AHEPA Family Wraps-up Leadership Excursion
The AHEPA Family Leadership Excursion concluded with a visit to Athens, April 20 - 21. Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades had the honor to deliver an address before the Hellenic Parliament and President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos welcomed our delegation to Athens. In addition, the delegation had substantive meetings with U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece Yannis Dragasakis, Minister of Tourism Elena Kountoura, Deputy Foreign Minister Terrance Quick, among other Greek government officials. During the Athens leg, the delegation met with representatives from Evangelismos Hospital, attended a seminar at Webster University on global affairs and a presentation at the Acropolis Museum on Alexander the Great.
Cyprus Recap
Recapping the delegation’s visit to Cyprus, it met with U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Doherty, President Nicos Anastasiades, Presidential Commission for Humanitarian Issues Photis Photiou, and Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis, who is the Greek Cypriot negotiator for the Cyprus issue. AHEPA District 27, Cyprus, hosted an initiation-dinner where the 2017 Academy of Achievement Award in Business was presented to Nicolas Shiacolas. Before departing, the delegation paid its respects to Memorials for Cypriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, independence, and in defense of Cyprus during the 1974 invasion by Turkey.
Arby's Apologies, Removes TV Ad
Paul Brown, CEO, Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., personally apologized to Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades in an April 13 letter for any offense taken by AHEPA and the Greek American community to the national restaurant chain's Gyros "Mathematics" Ad. "We absolutely did not intend to offend anyone with the ad, but rather were trying to be funny knowing that the contributions ancient Greeks have made to our modern civilization is undoubtedly immense," Brown wrote. "Regardless, we have removed the commercial from our national rotation."
"We sincerely thank Mr. Brown for taking our concerns about the ad into account and for removing it from its national rotation," Zachariades, who wrote to Brown on April 5, said. "We also thank the community for its netroots activism on social media that shared our initial post, which Arby's clearly heard."
In his April 5 letter, Zachariades contended the commercial trivialized and demeaned the contributions of the ancient Greeks.
Thank You! It's National Volunteer Week!
A special thank you to all hard-working AHEPA family members who volunteer their time, energy and resources to make a difference and strengthen our communities around the world! Use #NationalVolunteerWeek on social media.
Spring 2017 Issue of The Ahepan is Out!
Hot off the electronic press! Check out the newly-released spring 2017 issue of The
Ahepan! Share it with family and friends by forwarding this electronic version.
Read about the legacy of the Greek railroad workers of Oregon and Southern Washington, AHEPA’s ongoing collaboration with American Jewish organizations, and one veteran’s special day in Nebraska. This issue also includes a Supreme Convention registration form. Finally, don't forget to catch-up on the latest ways AHEPA chapters are giving back through community service. Next Deadline: May 9, 2017
Deadline Extended | Journey to Greece
Study abroad this summer and earn 6 college credits in Greece. AHEPA, in partnership with Webster University, is sponsoring 20 students to visit locations like Athens, Delphi, Meteora, Hosios Loukas, Arachova, and Crete -- all while earning college credits!
Deadline Extended: Apply Today
Watch & Share: Journey to Greece Promo Video
More Info: Click Here
Rebuild St. Nicholas Campaign
AHEPA is determined to meet its Saint Nicholas Capital Campaign fund raising goal of $1 million. Donations--large and small--keep pouring in for AHEPA's #RebuildStNicholas capital campaign.
NEW | AHEPA Chapter 98, New Haven, Conn., sponsored a bus trip to the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, April 22, 2017. Fifty-five Ahepans, spouses and families, and parishioners of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church of Orange, Conn., were treated to a guided tour of the still in construction National Shrine by Andrew Veniopoulos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Chapter 98 President Dr. Evangelos Hadjimichael and Past Supreme Counselor Gregory Stamos presented a $500 donation, which augments previous donations from the chapter, to Veniopoulos.
TAKE ACTION!
Has your district or chapter organized a fundraiser for the campaign to #RebuildStNicholas? Take action and support AHEPA's campaign today! Please tweet about your fundraising activity by using #RebuildStNicholas to share your work with the broader community!
Share Media
St. Nicholas Appeal Video
AHEPA has produced its latest appeal video to help #RebuildStNicholas.
TAKE ACTION: Donate Today!
MORE TO SHARE: Initial appeal video released at the 94th Grand Banquet!
Project Update
Live Webcam!
Thanks to a live webcam, you can watch progress being made with a first-hand look at the site where Saint Nicholas National Shrine will be build.
Washington Update
102nd Anniversary of The Armenian Genocide
April 24, 2017 marked the 102nd anniversary of the beginning of The Armenian Genocide.
AHEPA is disappointed President Donald Trump did not recognize the systematic killing of 1.5 Armenians by Ottoman Turks as Genocide (see President Trump's statement on Armenian Remembrance Day).
"We join with the Armenian American community in remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred by Ottomans during the Armenian Genocide," Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades said. "We also remember all Christian minorities during that time period, including Pontian and Anatolian Greeks, who were murdered. We encourage you and your families to go see the recently-released film, The Promise."
Tell Congress to Support Bipartisan Genocide Prevention Resolution
AHEPA commends the introduction of H.Res.220, a bipartisan anti-genocide resolution calling on the United States to apply the lessons of the Armenian Genocide in seeking to prevent modern day atrocities across the Middle East, and urges its passage in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades. U.S. Reps. David Trott (R-MI) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the resolution on March 22. H.R.220 has 24 co-sponsors.
In addition to calling on the U.S. to draw on the lessons of the Armenian Genocide, H.Res.220's resolved clause includes the U.S. to also draw on "...the broader genocidal campaign by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Greeks, Pontians and other Christians upon their biblical era homelands."
Find & Urge Your U.S. Representative to Co-sponsor H.Res.220, or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard, 202.224.3121
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Special Focus - The Armenian Genocide
It's a New Congress! Help Grow the Hellenic Caucus!
The 115th Congress is well underway. And with it, the work renews for the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, led by Co-chairs U.S. Reps. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL) and Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY). The Hellenic Caucus begins the 115th Congress with 120 members.
Is your U.S. representative a member of the Hellenic Caucus? Click here to find out.
Download & Share: Action alert to help you outreach to Congress
The Hellenic Caucus has been an active, bipartisan group in Congress since its founding in 1995.
Upcoming Events & Deadlines
April
30 | Chicago Greek Independence Parade
May
3 | AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day
9 | Deadline: The Ahepan Summer 2017 Issue
21 | AHEPA Day
22 | AHEPA Wreath-laying Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
Greek American News Digest
Editor's Note: Editorials, Commentaries, and Opinion pieces 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.
Greece headed for debt showdown
Politico Europe (April 24)
Greece wasn’t on the agenda of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings over the past several days. Perhaps it should have been.Greece-watchers were hoping the Washington confab, which brings together senior financial policy makers from across the globe, would lead to a breakthrough in the country’s tortuous bailout negotiations as the key players met privately on the sidelines of the gathering. read more
Greece rejects new Turkish extradition bid for servicemen
Associated Press (April 25)
Greek court has rejected a new Turkish extradition bid for three of eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece by helicopter after last year's failed military coup in Turkey. read more
Sixteen migrants drown making Turkey-Greece crossing
BBC (April 25)
At least 16 people have drowned in the narrow strait separating Turkey from the Greek island of Lesbos, say authorities and the UN.Two children were among those whose bodies were recovered.There were two survivors, including a pregnant woman. The survivors, from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said there had been between 20 and 25 people on board.Hundreds of people have died since 2015 trying. read more
Dental tourism on the rise in Greece
Neo Kosmos (April 24)
Greece may be synonymous with tourism, but when one thinks of the industry that mainly sustains the country's economy, doctors rarely come to mind. And yet, medical tourism has been on the rise in recent years - and particularly dental tourism which many think will soon prove to be a significant source of income for the country. read more
Kasoulides presses Turkey to push forward with talks
Cyprus Mail (April 24)
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Monday that Turkey has no excuse not to push forward on settlement talks now that the April 16 referendum is over. “There is no further excuse for Turkey not to advance on the remaining parts of each and every chapter of the negotiations,” he told the Council of Europe’s (CoE) parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg. read more
‘Sherlock Holmes of Armenian Genocide’ Uncovers Lost Evidence
New York Times (April 22)
For more than a century, Turkey has denied any role in organizing the killing of Armenians in what historians have long accepted as a genocide that started in 1915, as World War I spread across continents. The Turkish narrative of denial has hinged on the argument that the original documents from postwar military tribunals that convicted the genocide’s planners were nowhere to be found. Now, Taner Akcam, a Turkish historian at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., who has studied the genocide for decades by piecing together documents from around the world to establish state complicity in the killings, says he has unearthed an original telegram from the trials, in an archive held by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. read more
Bucks' Giannis Picking up the Point from NBA Great Kidd
The National Herald via Associated Press (April 22)
While catching his breath during a break along the sideline, the Milwaukee Bucks’ star pupil put his arms on his hips and leaned his 6-foot-11 frame over to listen to coach Jason Kidd.Giannis Antetokounmpo is learning the nuances of running a team from one of the best point guards and triple-double threats in NBA history.Give it a little more time, Kidd says. The fun is only just beginning with the 22-year-old Antetokounmpo. read more