This Week For Greeks! - Vol.2 Issue 5 - Friday, February 1, 2008

News From AHEPA

38th Biennial Banquet Save the Date Card

AHEPA 38th Biennial Banquet -- Save The Date!
WASHINGTON (AHEPA Events) -- The AHEPA 38th Biennial Banquet set for Friday, March 7, 2008, at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. Save the date and make your hotel reservations today! ...find out more.

Register Online! (advance ticket purchasing ends February 16th)
Register Offline (download the registration form - includes program ad purchasing)
Reserve Your Hotel Room at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel
View the Special Flash Invitation Video!

The AHEPAN Magazine - Winter 2007 Hot Off The Press: The AHEPAN Winter 2007 Issue
(AHEPAN Magazine) -- Can't wait for your copy to come in the mail? Burning to find out more about the upcoming Biennial Banquet, Supreme Convention or Journey to Greece -- or to find out what's going on in chapters across the country? Well, suffer no more! Download the Winter 2007 issue online!

Annapolis Fishing Docks 77th Annual AHEPA Capital District 3 Convention
(AHEPA Events) -- The AHEPA Capital District 3 77th Annual Convention is set for May 2-4, in Annapolis, Maryland. Save the date and make your reservations today! ... find out more.

AHEPA Canada Beaver District 23 73rd Annual Convention
(AHEPA Events) -- The AHEPA Canada Beaver District 23 73rd Annual Convention is set for May 16-18, in London Ontario. Save the date and make your reservations today! ... find out more.

Golf Ball Upcoming Golf Tournaments!
(AHEPA Athletics) -- AHEPA invites you find out more and join us for these three fantastic upcoming golf events:

35th Annual Southeast Regional Golf Tournament (February 17)
7th Annual AHEPA of Fort Lauderdale Golf Classic (March 1)
Dr. Monthe Kofos 46th Annual AHEPA National Golf Tournament (April 6-12)

A Message from the Supreme President

The Loss of Archbishop Christodoulos
This week the Greek American community and the Greek Orthodox Church lost a true champion. Archbishop Christodoulos granted many audiences to AHEPA, where we discussed ways in which we can work together to project and protect Hellenism and Orthodoxy abroad. His Beatitude was a true friend and we mourn his passing.

38th Biennial Banquet Save the Date Card Biennial Banquet Update
As 2008 gets into full swing, AHEPA's Biennial Banquet rapidly approaches. This year's theme "A Salute to Public Service," carries special meaning as we witness a historic race for the U.S. Presidency. Greek Americans in public service throughout the United States have been invited as our special guests this evening. The beautiful Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C will host this year's banquet, which is also special, since it played host to the very first Biennial Banquet in 1929. I look forward to seeing you all there for this very exciting AHEPA family weekend.

Membership Update
I would like to take a moment and thank my Supreme Lodge, as well as the District Governors and Membership Committee members who worked diligently in the last few weeks in an effort to achieve our membership goals. As the totals are published you will see that our team did a superior job as we recruited almost 2,000 new members. The one area we must all work hard to improve on is retention of existing members. At the last Supreme Lodge meeting this topic was thoroughly addressed and you can expect solutions to be presented at this year's Supreme Convention.

In closing, I once again look forward to seeing you at the Biennial Banquet on March 7th in Washington, D.C.

Fraternally,

Ike Gulas, Supreme President

News From Greece, Cyprus and the Patriarchate

Greece: EU Fosters More Trust than State
BUDAPEST (Budapest Business Journal) -- January 31, 2008 -- Greeks trust European Union institutions more than their national ones, according to a new Eurobarometer survey, which also reveals that Greeks have the least faith in the media among all EU citizens - reports local Kathimerini. ... read more.

Microsoft Logo Greece Turns Microsoft to Boost IT Performance
ATHENS (Reuters) -- January 28, 2008 -- Greece signed an agreement with the world's biggest software company, Microsoft (MSFT.O), on Monday to establish IT development centers in an effort to boost the country's competitiveness. ... read more.

Olympic Torch Sculpture in May Breeze Park of Qingdao, China, host for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition. Torch Relay for Beijing Olympic Games in Greece Settled
ATHENS (People's Daily Online) -- January 31, 2008 -- The torch relay for the Beijing Olympic Games will last seven days on Greek territory, after the Lighting of the Flame in Ancient Olympia on March 24. ... read more.

Cyprus Three Contenders Virtually Even in Cyprus
NICOSIA (Angus Reid Global Monitor) -- January 31, 2008 -- Three presidential candidates are fighting for two run-off spots in Greek Cyprus, according to a poll by IMR published in Simerini. 33.4 per cent of respondents would vote for incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos in next month's ballot, 32.8 per cent would back Dimitris Christofias, and 30.2 per cent would support Ioannis Kasoulides. ... read more.

Representative Robert Wexler (D-19) Cypriot Community of U.S. Condemns Genocide Denier Robert Wexler
WASHINGTON (PanARMENIAN.Net) -- January 31, 2008 -- The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) accompanied by political organizers from Washington DC, along with hundreds of activists, many from Florida and many traveling from several states away, joined together to rally against Armenian Genocide denier and Cyprus invasion denier Congressman Robert Wexler (D-19). ... read more.

Cyprus Adamant It Won't Recognize Independent Kosovo
HELSINKI (AFP) -- February 1, 2008 -- Cyprus won't recognise a unilateral declaration of independence by ethnic-Albanian-dominated Kosovo, Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis said in Helsinki Thursday. ... read more.

Nationwide Sorrow
ATHENS (ERT.gr) -- January 31, 2008 -- Worshipers from all around Greece have been flocking to the Athens Cathedral to pay their last respects to Archbishop Christodoulos for the third consecutive day. The Archbishop's body was transferred to the Saint Eleftherios chapel at 15:00, so that preparations for the tomorrow's Mass at 10:00 are made. ... read more.

Related: AHEPA News Release
Related: White House Statement
Related: Papal Message to Orthodox Church of Greece

Greek countryside, devastated by recent wildfires GOAA: Fact-finding Visit to Greece by Bishop Andonios
NEW YORK (Worldwide Faith News) -- January 4, 2008 -- His Grace Bishop Andonios, Director of the Department of Philanthropy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, arrived yesterday, January 28, 2008 in Greece to personally visit areas affected by this past summer's wildfires. ... read more.

Supreme Convention Spotlight

Tour The Museum of Greek Children's Art!
Of the many cultural and historic tours AHEPA will be given during this year's Supreme Convention, many will be fun for the entire family. The Museum of Greek Children's Art in Athens is certainly one of them. As featured in The AHEPAN Magazine (Summer 2007) The Museum of Greek Children's Art is filled with colorful creations of children ages 7 to 14. You will see galleries of playful imagination, which are sure to inspire young and old alike. This is something your children will remember for a lifetime. Find out more about the Museum of Greek Children's Art:

The 2008 Supreme Convention Brochures Are In!
WASHINGTON (AHEPA Convention) -- Each day, during the Supreme Convention in Greece, AHEPA will be offering cultural and historical tours, exclusively set up for AHEPA. These events will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for you to share your Greek Heritage with your entire family! The 2008 AHEPA Supreme Convention brochures are in! If you're a current AHEPA member, you will be receiving the brochure in the mail soon, but if you're eager to find out more about the fantastic travel packages available, you can download the brochure online. Click Here to get download the brochure now!

The AHEPA Convention Committee has been working hard to prepare a wonderful getaway for the entire AHEPA community. The AHEPA Family from Australiasia, Canada, Greece and Cyprus will be attending our event in Athens, Greece. Thousands of Ahepans, Daughters, Sons and Maids will work together for this family reunion. For more information, or to register for the 2008 Supreme Convention, go to ahepa2008.com.

Greek of the Week!

Tasha Vanos - AHEPA Australasia
It's not every day an Ahepan is knighted by a Queen. So, it gives the entire AHEPA Family great joy in congratulating Brother Vanos, of AHEPA Australasia, on being formally inducted into the prestigious Order of Australia (OAM). The OAM order of chivalry was established by Queen Elizabeth II, as an Australian counterpart to England's Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Brother Vanos is chairman of AHEPA International's Australasia Board and the AHEPA Foundation. He is also the secretary of AHEPA's New South Wales Division, served as president of the division between 1970 and 1976, and was president of AHEPA's National Board 1976-1978. He received the OAM for his service to the Greek community of Australia, through the promotion of Hellenic culture. Please join us in congratulating Brother "Sir" Vanos for this great honor, and in celebrating him as AHEPA's Greek of the Week!

Who's Your Greek of the Week?
There are many heroes in our community who often sadly go unrecognized. You can help. Nominate someone to be AHEPA's Greek of the Week!. Simply email a short, detailed nomination, along with a digital photo of them to webmaster@ahepa.org.