American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association

For Immediate Release | December 30, 2024

Contact: Basil Mossaidis Phone: 202.232.6300 E-mail: basil@ahepa.org

The Order of AHEPA Mourns the Passing of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos issued the following statement:   The Order of AHEPA, founded in Atlanta, Georgia, mourns the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, of Plains, Georgia, who served as the 39th President of the United States of America.    A man of exemplary service, President Carter will be remembered as a peacemaker; a man of faith and family, who helped countless of people worldwide as a remarkable humanitarian and philanthropist. His service to our nation in the United States Navy is appreciated greatly.    During his presidency, Carter hosted then-AHEPA Supreme President Dr. Peter Paulus and former Supreme President John Plumides at the White House in April 1979. (image below)

President Carter also served as the Keynote Speaker at the 1980 AHEPA Congressional Banquet in February in Washington, D.C. He remarked, "Like Plato, we Americans seek a perfect world which we see in our dreams. We are disappointed that we have not yet built that perfect world for our children and for others. Yet all around us is evidence that tyranny and oppression can be changed to freedom. The ancient ideals of Greece—the spirit of liberty, the love of learning, the urge for independence-survive in the human breast despite all that despots can do."   President Carter's entire speech can be found HERE   Carter also appointed then-AHEPA Supreme President Nick Smyrnis to a United States delegation that attended the Olympic Torch Ceremony in Athens, Greece, January 27-31, 1980, with the purpose of bringing back the Olympic torch for the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.   The Order's deepest sympathies and condolences are with the Carter family. May his memory be eternal.