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.  For more information, please visit www.ahepa.org.