AHEPA Holds 86Th Annual Supreme Convention in Athens More Than 2,000 Ahepans Flock to Athens for First Time in 38 Years for Weeklong Convention

O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ Bringing the news ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ to generations of ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 The National Herald Greek Americans A WEEKLY GREEK AMERICAN PUBLICATION c v www.thenationalherald.com VOL. 11, ISSUE 560 July 5, 2008 $1.00 GREECE: 1.75 EURO AHEPA Holds 86th Annual Supreme Convention in Athens More Than 2,000 Ahepans Flock to Athens for First Time in 38 Years for Weeklong Convention By Yannis Sofianos and address AHEPA’s delegates dur- Special to The National Herald ing their return to their country of origin. Greek Prime Minister Costas ATHENS – For one week, between Karamanlis, Foreign Minister Dora July 1 to July 7, AHEPA will retrace Bakoyannis, Greek Parliament Pres- its roots and travel to its founders’ ident Demetris Sioufas and Arch- homeland for a unique homecom- bishop Ieronymos of Athens and all ing, as this historic Greek American Greece will all be attending AHEPA organization holds its 86th Annual events throughout the week, includ- Supreme Convention in Athens, ing the grand banquet formal, Greece. According to AHEPA which will take place this Saturday, Supreme President Ike Gulas, this July 5 at the Athens Intercontinen- event “is like a large pilgrimage to tal Hotel. the birthplace of democracy and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Western civilization.” Theodoros Kassimis, who oversees In a statement to The National Greek Diaspora issues, is sitting in Herald, Mr. Gulas called the con- on most of the conferences taking vention “a very important and his- place throughout the week-long toric moment for AHEPA.” He added convention, as is Archbishop that “I am very excited to be serving Demetrios of America. Aside from as Supreme President during the the Intercontinental, AHEPA is hold- year that we chose to hold our ing events at Athens’ famous Supreme Convention in Greece, for Zappeion Hall. this first time in nearly forty years.” The Supreme Convention’s Mr. Gulas, who will be seeking re- events got underway on Monday election to his office at the end of evening June 30, at Athens College. the convention, said that “AHEPA’s U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel return to Greece makes this year Speckhard was the evening’s keynote stand out.” speaker. During the inaugural There is widespread enthusiasm events, the U.S. Ambassador under- over AHEPA’s return home, and it lined the role of the Greek-American TNH PHOTO shows from the large delegate community in forging close relations Remembering the Fallen turnout. According to AHEPA Exec- between the American and the Greek utive Director Basil Mossaidis, near- people, while pointing out the excel- AHEPA Supreme President Ike Gulas stands in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier at Constitution Square in central Athens, after placing ly five hundred people had already lent level of bilateral relations be- a memorial wreath at the site. AHEPA is holding its supreme convention in Athens for the first time in 38 years. pre-registered several days prior to tween the historic allies. "It is up to the start of the convention, which is us to keep the Marshall plan’s legacy twice the amount of delegates from and memory alive. As Greek-Ameri- previous conventions. cans, you carry on the identity of In a statement to The National both our countries. You embody the Herald, Mr. Mossaidis, who had enduring ties between our countries. A Diplomat’s Son Becomes a Corporate Ambassador spent over five hours welcoming You do on a daily basis, throughout and signing up delegates reported your lives, the same thing that I do By Evan C. Lambrou You want to be different, so you other countries’ governments tioned in Romania as consul-gener- that “there are 485 preregistered here as Ambassador, representing Special to The National Herald make different choices. Then once throughout the world. al of Greece in Bucharest. But his delegates, who are eligible to vote America to Greeks, but you also rep- you’re well into adulthood with a Mr. Tsilas is senior attorney of parents wanted to give birth to in the convention proceedings. If resent Greece to Americans," the Am- NEW YORK – Growing up as the wife and children of your own, you intellectual properties and inter- their son in Greece. you factor in their spouses and chil- bassador said. son of an ambassador, one has to realize you’re doing what your fa- operability policy for Microsoft’s “I grew up a little bit of every- dren, this number immediately An exhibition with rare books on travel a lot. Just when you start get- ther did. And guess what? It’s not corporate and regulatory affairs di- where. My father was posted as jumps to over one thousand per- the Greek language and Hellenic ting used to your surroundings and so bad, after all. vision in Redmond, Washington consul-general in New Orleans; as sons.” Altogether, counting the Macedonia until 1945 was also on making friends, the next thing you That’s a basic theme in the story (near Seattle). number-2 at the Embassy in D.C.; AHEPA youth and their friends, Mr. display at Athens College. know, you have to move again… of- about Nicos L. Tsilas, son of Ambas- He spends a substantial portion as consul-general in Paris. Wherev- Mossaidis said he is hopeful that the Earlier that same day, AHEPA ten to another country. sador Loukas Tsilas, executive di- of his time traveling to Asia and er he went, the family would ac- number of total attendants will sur- leaders placed memorial wreaths at Then you go through a phase rector of the Onassis Public Benefit South America to brief foreign gov- company him. But I spent my for- pass 2,000. the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in thinking that, when you are old Foundation and one of the Greek ernments on innovation policies mative years in Greece. He was “For our organization, being here Athens’ Constitution Square, in enough to hold down a job and be American community’s most re- pertaining to incentives and intel- posted back in Athens, so I finished is like a dream come true. When we front of the Greek Parliament, as on your own, you’re not going to spected and beloved members. lectual properties and finding the high school there,” he said. were children, the homeland is all well at the statue of Harry Truman, live your life the way your father Without intending to, the son right balance between the two, and “As a child, it was a difficult up- we ever heard about. The very word near downtown Athens’ first did. has followed in his father’s foot- often meets with U.S. Government bringing. Just as you started feeling ‘homeland’ for us Greek Americans Olympic stadium (Kallimarmaro), You want steady employment in steps. He is not the ambassador of officials stateside to brief them on comfortable with yourself, your en- holds a deeper, more profound and at the statue of George Mar- the same environment, a place you any country’s government. But he the same. vironment and your friends, it was meaning,” Mr. Mossaidis said. shall, architect of the Marshall Plan can hang your head and rest with- is a diplomat nonetheless, an am- Mr. Tsilas was born in Athens in A wide array of dignitaries were out having to leave every 3-5 years. bassador of a major corporation to 1957, while his father was sta- Continued on page 3 on hand to attend the conference Continued on page 4 Patriarch and Pope Renew Christofias Appeals for Christian Unity and Talat By Evan C. Lambrou The Ecumenical Patriarch then Make Progress Special to The National Herald moved to another part of the Basili- ca, from where he watched the NEW YORK – Ecumenical Patriarch Pope consecrate the Eucharist, re- NICOSIA (AFP) — Rival Cypriot Bartholomew of Constantinople joining him for the remainder of leaders made progress on two of and Pope Benedict XVI of Rome re- the service. the key stumbling blocks in efforts newed their appeals for Christian The Pope led the ceremony to reunify the island on Tuesday unity during a liturgy at Saint Pe- alongside the Patriarch and ex- but decided to hold one more meet- ter’s Basilica last Sunday, June 29, pressed the “common hope of see- ing before launching fully-fledged the feast day of Saints Peter and ing the day of unity draw near.” peace talks. Paul. While acknowledging key differ- President Demetris Christofias, The service marked the start of ences, Benedict has made healing the Greek Cypriot leader, and his the Roman Catholic Church’s the nearly 1,000-year-old rift a pri- Turkish Cypriot counterpart Pauline Jubilee Year, a yearlong se- ority of his papacy. Mehmet Ali Talat reached agree- ries of events dedicated to the In his address, the Patriarch said ment in principle on the issues of 2,000th anniversary of Saint Paul’s that dialogue between the two an- citizenship and sovereignty in a re- birth, and included other gestures cient branches of Christianity is on- unified island, in a joint statement of symbolic significance, such as going, despite “numerous difficul- released after four-and-a-half when Bartholomew joined Bene- ties,” and that he is praying for hours of talks. dict in reciting the Nicene Creed. these obstacles to be overcome. The two leaders "discussed the The inaugural ceremonies of the “It is with sentiments of sincere issues of single sovereignty and cit- Pauline Year, the observance of joy and earnest thanks that we izenship and they agreed in princi- which the Pope hopes will help all have just participated in the solemn ple," said the joint statement, read Christians renew their ecumenical services on the blessed occasion of out by the talks' host, UN chief of duty and intensify common initia- the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, mission Taye-Brook Zerihoun.

Load more