Volume 20, Issue 1 | Wednesday, January 7, 2026

2026 AHEPA Educational Foundation Scholarship Applications Available Online

The AHEPA Foundation Inc., a charitable arm of the Order of AHEPA, is pleased to announce the commencement of the 2026 AHEPA National Scholarship season today!

Since its establishment, AHEPA, the largest and oldest Greek American Organization in the U.S., has consistently dedicated itself to advancing education for the next generation. Through our financial support in the form of scholarships, we aim to alleviate the significant burden faced by today's students. The cost of education should not act as a barrier but rather mirror a student's aspiration to achieve scholastic enrichment in their young lives.

All relevant information including eligibility can be found in the application file linked below.

Click to Download the 2026 Scholarship Application!

AHEPA Leadership tours AHEPA Senior Living Facility & Participates in Epiphany Celebration

AHEPA Supreme President E. Chris Kaitson led a delegation of National Officers on a visitation to Tarpon Springs, FL for Epiphany celebrations last weekend. En route, they had the opportunity to visit the AHEPA Chapter 489's Senior Living facility in New Port Richey, FL. Built in 2004, this subsidized housing unit is one of over 95 projects currently managed by AHEPA Senior Living. Founded in 1981, this AHEPA entity currently provides homes for nearly 6000 residents across the United States. AHEPA Senior Living board members Jimmy Makris and Mark Bullock gave the AHEPA leadership an informative tour of the facility.

The next stop was the annual AHEPA Epiphany dinner in Tarpon Springs, hosted by AHEPA to honor the annual Epiphany celebration hosted in Tarpon. Over 200 members of the AHEPA family from across North America joined the celebration in which His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros highlighted the importance of AHEPA and the global impact our organization has on Hellenism.

Supreme President Kaitson was joined by Supreme Vice President Zenon Christodoulou, Canadian President Tassos Moussas, Supreme Secretary Themistocles P. Frangos, Supreme Treasurer Marshall Monsell, and Supreme Governors Alex Barlamas, Craig Theros, and Mark Bullock. Also in attendance at the annual banquet were Past Supreme Presidents Carl Hollister and Savas Tsivicos, and AHEPA Board of Trustees member Louis Atsaves. Members of the AHEPA Family in attendance included DOP Grand President Antoinette Marousis-Zachariades, MOA Grand Governor Cassie Leontsinis, and SOP Supreme Governor George Kalyvas.

AHEPA is honored to have had the opportunity to once again participate in this historic weekend.

The Sons of Pericles near $100K Fundraising Goal

The Sons of Pericles are approaching the 75% milestone for their goal of raising $100,000 before they reach their centennial anniversary on February 3, 2026. Members of the entire AHEPA Family, including over 20 Past Supreme Presidents of the Sons of Pericles, will unite in Manchester, NH, the birthplace of the Sons of Pericles, to celebrate this 100 year anniversary on the weekend of January 30-February 1.

We hope to see you there, but encourage all AHEPA Family members who are unable to attend to consider donating to this worthy cause. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards cementing the Sons of Pericles in Manchester's history with an exhibit in the historic Millyard Museum, as well as to benefit the growth and education of the Sons of Pericles as a whole.

Guests can purchase tickets for the Centennial Gala alone, or for the full weekend of activities. Don't miss out on what promises to be a memorable weekend as the Junior Order of AHEPA celebrates 100 years! Tickets and sponsorships are available at the links below! Please contact Stephanie Maniatis at AHEPA headquarters if you would like to make a donation via an alternative method at stephanie@ahepa.org.

Active members of the Sons of Pericles and Maids of Athena are entitled to a discount on their ticket cost and can receive it by contacting @sopcentennial on instagram, or emailing sopcentennial@gmail.com.

Click to Purchase Tickets!

Click to Become a Sponsor!

Click to Purchase an Ad in the Commemorative Album

Submit your SOP Testimonial!

AHEPA Educational Foundation Receives Incredible Donation to the John George Tsitsos Scholarship Fund

The AHEPA Foundation Inc. recently received an incredible $2.5 million donation to the John George Tsitsos Scholarship Fund. The gift comes from the family for whom the fund is named, John Tsitsos, and augments the John George Tsitsos endowment, valued in excess of $20 million. The donation to the AHEPA Foundation was received in the final days of 2025.

AHEPA Supreme President E. Chris Kaitson expressed his sincere appreciation for the generous gift, as well as his congratulations to the Chairman of the Board, Nicholas Aroutzidis, PCP, PSP Nicholas Karacostas, who serves as Chairman of the AHEPA Foundation and Executive Director Basil N. Mossaidis for their efforts working closely with the Tsitsos family.

In a statement, Supreme President Kaitson said:

“We are incredibly grateful to receive this generous gift – a gift that will enable students of Hellenic descent to pursue their educational goals for years to come. We believe strongly in our mission to provide educational opportunities, and this not only enables us to do so but also bolsters our current expectations for the future of the initiative.”

Testimonial for Immediate PSP Savas Tsivicos a Success, $1 Million Raised for AHEPA Journey to Greece

Last month, AHEPA held a testimonial gala honoring its immediate past Supreme President Savas Tsivicos at The Graycliff in Bergen County, New Jersey. The evening program was a benefit to endow AHEPA's Journey to Greece program.

Members of the AHEPA family, including its global leadership as well as leadership of the Daughters of Penelope, Maids of Athena and Sons of Pericles, attended the event alongside many members of other Hellenic organizations, well-wishers, donors to the Journey to Greece Program and former student attendees of the program itself.

During his tenure (2023-25), the past president made it a priority to ultimately raise over one million dollars to endow the program for future generations. The program is for students earning college credit while in Greece through AHEPA's affiliation with Webster University.

Attention Chapters & Districts with Publications!

The AHEPA Publications committee is now accepting submissions for the annual publications competition, in which District or Chapter publications (newsletters etc.) are eligible to win awards at the 2026 AHEPA Supreme Convention in Philadelphia, PA.

If your Chapter or District wishes to have a publication considered, please contact committee chair John Melonopoulos via email to john.melonopoulos@comcast.net in order to request a questionnaire.

The deadline for competition submissions is April 30, 2026. Applicants must submit two copies of their publication with a properly completed questionnaire.

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.

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

January

16 | Ad Deadline for SOP Centennial Celebration

30 - 31 | Sons of Pericles Centennial Celebration, Manchester, NH

Submit Your Events!

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

Blackout in Greek airspace: Mystery outage reignites debate over ageing systems

Reuters (January 5)

For a few tense hours on Sunday morning, Greek skies turned into a communications black hole. Air traffic controllers for Athens airport were guiding planes toward the runway when the usual radio chatter suddenly vanished - replaced by a piercing whistle. It quickly became clear that controllers had lost contact with most aircraft in Greek airspace, including dozens of incoming flights, according to two controllers and an aviation official on duty at the time. read more

Greece’s Epiphany events marking Christ’s baptism highlight concerns about water scarcity

AP (January 6)

As Orthodox Christians around the world attended Epiphany ceremonies on Tuesday to commemorate the baptism of Christ, worried officials in Greece used the moment to highlight growing water scarcity. A priest cast a wooden cross into the visibly depleted waters of Lake Marathon, an artificial reservoir north of Athens. Water stored there and in the other three reservoirs supplying Athens has dropped from more than 1 billion cubic meters in 2022 to about 390 million cubic meters. read more

Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Talk of Athens

The New York Times (January 4)

It was a splashy arrival. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the new United States ambassador to Greece, landed in Athens on the private jet of a multimillionaire Greek American businessman. She caused a sensation at a Thanksgiving week dinner in a partly sheer black evening dress. When she presented her diplomatic credentials to the Greek president, Constantine Tassoulas, she told him she had previously been to Greece on a “fabulous honeymoon, but …” and then trailed off. read more

Greece introduces 2026 tax cuts aimed at families and young workers

MSN (January 6)

Greece rang in 2026 with a new round of tax cuts — measures the prime minister first announced three months ago at the Thessaloniki International Fair. The move comes as the country looks to shore up household incomes after years of inflation and steep price increases. Greece also now holds the rotating presidency of the Eurogroup, the forum that brings together the finance ministers of the eurozone to coordinate economic policy, following the election of Kyriakos Pierrakakis as its head. read more

Greece Urges UN-Led Solution on Venezuela Crisis

To Vima (January 6)

reece has called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Venezuela in line with the United Nations Charter and international law, during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Greece is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the Council for the 2025–2026 term. Addressing the session, Greece’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ioannis Stamatékos, said Athens is closely monitoring developments following the reported abduction and arrest of Venezuela’s president by the United States. He urged all parties involved to show maximum restraint and avoid actions that could further escalate tensions. read more