President Anastasios Stamboulis welcomed Orthodox families from the Hempstead, New York area to eat a Thanksgiving dinner together and celebrate the 90th anniversary of the AHEPA chapter of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral on the evening of November 6 at the Cathedral Center. The Constantine Cassis Chapter of AHEPA, headquartered at the cathedral, is committed to the ideals of “Hellenism, Education and to further the mission of the Order of AHEPA,” according to Stamboulis, and the dinner was attended by members of AHEPA, the Daughters of Penelope, the Sons of Pericles and Maids of Athena.
“Thanksgiving is an important ‘Thank You’ to our Veterans each day,
said Demi Pamboukes, District Governor Empire State-District 6. “We are able to vote, because of our Veterans who are willing to die for our shared values. We do not have religious persecution.”
Vice-President of National AHEPA Demetris Kokotas said “as Greek Americans we have the greatest history and tradition. We came to the greatest country in the world. We carry a torch, making the people before us proud.”
AHEPA is the largest Greek-American association in the world with chapters in the United States, Canada, Greece, Cyprus, and sister chapters in Australia and New Zealand. It was established in 1922 by Greek-Americans to protect Hellenes from prejudice originating from the KKK. In its early years, AHEPA joined with the NAACP and B’nai B’rith International to fight discrimination.
The mission of the AHEPA family is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of education, philanthropy, civic responsibility and family and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism. AHEPA District Governor Empire State District 6 under the leadership of Demi Pamboukes and AHEPA Chapter 170 President Anastasios Stampoulis enthusiastically promote these ideals. The Greek Teachers Association “Prometheus” supports the work of AHEPA through granting scholarships to students.
In addition, AHEPAN Elias Katsos will be honored with the Panagiotis Sekeris Award on November 17th at the 74th Convention of the Pan Arcadian Federation of America. Mr. Katsos is President and Founder of the East Mediterranean Business Cultural Alliance and serves as AHEPA District 6 Lieutenant Governor. For information, contact Anstamolis@aol.com.