This Week For Greeks! - Vol.2 Issue 15 - Monday, April 28, 2008

A Message from the Supreme President

Christos Anesti!

I hope everyone had a joyous Pascha.

May promises to be another busy month for the AHEPA Family as many of us will begin attending District Conventions (see calendar below) in the run-up to our 86th Annual Supreme Convention in Athens, Greece. Planning for the Supreme Convention remains in full swing. Thank you to all the chapters who are diligently reporting their delegates. If your chapter has not reported; please do so immediately. We are also still accepting convention ads. Most importantly, it is not too late to make your plans to attend. For more information regarding reservations please contact Rory Puckerin at rory@ahepa.org or by calling toll free 1-866-99-AHEPA. You will not want to miss this historic and memorable event of a lifetime!

As is tradition, Archbishop Demetrios has proclaimed the third Sunday of May; May 18, as "AHEPA Sunday" in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (see related news release). Please plan accordingly and organize a coffee hour, membership drive, or voter registration drive on this day. It presents a wonderful opportunity for us to create awareness and to educate the community about our mission and the plethora of charitable work we do on a consistent basis. An AHEPA Day Planbook can be found here, or please contact our headquarters if you are in need of information.

Finally, I look forward to taking the successful "AHEPA Caravan " initiative out to the West Coast, and visiting the Brothers of Districts 20 and 21 to learn more about their activities and community initiatives.

Fraternally,

Ike Gulas, Supreme President

News From AHEPA

Archbishop Proclaims May 18 as AHEPA Sunday
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AHEPA News) -- Encyclical is annual observance and recognition of AHEPA's good work -- His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios has proclaimed May 18, 2008 as "AHEPA Sunday" in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. ... read more.

AHEPA's Journey to Greece Still Time to Apply for Journey to Greece & AHEPAcademy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AHEPA Education) -- Applications are still being accepted for both the AHEPA Journey to Greece and the AHEPAcademy student programs. These are both fantastic programs for High School and College aged students. If young members of your family have not yet filled out and turned in their applications, please have them do so immediately. Follow these links for more information and to download the applications:

March 31, 2008: 2008 Journey to Greece early application rate deadline
April 15, 2008: 2008 AHEPAcademy application deadline

Note: Applications for the 2008 Journey to Greece program submitted on or after April 1 will be accepted with a tuition increase of $150.

Dome of the U.S. Capitol Help Bestow Congress' Greatest Honor on Our Capitol's Artist
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AHEPA Action) -- Please join AHEPA, the Daughters of Penelope, and the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in recognizing the contributions of a great American of Hellenic and Italian descent, Constantino Brumidi, by educating your U.S. Representative about legislation (H.R. 1609) to award a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to the artisan of our nation's Capitol. ... read more.

Defaced Billboard in Skope (FYROM) STOP HATE: Greek Flag Desecrated
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AHEPA Action) -- Greek Flag Desecrated: Cross Replaced by Nazi Swastika -- On March 30, 2008, billboards displayed in Skopje displayed a defaced Greek flag, having replaced the Cross that appears in the upper left-hand corner of the flag with a Nazi swastika. ... read more.

AHEPA's New VISA Affinity Card Apply Today for your New AHEPA VISA Affinity Card!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AHEPA Promotion) -- AHEPA is proud to announce, through our partnership with Bank of America, an offer you literally can't afford to pass by! The New AHEPA VISA Affinity Card offers you, not only the lowest APR available, but at a fixed rate that won't change after the card has been activated -- and a chance to help AHEPA at the same time! Please check out the offer online and appply for your new card today!

AHEPA 2008 Winter/Spring Calendar

MAY
    2-4    Van Nomikos National AHEPA Basketball Tournament
    2-4    District 8 and SOP Basketball Tournament
    03     District Conventions: Dist 3
    4-10 Supreme President Western Caravan!
            04     Las Vegas Visitation
            04     San Diego Visitation
            04     Southern Los Angeles Visitation
            04     Northern Los Angeles Visitation
            04     Arizona Visitation - Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tuscon & Chandler
            9-10 San Francisco Visitation
    17     District Conventions: Dist 14, Dist 23 and Dist 25
    18     AHEPA Day!
    22     PESKA Dinner Honoring AHEPA - Washington, DC
    24     Rick Peka Testimonial - Waterbury, CT
    30     District Conventions: Dist 5, Dist 7, Dist 20, Dist 21, Dist 22, and Dist 24
    31     District Conventions: Dist 8

JUNE
    07     District Conventions: Dist 1, Dist 6, Dist 9, Dist 10, and Dist 15
    13     District Conventions: Dist 2, Dist 4, Dist 11, Dist 12, Dist 13, and Dist 17
    20     District Conventions: Dist 16

JULY
1-12 86th Annual Supreme Convention - Athens, Greece

Greek American Weekly News Digest

Greek Orthodox worshippers look on as the 'Holy Fire' arrives at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity

Orthodox Christians Hail 'Holy Fire' of Easter in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- April 26, 2008 -- Thousands of Orthodox Christians converged on Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday to witness what they believe is the miraculous appearance of "holy fire" on the eve of Orthodox Easter. ... read more.

State by State Map of the United States Archons of Ecumenical Patriarchate Target State Legislatures
NEW YORK (GreekNewsBlog.com) -- April 17, 2008 -- U.S. State Legislatures Continue to Pass Religious Freedom Resolutions for the Ecumenical Patriarchate -- In 2006, the National Council of the Order of St. Andrew initiated the Religious Freedom Resolutions project. The goal of this project, which represents one component of the overall, multi-faceted Religious Freedom Initiative, is the adoption of religious freedom resolutions in support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in every state legislature. ... read more.

Other Greek American News Headlines

WashingtonPost.com - April 8, 2008
Rita Wilson: Why Easter is Greek to Me: Xristos Anesti!
The American Scholar - Spring, 2008
Passing the Torch
Nappa Valley Register - April 18, 2008
Greece Sets the Stage for Wine

Supreme Convention Spotlight

Olympic Airlines & Delta Become Official AHEPA Partners

WASHINGTON (AHEPA Convention) -- AHPEA is proud to announce that our two airlines partners are currently swamped with questions regarding flights to Greece for the 86th AHEPA Supreme Convention. Olympic Airlines, our international partner and Delta our domestic partner are both selling seats for flights to Greece.

Delta Air Lines is offering discounts on eligible published fares to all members of AHEPA for meetings and individual travel in conjunction with AHEPA related business and activities. To make reservations, click on the Delta logo found on the AHEPA website at www.ahepa.org. Click on the Supreme Convention icon and then simply click the Delta logo and you will be routed directly to the AHEPA website for the Greece convention tickets.

NO MEETING OR RESERVATION CODE NEEDED. Realize the following additional benefits:

No service fees
Check-in online within 24 hours prior to departure
Special AHEPA rate ONLY offered through the Delta.com link on the AHEPA website!

The special Olympic/AHEPA Only Price can be obtained by using the AHEPA Promotion Code and your unique AHEPA Membership ID Number.

AHEPA Promotion Code: CFR087

Call Olympic Airlines at 1-800-223-1226 and make your reservation today.

Greek of the Week!

Spiritual Leader and Friend, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
This weekend's Paschal celebration, reminds us as AHEPANS of the important role the Greek Orthodox Church plays in our lives, our families, our community and our Order. Since 1999 the Archdiocese of America of the Greek Orthodox Church has been led by one of the kindest most provocative leaders in the church's history.

Archbishop Demetrios was born Demetrios Trakatellis in Thessaloniki, Greece. He graduated with distinction from the University of Athens School of Theology, was ordained a deacon, and in 1964 was ordained a priest. He went on to become Bishop of Vresthena and among his academic and theological accomplishments, obtained a PhD from Harvard University and served as a visiting professor for the Harvard Divinity School. His Eminence was elected Archbishop of America on August 19, 1999 and was enthroned on September 18, 1999 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City. As Archbishop of America he leads a church of more than one and a half million Greek Orthodox Christians in the United States.

His Eminence, the Archbishiop has been the recipient of several AHEPA awards including the AHEPA Military Service Award, the AHEPA Archbishop Iakovos Humanitarian Award, to name a few. In 2002 AHEPA created the AHEPA Archbishop Demetrios Scholarship for seminarian students. Throughout the years, Archbishop Demetrios has been a wonderful friend to the Order of AHEPA. He has passionately supported our mission and has challenged us to continually work harder to promote the greatness of our Hellenic past to our children and our grandchildren, who are the promise for our future. For this, and for so much more, we ask you to join AHEPA in celebrating His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios as our 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.