2011 Supreme Convention Minutes

Transcription

89th Annual AHEPA Supreme Convention
Miami, FL
July 18, 2011
Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage
22 Cortlandt Street, Suite 802 - New York, NY 10007
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
[START Ahepa_Nat_l._Convention_#2.mp3]
MR. GEORGE HORIATES: Hello. Good morning, brothers. Good
morning, everybody, if we could please take our seats. I
want to once against welcome everybody to the 89 th Supreme
Convention here in Miami. I know we're going to have a
wonderful week together. It's going to be a great
convention, and I thank you all for being delegates and
taking time away and, of course, the expense to be here.
Before I officially open the convention we're going to do
our awards. As most of you know, our Supreme Vice
President, Dr. John Grossomanides, has been in charge of
membership and has done a wonderful, wonderful job in
advancing our membership numbers and growing our beautiful
AHEPA family. As a result of these membership drives we
give out these awards at this breakfast, and it was his
idea; he created it. We did it last year in Montreal, and
we're doing it again here in Miami. So, I'd like John to
come forward and start the awards process. And I'd like
all of you to please join me in congratulating our Supreme
Vice President, John Grossomanides.
DR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES: Thank you. It's been a pleasure to
have served as your Supreme Vice President for the last two
years now, and I would like to statistically show that our
numbers have grown consistently for the last two years. We
ended December 31 s t , 2009, with 16,006 members. We closed
December 31 s t , 2010, with 16,084 members, and if we had not
had people who sent in things after the deadline of
January 1 s t , we would have been at 16,500 members. So, I
would like to see that as wonderful growth. Today, thanks
to the chapters and the districts who worked so hard to
help us achieve those successes, we will be presenting
those chapters, districts with some recognition for their
hard work and efforts.
To kick things off, just so everybody knows, we had three
divisions. We had the Small Division, the Medium Division,
and the Large Division. The Large Division was chapters
with membership of 101 and higher. The Medium Division was
chapters who had from 51-100 members, and the Small
Division was any chapter from 10-50. So, kicking it off
with the Large Division, first place chapter. This chapter
had 52 new members, and the chapter is the Boston Chapter
Number 24, Athens Chapter.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Brother Frank, Brother Connie [phonetic], if
you would come up. Where is Frank Fotious [phonetic].
There he is.
[Greek Spoken]
MR. FOTIOUS:
- - .
Thank you very much.
[Applause]
MR. HORIATES:
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Second place in the Large Division was the
Brooklyn Chapter Number 41, with 22 new members. Anybody
from Brooklyn? Anybody from New York?
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay. Third place in the Large Division, so
it's actually a tie. Second place was actually a tie.
Third place is really a second place tie award, and that
was the, in the Large Division, the Denver, Colorado,
Chapter Number 145, also with 22 new members.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: In the Medium Division, first place was the
Chicago Chapter Number 93, with 15 new members.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Lou Atsaves? Is Lou here? Why don't you
come up? This goes to the Woodlawn Chapter. Brother
Atsaves wanted me to remind everybody that their efforts of
their new members was actually one of dual membership.
Many of their members were actually Sons of Pericles and
new AHEPA members because last year we passed legislation
that allowed for anybody who is 18 years old and older to
join both the Order of AHEPA and the Sons of Pericles. So,
part of their success was that they were able to recruit
Sons who are also Ahepans. And I know the District 12,
especially Chapter 78, has a number of new dual members
this year, so we'll be honoring them next year for their
efforts.
Second place in the Medium Division, the Waterbury,
Connecticut, Chapter Number 48, with 12 new members.
AMERICAN HELLENIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION
July 18, 2011
3
Brother Mo [phonetic], will you come up and accept on
behalf of Waterbury?
Third place in the Medium Division with 11 new initiates,
East Chicago, Indiana, Chapter Number 157, Calumet. Tom,
are you here? Nick, do you want to accept on behalf? Nick
is the District Governor of District 12.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Now, in the Small Division, with the largest
number of new initiates, the Brooklyn Chapter Number 400,
the Coney Island Chapter, with 24 new members.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Is the Supreme Governor for Region Three, if
he could come up. The District Governor and the Supreme
Governor spent a lot of time. They visited every chapter
in Districts Five and Six, and so a lot of that success
goes to his efforts.
Okay, second place in the Small Division, the Lowell,
Massachusetts, Chapter Number 102, with 18 new initiates.
Connie, do you want to come up? And actually, Lowell just
had another initiation class Connie and I were at up in
Lowell about a month ago. They had another 18 new members.
Third place in the Small Division is the Scottsdale Chapter
Number 219, with 14 new members. Anybody from Scottsdale,
District 20? Come up, Pete, Andy.
Okay, the largest chapter this year in the Order of AHEPA,
with 324 members, is the Denver Chapter Number 145.
MR. HORIATES:
I don't think anybody's here from Denver.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Second largest chapter, with 216 members is
the Houston Alexander the Great Chapter Number 29. So, all
the brothers from Chapter 29 please come forward.
MR. HORIATES: Anthony personally went house-to-house to get all
our per capita.
[Laughter]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Third place, largest chapter, with 201
members, is the Warren, Ohio, Chapter Number 88, the Zeus
July 18, 2011
4
Chapter. Frank, anybody from Warren?
here yet. We'll save that.
Frank's still not
Next. We actually started a new category this year because
of a couple of unique situations. We had a couple of
chapters that were really restarted from ground zero.
These chapters were really nonexistent. They were dormant
chapters, and they were able to restart themselves because
of the efforts of certain brothers. At this time I would
like to honor our award for a new category, for new
chapters, the Pittsburgh Chapter Number 512, McAnlis
[phonetic], and the Louis G. Manichodes [phonetic] Chapter,
for 41 new initiates.
MR. HORIATES: That's the largest of all of our new chapters for
the year.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Also, just for your information, the second
highest new chapter for most new initiates was actually the
Redding, Pennsylvania Chapter. They had 37. You can see
we have a lot of chapters that have really spent a lot of
time recruiting and getting people to join the Order of
AHEPA.
The next just point of information for all of you, the
chapter with the most reinstatements for the year ending
2010 was the Redding Chapter as well. They had 18
reinstatements.
At this time I'd to recognize the district with the most
reinstatements, and that would be District Number Four with
72 reinstatements. So, District Number Four, do we have a
representative? Brother Greg. Anybody else from Four?
Brother Greg, come up. Brother Louis. Brother Perones
[phonetic], you're from District Four. Brother Basil, do
you want to come and be in a District Four picture?
[Pause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: At this time we want to recognize the
largest district in the Order of AHEPA. The largest
district with 1,430 members, District Number 11, the
Buckeye District. Anybody from Buckeye 11? Chris, George
Loucas, come on up. Chris, you're the Supreme Governor.
Why don't you come as well.
July 18, 2011
5
MR. HORIATES:
1,430.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: The second largest district in the Order of
AHEPA with 1,375 is District Number Three. Brother
Govotsos.
Third largest district in the Order of AHEPA, with 1,313
members, is District Number Six, the Empire District, State
of New York. Andy, Nick.
Okay, what I would like to do is call all three of the next
districts up at the same time. We'll take a group photo,
but three districts, the top three for the most new
initiates, District Number Six with 119 new initiates in
District Six, District Number Four with 107, and District
Number Eight with 73, so will all three of those districts
please come forward? That was number one, number two, and
number three, first, second, and third place. Six, four,
and eight.
Now what I'm going to do, let's see. Just for your
information, the largest chapter in Canada went to the
Montreal Chapter, CJ7, with 104 members. I don't think
anybody from Canada is here today. Most new initiates by a
Canadian chapter, the Toronto Chapter, CJ1, with 13. Oh, I
didn't see. Montreal, you're London. You're going to have
to, yeah, both of them at the same time. So, Toronto and
Montreal.
MR. HORIATES: The largest chapter in Canada, Montreal, and the
most new initiatives in Canada, Toronto. They're going to
get two awards. So Montreal and Toronto, both.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: What we did is, we had a number of other
chapters, and what we recognized for those chapters in each
particular district that had the most in their district,
with a minimum of five. And so I would like to announce
the following chapters, and whoever's here that can
represent those chapters or that district please come
forward. We'll do it as a group. But the most new
initiates in District Number One was the Atlanta Chapter
with eight; District Number, the Sarasota Chapter 463 with
17; District Number Three, Falls Church, with 10; District
Number Four, Pittsburgh 512, 41; District Number Five,
Westfield Chapter Number 280 with 11; District Six was the
July 18, 2011
6
Brooklyn Chapter 200; District Seven, Waterbury 48, 12;
District 10, the Ann Arbor Chapter Number 195 with seven.
That was District 10. District 12, East Chicago, with 11;
District 13, Chapter Number 93, 15; District 16 was a tie,
was the Shreveport Chapter Number Eight and the Houston,
Texas, Chapter 29 with seven; District 17, Colorado, 145,
22; District 20, 219 with 14 people; District 23, the
Toronto Chapter, 13; and District 25, - - HJ10, with 19
new members. So, these are the chapters that were the best
in their district. District Eight was the Boston Chapter,
so come up, Frank.
[Long pause]
[Background noise]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, we have the last two, and the last two
awards are not based on the number of new initiates or the
number of members. It's based on the best retention. And
the best retention is defined as "the total number of per
capita paid based out of the total number eligible" for
that particular year of 2010. This year the chapter with
the largest percentage of per capita paid was a district
that paid for 822 members out of a possible 845 members,
and that goes to District Number Seven with a percentage
paid of 97.3% of its membership. So, Brother Moshovos.
[Pause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And there's actually a cash award that we'll
be presenting them as well for their highest percentage.
And, also, the second place in retention this year goes to
the district who paid for 1,192 out of 1,233 possible
members, and that is District Number Five. They get the
silver medal.
I do want to thank everyone for coming this morning.
Membership is obviously most important and fundamental to
our organization. It's the basic part of our Order that we
need to continue to succeed. I'd like to leave with a
motto that I kind of thought up the other day and maybe we
will use for next year, and that's "One More Than the Year
Before," because if each chapter has one more member than
they did the previous year we will continue to grow and
continue to increase our numbers. So, "One More Than the
Year Before." If every chapter can take that home with
them. "One More Than the Year Before. One More Than the
July 18, 2011
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Year Before." Whatever you have, improve on what you did
last year. So, thank you, and I would like to at this
time, at this time I would like to call up our esteemed
Supreme President of the Order of AHEPA for closing remarks
and any other things that he would like to address, Brother
Nicholas Karacostas.
MR. KARACOSTAS: How about a round of applause for our Supreme
Vice President.
[Applause]
MR. KARACOSTAS: Thank you all for coming. It was wonderful to
at least have some coffee and Danish this morning and give
out these most deserving awards, and it's time to open the
convention. I see our Chairman is here. I'll call up the
Chairman, Stosh [phonetic] Betzelos, past Supreme
President, the Vice Chairman and the Secretary that have
been elected to run this wonderful convention. Are your
officers here, Mr. Chairman? Come on up. Come on up.
Isn't George Loucas the Secretary? Oh, you are here.
George Horiates, the Vice Chairman; George Loucas, the
Secretary, please come forward. Oh, they're in the back.
There they are.
Okay. By the powers vested in me by the Constitution of
the Order of AHEPA, I now declare the 89 th Supreme
Convention now open.
[Applause]
MR. KARACOSTAS: Please raise your right hand and repeat after
me. I, state your name.
MR. GEORGE HORIATES:
MR. GEORGE LUCAS:
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
Do hereby promise and swear.
To faithfully execute.
To faithfully execute.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
I, George Loucas.
Do hereby promise and swear.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
I, George Horiates.
The duties.
The Duties.
July 18, 2011
8
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
Of my Supreme Convention office.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
Of the United States of America.
Of the United States of America.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
The Constitution.
The Constitution.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
And in accordance with.
And in accordance with.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
To the best of my ability.
To the best of my ability.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
ALL:
Of my Supreme Convention office.
And the Order of AHEPA.
And the Order of AHEPA.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
MR. HORIATES:
MR. KARACOSTAS:
Congratulations.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
[Applause]
MR. HORIATES:
MR. KARACOSTAS:
MR. HORIATES:
MR. KARACOSTAS:
President, - - a picture.
One picture?
One picture.
John, please.
Mr. Chairman, the gavel is yours.
MR. STEVE BETZELOS: Brothers, thank you for the wonderful
reception that we received and being elected unanimously
here by the brothers attending this 89 t h convention. At
this time our esteemed Supreme President, before he leaves
his office, because he's got this speech to make, plus one
more at the banquet, please give us your closing remarks
for the convention opening here.
MR. KARACOSTAS: Okay, here I am again. Good morning again,
brothers. Most of you have received this book in your
packet. In this book we have our Officers Report, and you
can see mine is quite lengthy. It starts on page five for
July 18, 2011
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those of you that want to follow. I'm not going to read
this report. I do want to make certain highlights of the
report. Obviously, I've arranged my report with regard to
our Mission Statement, Philanthropy, Education, Civic
Responsibility, Family and Individual Excellence. As
you'll turn the pages from page six all the way through
page 21, it'll give you an idea of the programs that we've
worked on this past year since Montreal. If we can just go
quickly under Philanthropy, we had a program, which was the
ThanksUSA program. That's to benefit the families of our
veterans. We had natural disaster relief with the
earthquake in Japan and a number of other natural
disasters. We had the 25 t h Hundred Anniversary for the
Athens marathon. I commend the organizers for that. It
was a wonderful program that the AHEPA was out in front.
We had the AHEPA Cooley's Anemia Foundation. They raised
additional more dollars for this wonderful cause and will
be making a presentation to St. Jude's Hospital Friday
night at the banquet. Relations with the Greek Orthodox
Church—I'm on page seven—with His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios continues to go really well. One important
aspect that I worked on these past two years was to work
closely with the church. As you know, most of you in your
districts or your chapters, wherever there's a strong AHEPA
chapter there's usually a strong church side-by-side.
Also, with the Patriarch Bartholomew, who we visited this
past year, who continues to be an outspoken supporter of
AHEPA. We have the very, very important issue of the
St. Nicholas Church campaign at Ground Zero that we
continue to work on. I'm on page eight now.
Besides sending over 20,000 signatures that we collected
through our electronic petition campaign, we recently had a
rally at Ground Zero on Sunday, June 26 t h , which was very,
very impressive because it received media coverage from all
the networks in New York City and the tri-state area. We
were featured on CBS, NBC, Fox, and a few of the cable
channels, where we were demanding that the Port Authority,
who have oversight of Ground Zero, and specifically, the
governors of New York and New Jersey, Governors Cuomo and
Christie, push and pressure the St. Nicholas Church to be
rebuilt. From what I understand behind the scenes, I'm
glad to report that there are negotiations going on, and I
think the Order of AHEPA can take credit for shining the
spotlight on this very important issue because the St.
July 18, 2011
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Nicholas Church must be rebuilt. It was the only house of
worship that was destroyed due to the tragic events of
9/11.
Moving on to education, our National Education Foundation
continues to meet and give out hundreds of thousands of
dollars of scholarships under the leadership of the
Chairman, Paul Neal. They'll be meeting here this
afternoon to give out this year's scholarships. Each one
of the districts receives a scholarship, as well as a
number of other ones that they give out.
The Journey to Greece program continues to thrive under
past Supreme President, Dr. Jim Dimitriou. I'm on page
nine now. They are in Greece as we speak. As you know,
Dr. Jim Dimitriou gives out, I'm sorry, takes a number of
students to Greece every year, where they get these credits
at the University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus, and it's
a wonderful program that the AHEPA sponsors.
Under Civic Responsibility, we have our Cyprus and Hellenic
Affairs Committee. That's under the leadership of past
Supreme President, Dr. Spiro Macris. They have done a
wonderful job of reinforcing the Hellenic Caucus in the
United States Congress and, of course, we had our AHEPA day
in March, where we all went to Capitol Hill and we visited
with our congressmen and senators, which is an annual event
for the Order of AHEPA.
We have a number of legislative initiatives that the Cyprus
and Hellenic Affairs Committee took up. Of course, all the
Hellenic resolutions with regard to the Halkey [phonetic]
Seminary and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the destruction
of religious cultural artifacts and heritage in the
Republic of Cyprus, restoring of funds for the Voice of
America Greek Network, and the Voter Awareness Campaign
with the Order of AHEPA annual congressional score card.
Our government relations consultant, Andrew Caphas
[phonetic], needs to be congratulated for the great work
that he does on these issues and on behalf of the Order of
AHEPA.
Supporting Emerging Greece and Israel relations. I'm on
page 11. As you know, the AHEPA had a groundbreaking
conference back in October, where we brought the embassies
of Greece and Israel. Of course, we invited Cyprus as
July 18, 2011
11
well, and a number of scholars to speak about how well it
would be and how effective it would be if these countries,
Greece and Israel and, of course, Cyprus, formed an
alliance and started working together. Because of AHEPA
I'm proud to report that these two countries are now
working very closely together. You might have noticed that
as recently as this unfortunate explosion that occurred in
Cyprus because of a munitions dump that was not properly
cared for, Israel was the first country to send first aid
and assistance there. So, Cyprus and Israel have also
formed an economic alliance where they'll be drilling for
gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean between the two
countries. That's going to be an economic boon for both
countries. Also, it, I think, adds to the security of
Cyprus having this alliance with Israel. Greece and Israel
will also benefit because they'll be working closely
together for their economy. We all know that Greece is
struggling right now with regard to the austerity measures
that they've put in place and the bailouts that they've
received. The best thing we could do, as Americans or
Canadians abroad that are of Greek descent, is to visit
Greece, become tourists again, go to our homeland. They
need the money, and tourism is a great way to do that.
In April, I took my annual Supreme President's trip, which
goes to Greece, Cyprus, and the Patriarchate. This year we
also added Israel as a result of our groundbreaking
conference in October. We visited the country of Israel.
We were very well received by some high-level officials of
the government. We met with the Deputy National Security
Advisor and the Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister, as well
as meeting with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. This was a
first for AHEPA to go to Israel, and I think it's something
that we need to continue, especially as Israel comes closer
to Greece and Cyprus.
In Greece, we visited with Prime Minister Papandreou with
all the government officials. AHEPA was very well
received. We have an excellent name in Greece. We have
brothers here that are from our District 25. Some brothers
from Greece please stand up, District Governor and one of
the brothers from—thank you for being here. They came all
the way from Greece, by the way. They do an excellent job
in Greece. They work very well together, and it's one of
our districts that's thriving.
July 18, 2011
12
In Cyprus, the same kinds of meetings with the President of
the Republic, Mr. Christofias. In Cyprus we had three
chapters. We're up to six now, so that's another fruitful
place where we can grow the AHEPA, and we were very well
received in Cyprus as well.
We went to the Patriarchate. We met with, of course, His
Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew. But what was ever nicer
was that we got to establish a Constantinople chapter. Now
the AHEPA is present in modern day Istanbul, but what we
like to call Constantinople. It was a very successful
trip, and as I said, we need to continue these types of
excursions because the AHEPA has a great name, and we have
to continue these meetings so that we can keep the AHEPA in
the forefront.
Moving on to page 13, the AHEPA PAC. As you know, this
past year we created an AHEPA PAC. I thank all the
chapters that had sent in some donations. The chapters are
allowed to send in donations for the AHEPA PAC to support
the maintenance of the PAC. In order to keep the PAC going
it's an annual cost of about $7,500. The chapters can help
us pay that maintenance fee. The individuals who send
checks, I thank you, too. That money was deposited in our
account so that we can make donations to congressmen,
senators who support our causes. The AHEPA PAC is
bipartisan. We don't support any particular political
party. We support candidates or elected officials who help
Greece, Cyprus, and the Order of AHEPA. So, please
continue. Take the message back to your chapters. Please
continue, if you can, to support the AHEPA PAC, small
donations for the maintenance and, also, for the donations.
As I retire as Supreme President, one of the things that's
near and dear to my heart is the AHEPA PAC. I'll continue
to work on that, and you'll be hearing from me regarding
the AHEPA PAC.
March 25 th , Greek Independence Day celebrations. We had a
number of wonderful Independence Day celebrations, parades.
I was lucky enough—our Vice Chairman here, who was the past
District Governor from District Five in New Jersey and
Delaware, he was kind enough to have me appointed as the
Grand Marshal of the Philadelphia parade, and that was
quite an experience to be a Grand Marshal. It was an honor
for me and, of course, for the Order of AHEPA, and we were
July 18, 2011
13
very well represented in the Philadelphia parade. Of
course, the parade in New York City, which is one of the
largest parades in the United States, up Fifth Avenue, we
were very well attended there. We had chapters and members
from the surrounding districts, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and
I thank all the districts that contributed to the
participation fees for the parade.
Also for March 25 t h , Independence Day celebration at the
White House, the AHEPA was very well received by President
Obama. We were very well represented there by a bunch of
the officers. I was proud and shocked when in his remarks,
besides the politicians that were in the room, President
Obama only recognized the Order of AHEPA as being the
oldest and largest Greek-American organization, much to the
jealousy of all the other federations and - - that were
there, but he only mentioned the Order of AHEPA, and that's
a proud moment for me and for all of us in the Order of
AHEPA. That was spectacular. I'm not sure if you saw that
on our AHEPA e-News.
Under Family and Individual Excellence, I'm on page 14, we
had three regional banquets. As you know, two years ago we
started this regional banquet format. Instead of having
one banquet in Washington, D.C., we decided to take our
show on the road. This past year we had three banquets,
the first one in Connecticut, which was hosted by our
Supreme President, John Grossomanides. The second one was
in Los Angeles, hosted by the District Governor there and
the District 20 chapters. And the third one was in Dallas,
which was spearheaded by our Supreme Governor, Nick Dixie,
and the District Governor there. I'm proud to say another
three successful regional banquets. The idea of these
regional banquets was to go to the regions and honor
philanthropists, people that work hard for the AHEPA,
people that work hard for Hellenism, and that's how AHEPA
gets our name out there and some great publicity. I'm
proud to say that these past two years we had six banquets,
all of which were tremendously successful, and we got some
very nice publicity from those.
Our affiliated organizations, I'll speak briefly. I worked
very well with Grand President, Christine Constantine, and
the Daughters of Penelope. We went everywhere together, as
well as the Sons and the Maids Presidents. The Sons and
the Maids are thriving, finally, with some very good
July 18, 2011
14
advisors. Chris Economides on the Sons of Pericles side
and Demi [phonetic] Thomas on the Maids of Athena side, the
two advisors to our youth auxiliaries. They are really
thriving. In your chapters and your districts you have to
try and have a Sons and Maids chapter because that's the
future of AHEPA. That's our feeder. If you don't have
one, contact the advisors. They will help you get one
started, and I can't emphasize the need for the youth much
more than that.
I want to thank our Canadian President, Mr. Nico
Aroutzidis, who is like my brother. We worked very well
these last two years together, and as I said to him
privately, and I'll repeat to you publicly, there have been
many, many good Canadian Presidents, but Nick has set the
bar so high these past three years, really, but two with
me, it's going to be impossible for another Canadian
President to do the great work that Nick did these last two
years. He recently was invited by the Prime Minister of
Canada to accompany him on an official visit to Greece to
visit with the Prime Minister of Greece. If that doesn't
speak volumes about Nick and about the Canadian brothers
and our AHEPA brothers in Canada, I don't know what does.
So, congratulations, Nick.
Our National Housing Program, under the leadership of Art
Poly and Nick Stratas is thriving. These last two years
I've done my homework, and I've really tried to get close
to the Housing brothers and bring them back. There was a
little bit of a separation. I don't know why; I don't care
why, but these past two years we've worked really well
together. We are all under the AHEPA banner. They operate
independently, but that was a decision that was made a long
time ago. It was my not my decision. But we work very
well together, and I can stand here today and tell you that
the Housing program is thriving. It's one of the best
programs that AHEPA has. They have 86 units that are
operating right now. They will have 92 by the end of this
year, and they continue to seek funds from the federal
government, which we help them with, from the HUD, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, to build these
senior residences. If that doesn't speak volumes about
AHEPA I don't know what does. Under the leadership of Art
and Nick they do a tremendous job, and they do support the
Order of AHEPA in different ways. They give us money for
July 18, 2011
15
the AHEPA Magazine. They support the Sons and the Maids.
They give money for the Cooley's Anemia, Bone Marrow, and
all the other programs that we have, so we do work very
well together, and I'd like to congratulate them for the
great work that they do. Oh, they also opened a new
headquarters in Indianapolis. They have their official
headquarters for the Housing in Indianapolis. They invited
me to be there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and it was
a proud moment for me to be there to open up this wonderful
headquarters for our Housing units.
The Athletics Department, under the leadership of Supreme
Athletic Director, Spiro Siaggas, is doing really well. We
have programs, golf, basketball, soccer, and you're going
to see on Thursday when you attend the Athletics awards
luncheon, the very, very distinguished honorees that they
will have here. They also did a wonderful job with the
Athletics program here at this particular convention. We
have golf; we have beach volleyball; we have softball, and
a number of other things. So, congratulations to the
Athletics Department.
Unfortunately, we had a sad loss this year. I'm on page
16. Past Supreme President John Economo from Akron, Ohio,
was taken far too young. I'd like us all to stand for a
moment of silence for John, but for all the departed
brothers, which we should have done at the beginning, and I
was remiss. So, let's just take a moment.
Thank you.
eternal.
[Speaking Greek], may their memories be
Under Administrative, we are in the 21 s t Century, as you
know. We send out our AHEPA e-News at least once a week.
If you don't have email, please get email. Please sign up.
That's the most cost-efficient and quickest way to
communicate with the members. I know we have some older
brothers who may not be on email, and for you brothers that
are, please print the email news that you get, and bring it
to your chapter meetings, and read it to the brothers that
do not have email. This email way to communicate is
revolutionizing the way we communicate with our members.
We also have online members who don't belong to particular
chapters, but this is all part of changing times, and if we
don't change with it we will die as an organization. We
use social media like Facebook and Twitter. We have people
July 18, 2011
16
at headquarters. We have a Webmaster. We have Andrew, and
they are constantly sending out communications to all of
the membership. That is the best way to communicate with
you and the quickest way and, of course, the most costefficient because it doesn't cost anything.
We are still sending our magazine out. I think we've done
a great job with the magazine. You're getting that
regularly, and that's a wonderful way to communicate.
We're not going to cut out the magazine, but the email and
the communications that we can send out on email are just
priceless. So, please, if you don't have email, sign up
for email. If you know of brothers that really will never
sign up, please print those email news and read them at
your chapter meetings.
Headquarters staff. I can't say enough about headquarters
staff. We've said it over and over, Presidents come and
go. We do the best we can to be the face of AHEPA and
represent AHEPA nationally and internationally, but at the
end of the day it's because of our headquarters staff that
AHEPA exists, and it's strategically, and whoever did it
was very smart to buy the building in Washington, D.C.,
strategically located in Washington, D.C., under the
leadership of our Executive Director, Basil Mossaidis, who
does an extraordinary job. what Basil-[Applause]
MR. KARACOSTAS: He deserves a round of applause. He deserves
more than that. What Basil does cannot be done by most
people. He knows AHEPA in and out because he grew up in
AHEPA. He bleeds AHEPA. He loves AHEPA, and the
institutional knowledge that Basil has is priceless. What
he does for AHEPA you cannot put a price tag on. That goes
with all the other staff at headquarters, Patrice Farish,
who is the CPA and Controller, and Rory, and Rosalind, and
Elena on behalf of the Maids, and Stephanie Maniatis, our
Administrative Assistant, and Phil, who is our Webmaster,
and of course, Andrew, who is a paid consultant. They all
do a phenomenal job. I can't say enough about these
people. They make me look good. They make you look good.
They make us all look good. So, thank you to them.
Future of AHEPA. I have some recommendations here. I'm
not going to go into them because it will just stir debate,
July 18, 2011
17
and you're entitled to your opinion just like I'm entitled
to mine. Page 18, Conclusion and Acknowledgements. I have
to thank, first and foremost, my Supreme Vice President Dr.
John Grossomanides. I don't know where he went, but John
did an outstanding job these last two years. He could fill
in for President at any second. He will do a tremendous
job as your next President, and I feel comfortable leaving
the organization in his hands and passing the torch to
somebody who has also grown up in AHEPA and who is
committed to this organization just like I am, and who will
continue the great programs that we created together these
past two years. So, congratulations to John. I wish him
the best of luck.
I'd like any of the Supreme lodge members that are here to
please stand. I'm not going to mention each one
individually. Please stand, Supreme Lodge. Take a round
of applause.
[Applause]
MR. KARACOSTAS: When I first became Supreme President my motto
was, "We're a Team." We make decisions together, and then
we stick by them. We stand together by those decisions,
and that's why we work so well together. The work that
you've seen this past year, and even going back two years,
is not the work of one person. I was fortunate to have
very good people around me who worked hard. We worked
together, and that's why we were so successful. So I share
the success equally with each and every one of them.
I have to thank the Board of Trustees and the Chairman,
Frank Manios. Are any of the Board members here? Please
stand, Board of Trustees. John Galanis is there, Connie,
Vasilios. The Board of Trustees has an excellent function.
They supervise the financials of the Order of AHEPA, and we
work really well together. Their job and our job on the
Supreme Lodge is meant to be a check and balance. That's
what having a great organization is all about, just like
the great country that we live in, there's checks and
balances. We work very well together. I can't say enough
about the Board members. They donate a lot of their time
and energies to make sure our financial is in order, and
they work really well. When we need the money they come up
with it. I could not have been successful without them, so
I think each and every one of them.
July 18, 2011
18
I want to thank my district, District Number Six, my
chapter, which is the Estia-Pindus Chapter in Flushing, New
York, but it's also known as the Gus Cherevas Chapter. Gus
Cherevas, a past Supreme President of this great Order, who
was a mentor to me and, unfortunately, did not live long
enough to see me as Supreme President, but may his memory
be eternal, along with Judge Nicholas Kaphenas [phonetic],
also from District Six, from Brooklyn Number 41, who was
also a mentor to me both in AHEPA and professionally. He
did not live long enough, unfortunately, to see me be
Supreme President, but may his memory be eternal, too.
Last, but not least, my family. They're not here,
obviously, but my wife, Anna, my daughters, Georgia and
Andriana [phonetic]. You can't imagine the patience that
they must have and allow me to go out and serve and
represent this great organization, and they never
complained once, so I thank them publicly.
I think that's it. You can see my visitation schedule.
It's quite—from August of last year through August of this
year—it's quite extensive, but that concludes my report. I
thank each and every one of you, the delegates. It's been
proud to serve. It's been an honor to serve, and I have to
say it's been a humbling experience. But I hope I made you
all proud, and I hope I represented the Order in the way
that you would expect for the largest and oldest
organization and the greatest one in the United States and
abroad. Thank you very much.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: You're standing ahead of schedule. Are there any
questions of our Supreme President? Any questions? Now,
please stand and give him that ovation that you should have
done, right now.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: At this time it gives me great pleasure to
introduce and bring forth the Canadian President of the
Order of AHEPA. I have many relatives in Canada. Oh, I'm
being corrected here by my Vice Chairman, which I'm happy
to accept. I move that the report of our Supreme President
be accepted as read. All in favor?
ALL:
Aye.
July 18, 2011
19
MR. BETZELOS: Those against? The ayes have it. Thank you,
again. All right, Mr. Canadian President, as I started to
say, my uncle is a past Canadian Vice President back in
1966 from Kingston, Ontario.
[Applause]
MR. NICK AROUTZIDIS: Thank you, Brother Chairman, brothers.
I'm going to be very brief. I spoke a bit last night about
my feelings being a part of this great organization. I
think I have been very fortunate and lucky to be a part of
it. Often enough, when I go around and try to represent
AHEPA in the way I think and the way I feel, some people
they ask me, "Why you are an Ahepan, and what AHEPA is
going to give you back?" Sometimes it's very difficult to
relate and explain these questions. At the end of the day
you have to relax and think about the treat you had for
three years. Besides all the good stuff that we are doing,
and I'm going to go through what we have done in Canada in
the past year, it's how you feel. I can tell you after
three years being in the Supreme Lodge, I can tell you for
sure I'm a better person today than I was three years ago,
and this is very important to me and everybody else.
That's what you are getting out if you spend the time to
preach the Order of AHEPA and all the good things we are
doing.
Anyway, I'm going to be very brief and besides all these
visitations I have done, this year I went from Montreal to
Toronto, London, Hamilton, Windsor [phonetic]. I went to
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Calgary, for the Supreme Convention,
and my second last trip was to Vancouver. I spent a lot of
time going around this year in trying to increase the
membership in Canada. I know it's very hard work. It's a
big country. But I think, if my memory doesn't fail me, we
increased our members by 10%, and that's the promise I had
given you last year.
I'm also very proud to tell you that the Montreal Chapter
this year accomplished a goal that they had kind of put in
the last five years to raise, besides other initiatives
that they are doing. As you saw, they were the best
chapter, one-quarter of a million dollars for the Shriners
Children's Hospital. The hospital will name the
educational wing that the young kids, they're going to go
there every day to get educated with the name of the AHEPA,
July 18, 2011
20
and our logo is going to be there forever. That's why I
was very proud, and I was a part, and I never missed one of
their galas, and I never missed one of their fundraising
events.
On April 4 t h , in our Supreme President talk about the
initiative that he started back on October 7 in Washington
about the Israeli conferences, we had our first Israeli
conference in Montreal. At the beginning we thought that
it's going to be better if we have it in two days, one in
Montreal, and then go to Ottawa, which is the capitol city
of Canada, and talk to the politicians. But then the Prime
Minister of Canada called elections, so we didn't have any
politicians during this convention. But it was very
successful. It was attended from over 150 delegates, and
it was two days event. We have a very good feedback from
Israelis and we saw this when we visited Israel with our
Supreme President, that they knew details there. The Greek
government, unfortunately, didn't know anything about it.
Where we are with this right now as we speak, I'm going to
have another Israeli-Greek conference in Toronto at the end
of September, the beginning October. I'm trying to put it
together now, and I'll try to help the new Canadian
President with these events. And then after that we'll
take the show on the road and we'll have one in Winnipeg,
Regina, one in Calgary, and one in Vancouver in the next
year type of thing we have to do that.
And then we have to go back and talk to the organizations
because it's a good thing to start something like that, but
the difficulties to continue. This will bring some
results.
On the international level I don't know exactly how many
times I visited New York, Washington. I have been in
Philadelphia. But it was a great experience for me to be a
part of the parade in New York. I never thought I'm going
to have this opportunity, but finally I did it, and it was
an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my
life.
The best thing, and the
Supreme President spoke
Greece, Cyprus, Israel,
something different. I
most important trip, and our
about it, it was the excursion to
and Constantinople. This is
encourage everyone to find time to
July 18, 2011
21
participate. I know it's a 10 or 12 days trip. I know
that it's expensive, but it's worth it. It's worth it
because you're going to see and you're going to feel
something different. That's what happened to me. When we
went the first time with the Supreme President two years
ago in Constantinople I felt something that I never felt
before because my roots are from this area. My grandfather
came from - - , all these - - cities. Always in my mind I
thought the Patriarchate, it was something like the
Vatican, this beautiful, big, huge building, so when I went
there I thought I was in jail. I'm encouraging every one
of you every year to have an event in your chapter. Any
money you raise, either it's $200, $500, $1,000, donate it
through the headquarters for this cause to help them
because I believe that the end of the tunnel, the light,
the end is coming, and the school in Halkey will be
opening, and we're going to have to spread to help them
fixing some of these old buildings that they're in a very,
very bad condition.
Also, I'm not going to echo our great Supreme President's
report, but we had the opportunity to visit and spend about
45 minutes with the Prime Minister of Greece, the President
of the Republic. We visited the Parliament. We spoke to
the Parliamentary Committee for the Greeks and the
Diaspora. Then we went to Cyprus and we spoke with the
President of Cyprus, the Cyprus Republic, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and the President of the Parliament and,
of course, we visited the Archbishop of Cyprus.
Then we went to Israel and, again, it was my first time
there, and it was something else. We had discussions with
the Israelis, and we know, both of us, we felt that they
want to work with us. They knew why we are doing this.
Now I'm going to talk to you about another few more minutes
for Canada. The AHEPA Family Charitable Foundation is
something similar to the USA foundation that we raised
money there for scholarships. We are giving away about
$350,000 a year in scholarships across Canada through our
chapters. Very fortunately, we inherit some money that in
the last couple of years we're trying to invest and from
the Foundation start giving some additional money for
scholarships. I believe by the end of this year we'll be
able to give between $13,000-$17,000, depending on the
July 18, 2011
22
investments. We have about over a half a million dollars
in the bank, and we are trying to grow them.
Also, we have a program, if you ever go to the
ahepacanada.org, that promotes the Odysseas online Greek
school. This has been designed for young individuals or
anybody, adults that they're going to learn Greek. You can
go there, and you can register your name, and you can
follow the courses, and it's a very good program.
Basically, that's it. I'd like to, again, thanks to
everybody who helped me for the last three years. I'd like
to thank the Supreme Lodge. I'd like to thank our Supreme
President, Nick Karacostas, because he said something to
you earlier, but you don't know that I gave him 50 bucks to
say all these good things Canadian because it's something
like 75 U.S. right now.
[Laughter]
MR. AROUTZIDIS: No, but honestly, Nick deserves a lot. He was
a part of my success if I was successful. He was there for
me, and I hope I was there for him when he needed me. So,
I would like to thank him personally. The only fear I have
is I don't want to lose the ties we developed in the last
few years with Nick and some other members of the Supreme
Lodge. So, I thank you very much, and I'll take any
questions you have.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: At this time I would like to state that the
convention unanimously accepts the report as read by our
Canadian President. Thank you very much. Is our Chairman
of the Board of Trustees in the room? Pardon? All right.
In the meantime, the Publications Director, Chairman, Jim
Scofield. Are you ready to report? You're going to report
Friday? Okay. Is Tom Cavalaris, National Projects, in the
room? You know what? You're going to all find yourself
reporting next year. You're going to have to start meeting
this afternoon and tomorrow because I'm going to appoint
everybody today and ask the committees to start meeting
this afternoon so they can start reporting to us tomorrow.
We have the time, the schedule for the meetings rooms as of
2:00 p.m. today and after, as shown. Check with our
Executive Director. This is the way it's going to be
July 18, 2011
23
because I'm going to try to give some free time to many of
our delegates who traveled all these miles.
[Pause]
MR. BETZELOS: Our Supreme President, John Grossomanides, will
you please come and render your report?
MR. GROSSOMANIDES: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
brothers. I would like to, my report is in your packets.
I'll let you read it. It encompasses all the travels that
I've done through the year. This year was a very exciting
year for membership as you all know. Membership is the
core component of the responsibilities of the Supreme Vice
President. As many of you have witnessed this morning, we
had the culmination with our Awards Breakfast. We were
excited that we were increased our membership over the
previous year by about 1%, and we continue to aspire to
grow the membership of our organization. The most
important thing that we did this year in addition to the
awards, we developed a PowerPoint presentation that is
available to all of the chapters and to all of the
districts to outline all of the AHEPA's history, noteworthy
Ahepans, such as John Glenn, such as Franklin Roosevelt,
Harry Truman, or Nick Markakis and other athletic and
notable personalities who have become Ahepans. A lot of
people don't understand the history of the Order of AHEPA,
so it was important for us in recruiting because when you
get new members it's really a recruiting process. You
really need to develop a plan and individualize the plan
because some people might be interested in civic
responsibility. Others may be interested in philanthropic
work. Others may be interested in education. So the
tailoring of the message to the new recruit needs to be
very different from person to person. We do have that
PowerPoint presentation available.
In addition, we'll be having a membership symposium on
Thursday morning at 8:30 to discuss what do the best
chapters in the Order of AHEPA do to help to recruit new
members? We have a panel discussion. We will have some of
the largest and best chapters. The New Rochelle Chapter,
Chapter Number 78 from Indiana, Stamford Chapter Number 99,
Pittsburgh Chapter Number 34, that will be on a dais so you
can ask them questions. You can ask them what do you do to
bring in members into the Order of AHEPA? Whether it's new
July 18, 2011
24
technology, whether it's new social systems, whatever it
is, we want to be able to give everybody new ideas on how
to recruit so when you go back to your chapters and you go
back to your districts you all have some new information
that you can utilize to bring in those younger and middle
generation people into the organization.
I would like to say thank you to all the District Governors
and all the Supreme Governors and Supreme Lodge for working
so diligently on membership this year. We obviously had a
very successful year, and we hope to continue it. We're
looking for new ideas for next year, so if there's anything
that anybody would like to bring forward at the Membership
Symposium on Thursday, please bring anything that you think
might be helpful for us to incorporate into our membership
improvement program for next year.
I won't go over any more of the details. We did present
several awards. We did recognize several individuals and
we look forward to, again, growing our organization's
membership for the next year.
That concludes my report.
Chairman.
Thank you for your time.
Mr.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: The convention unanimously accepts the report of
our Supreme President, John Grossomanides. Thank you,
John. At this time I would like to have our Supreme
Secretary, Anthony Kouzounis, please report.
MR. ANTHONY KOUZOUNIS: Thank you, Brother Chairman. This is
the second complete year that I've served the Order, you,
brothers, as Supreme Secretary. Constitutionally, my
obligation, of course, was to take Minutes at all the Lodge
meetings, which I think I did dutifully. It's sort of a
mundane task, but the important part of it is to be
supportive of our leadership, and I've tried to be there
all along the way.
I had the great pleasure of working with two wonderful
brothers throughout the year in addition to the duties as
Secretary. We took on the task of a major fundraiser for
our Order, which was to promote the 2,500 year
commemoration of the Battle of Marathon, and the Athens
Marathon commemorates that event. I worked with two
July 18, 2011
25
outstanding brothers to raise $89,000 for our charities
this year, which I think was a great accomplishment. Where
is Demetrios Kirkiles, past District Governor of District
Two? Demetrios did a fantastic job in pushing this program
throughout. Consequently, we had over 70 people that
participated in the marathon to raise that $89,000. In
addition to that, it was $21,000 that went to the working
capital of our headquarters. So, it was a great
achievement, in my opinion, in dollars and fundraiser, and
we want to try to maintain that program annually. It's
running for a cause, which everyone that entered the
marathon had to raise X number of dollars, which paid for
their trip to Greece and back and entry into the marathon,
but in turn, they raised almost $2,000 per runner towards
these wonderful projects that we have from Cooley's Anemia,
scholarship, even the Patriarchate contribution, the
Leadership 100 contribution of $10,000. So, I want to
congratulate the efforts of Demetrios Kirkiles, as well as
Paul Somaris [phonetic] of the Denver Chapter.
Thank you very much. That concludes my report. And our
continued effort together to achieve our goals maintains
our standards as a prominent secular organization of
Hellenes and Philhellenes in the world. That was in my
report, and I'm proud to have served you. Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: The convention unanimously accepts the report of
our Supreme Secretary, Anthony, and thank you very much for
all the work you've done in the past.
At this time I would like to have Colonel Vamvakias give
the report as the Treasurer.
COL. NICK VAMVAKIAS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, brothers,
friends, and great Ahepans that you are. I want to thank
you very much for the opportunity that you gave me two
years ago to become your Supreme Treasurer. I am honored,
and I want you all to know that as an immigrant son like so
many of you I am here to tell you the bottom line that
AHEPA right now, thanks to the Supreme President, the
Supreme Vice President, and all of you, is in the best
shape that it's been since 1999. Let's have a big round of
applause for our Supreme President, Vice President, and
Supreme Lodge.
July 18, 2011
26
[Applause]
COL. VAMVAKIAS: Now, what does that mean? You heard the
Supreme Vice President tell you that he's got a new motto
that he's going to come out with. That's great. I'm
telling you that he stole it from me, and that's okay.
That motto was, "One for One." Every Ahepan must carry an
application with him at all times. Really, when you guys
have a meeting at your chapters, at your districts, tell
the Secretary, invite past Supreme Presidents to come and
speak, like Jim Scofield. Ask them to come and speak and
tell you what a great job it is to have a membership
application. If we increase membership, as John said,
that's there the money has come in. The money has come in
because we've been able to do the things for scholarships.
Scholarships, memberships equals AHEPA success. When the
Patriarch asked the Supreme President, "Will you sponsor
the Patriarch to come to the Secretary of State in
Washington, D.C.?" they don't take it from the taxpayers.
They ask for AHEPA to pay for that, and we all paid for
that. But I've got to tell you, as you well know, and the
gentlemen who have just come over from Greece, Hillary
Clinton went back to the Patriarchy and said, "I'm going to
work against the Turks. I'm going to do all I can." It
finally registered and made a point of success and that's
because we are able to have money; money that makes
success, money equals membership. Membership equals AHEPA
success from the great state of Ohio, from the great state
of Texas, I see over there, and from all of your states,
all of your districts, all of your chapters. The great
University of North Carolina from Dr. Larry Odzak, who
wrote a book that was called Demetrios Is Now Jimmy. This
is the story of all of us. How many of you washed dishes
like I did? There you go. How many of you swept floors at
Boston University like I did? Nobody gave me anything. I
joined the Army as a private. I rose to the rank of
colonel, and because of AHEPA, I love AHEPA, that's why
AHEPA is in good shape today. Could we be better? Yes, we
could. But I'm here to tell you the Supreme Lodge, under
the leadership of our great President, Vice President, has
traveled all over this United States. And it's because of
you guys. You have made it successful. We all talk about
passing it on to the young governors. Stand up, Governor.
Nick, stand up a minute. See, here's a young Governor
right there. Give him a big round of applause.
July 18, 2011
27
[Applause]
COL. VAMVAKIAS: But don't take it away from the experience.
Stand up, Larry Odzak, who is the President of the Durham
Chapter in North Carolina. That's the kind of stuff we
want. The experience passes it on. The new guys come in,
and there's Kirkiles, the guy who ran the marathon. Stand
up, stand up, past Governor. That's the kind of youth we
want, see? So guys like him, these are the champions.
Last night, let me tell you something. I witnessed an
Ahepan save another Ahepan. Last night John Misayetes
[phonetic], stand up, John. John, last night, give him a
big round of applause.
[Applause]
COL. VAMVAKIAS: We had somebody pick on one of our great Ahepan
Supreme brothers, Chris Economides. Somebody picked on him
and John, God bless you, he stood up between him and he
stopped him from being hit. This guy was going to hit him
and John pushed him away. So, you talk about brotherhood.
It's all membership, it's brotherhood, it's working
together, it's team work. You heard the Supreme Vice
President stand up here and tell you about team work. You
the Supreme President tell you that his motto was "One for
All and All for One." Nick Karacostas demonstrated that
and that's why AHEPA is successful today.
Now, let me continue on very briefly. The finances of
AHEPA are in good shape, but I sat on the Board of Trustees
yesterday, and I've got to tell you. Frank Manios is a
dedicated Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He and the
Supreme President are watching over everything that is
spent, where it goes, how it goes, and how it should go,
and how it should be accounted for. And so, we are in good
shape. Are we perfect? No, we're not perfect, but we're
in good shape. These guys are the custodians. As the
lawyer, John Galanis, will tell you as he spoke up
yesterday, he said, "You've got to have a fiduciary
responsibility." Brother John, you're exactly right, and
I'll remember your very excellent words. These are the
brothers who are watching over AHEPA, who are doing a great
job.
In closing, I want to tell you that membership equals
money. Hellenic Cyprus Affairs Committee equals success.
July 18, 2011
28
You've got to talk to your congressmen. You've got to get
them involved because they are the guys that are going to
take care of the things that we want that equals
membership. Membership equals money. Dr. Spiro Macris,
who has worked so hard to have Cyprus Hellenic Affairs be
successful, and the Supreme President took the show on the
road to Washington with the Supreme Vice President in
March. And what did they do? They went to Congress, and
they knocked on doors, and they told them, "AHEPA is here
for the United States of America." Remember, [Greek
Spoken]. Don't forget it. We're Americans, but we're
Americans of Greek descent. That's why we're here. So,
AHEPA, AHEPA, AHEPA. Mr. Chairman, I report to you that
the finances, the successes of AHEPA, are in excellent
condition. We're going to grow through membership, and one
for one. Everybody carry an application with them because
we must win, and we will win. I salute you all, and I
thank you very much.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: At this time the convention accepts the report of
our Supreme Treasurer, Colonel Vamvakias, as read. At this
time, Colonel?
COL. VAMVAKIAS:
Thank you so much.
MR. BETZELOS: Is the Chairman of the Board in the room? Is the
Supreme Counselor in the room? Ten minutes? Well, we
could be adjourned in 10 minutes. All right, one second.
At this time I would like the various names I call come
forth to the dais: Demetrios Kirkiles, Matt Kolvikias
[phonetic], Charles Demiligis [phonetic], Tom Cavalaris,
Mike Spratels [phonetic], I'm not sure I'm pronouncing that
right, Sandy Papadopoulos, Spiro Macris. I don't think
he's in the room. Jim Scofield. Will those names that I
just announced come forth, please? Come on, Jim. You have
to do a little walking and get your exercise. Brothers,
you've been chosen as Chairmen of the various committees
that I'm going to hand you. Committee rooms will be
available at 2:00 p.m. today. I would like you to all get
out to get your committees meeting at that time. Scofield,
Papadopolous, Mike, Tom, Zoumoulis [phonetic].
MR. HORIATES:
He's already meeting.
July 18, 2011
29
MR. BETZELOS: He can't meet because I didn't appoint him yet.
I'm appointing him now, so you go tell him. All right,
brothers, the committee Chairmen have been appointed.
Those who wish to be on the various committees please see
these various chairmen now to get your names placed on the
list so that these committees can start meeting at
2:00 p.m. today. Thank you very much.
MR. ARISTOTLE OSKRONIS:
Mr. Chairman, point of information.
MR. BETZELOS:
Yes, sir.
MR. OSKRONIS:
Could you please--
MR. BETZELOS:
[Interposing] Wait, where are you?
MR. OSKRONIS:
Right here.
MR. BETZELOS:
Okay.
MR. OSKRONIS: Aristotle Oskronis [phonetic] from Chapter 438.
Could you please state which committees each of these
chairmen are members of, please?
MR. BETZELOS:
Hold on.
Well, I'll tell you what.
I can do that, too.
[Pause]
MR. BETZELOS: Okay, Legislative Committee is Dean Selemis
[phonetic] with Demetrios Kirkelis. Resolutions Committee
is Matt Kolvikias. Pardon?
MR. HORIATES:
K-O-C-H-E-V-A-R.
MR. BETLEZOS: Oh, Kochevar [phonetic], Matt Kochevar, sorry.
Canadian Affairs. I didn't have anyone appointed for
Canadian Affairs. All right, the Canadian President will
be in charge of that committee. The Grievance Committee is
Charlie Stamoulas [phonetic]. National Projects is Tom
Cavalis. Athletics is Mike Sparatelis. Auxiliaries are
Sandy Papadopoulos. Growth and Expansion is Dr. John
Grossomanides, our Vice President. Cyprus Hellenic Affairs
is Spiro Macris, past Supreme President. And Publications
is Jim Scofield, past Supreme President. Does that satisfy
your request for names over there, whoever made the demand?
Which one? All right, at this time I'd like to have the
Supreme Counselor come forth to give his report. I just
saw him in the room. Supreme Counselor.
July 18, 2011
30
[Long pause]
MR. PHILLIP FRANGOS: Good morning, brothers, Mr. Chairman, Mr.
Vice Chairman, Secretary, members. First I really
apologize for being late, but I did something a little
unusual today. I slept a little bit and enjoyed the view
from the room. But I congratulate you for being here so
early.
As my report on page 34 that the yearbook indicates, I had
the great privilege of serving our fraternity in the
position of Supreme Counselor. When nominated and elected
last year in Montreal, I was kind of dubious about taking
on the chore because I remember from my experience in the
previous two terms it had been a rather acrimonious
position. But I'm delighted to say that that has been
absolutely minimal this year. It's been a pleasure to
serve, and basically, of the four duties prescribed in the
Constitution to be performed by the Supreme Counselor the
one that has taken most time is the one that's more
mechanical, and that's the review of documents, contracts.
I had a great deal of work with the Sons. Both Basil and
Chris Economides, the Sons advisor, want everything run
through the counselor, and it's been a pleasure working
with the young people, as well as with headquarters and
with those elements of the organization that have some need
to review a document, or a contract, or a proposal.
If you look at the report the duties are four-fold. First
is as legal advisor, and that's basically what I just
described. For example, I had the opportunity to review
several of the contracts for some of the upcoming
conventions. I didn't negotiate that. That was done by
headquarters, but once I was advised of what headquarters
had negotiated and the document that was produced, then to
review the document to make sure that that's what was
incorporated.
The second duty is to, basically, take the mandates of the
Supreme Convention of the previous Supreme Convention and
reduce those mandates to legislation. I was supplied, by
headquarters, with the items that had been enacted by the
Supreme Convention in Montreal and then develop the
language to be reflected in the Constitution, which has
been updated and, in fact, is available online. Again, let
me just say that the availability of documents and key
July 18, 2011
31
papers and resources in AHEPA, which is now available to
every member online, in fact, this morning, I have to
admit, there was a question I was looking at. It was nice
to go to the computer and pull it up without having to
carry the whole Constitutions and Bylaws.
One thing that I found somewhat. I know that there was an
impression that certain things were done last year, and
sometimes they may fall between the cracks in terms of, are
we recording?
MR. HORIATES:
Yes.
MR. FRANGOS: We are recording. Well, a question arose, I know
with respect to the Sons of Pericles, what was given to me
in terms—I was not at the convention last year, but what
was given to me from headquarters with certain legislation
that was enacted to per capita payments by the Sons of
Pericles. There was one element about whether they would
pay the additional fee above the age of 21 and 27. Chris
was adamant that, Chris Economides was adamant that this
had been enacted, but it was not in the materials that were
provided to me. That's being looked at right now.
The other question that came up was, legislation was
enacted terminating the Vice President for civic
responsibility of the Vice President for Family and
Individual Excellence. That was taken out, and Basil said,
"You didn't write it for the chapters." I said, "Well, it
wasn't written for the chapters. It was only enacted for
the national." So sometimes you get glitches in there, and
it's difficult to go back. I don't have access to the
tape, but sometimes you might get glitches, which I think
makes it more important on this if we're going to know what
we're acting upon and have precise language, we do have a
standing Legislative Committee, which is supposed to meet
during the course of the year. One of the things that I
would recommend that would be tremendous for the delegates
at the convention and for the development of the legal
codes of the AHEPA is that all legislation be submitted to
this standing Legislative Committee, the standing
Legislative Committee considerate, develop it, have it
published in the magazine immediately prior to the national
convention, then the delegates who are coming here review
it, and then you consider it as a body as a whole or as a
general assembly. And you don't have a Legislative
July 18, 2011
32
Committee meeting for three days and having pieces of paper
tossed at them and pieces of paper emerging. Yes, this
would put a burden on the standing legislative committee,
but I would submit you probably, if you set a date by
January or February, or even March, for the submission and
then maybe have one additional meeting in May, you can have
your program ready and included in the magazine. This way
you'd have the precise language. The delegates would know
exactly what they're being asked to look at and act upon.
They'd have an opportunity to consider it. They could
share it with their chapters and come here prepared,
knowledgeably, and then you wouldn't be dropping things. I
think it would be a more concise and understandable way to
proceed.
The third area is the opinions and rulings that the counsel
issues, and the Constitution does provide that any decision
or ruling of the counselor can be appealed to the Supreme
Lodge and, ultimately, to the Supreme Convention.
If you go on page 35 and 36, you will see that I did issue
several rulings during the course of the year. These were
basically administrative. Most of them related, the
questions, if you look at them, related to chapters having
imposed requirements beyond what the Constitution provides.
For example, one of the questions was, a chapter had passed
a resolution several years ago saying that only members who
had attended four chapter meetings during the course of the
year could be elected a delegate to the convention. Well,
the Constitution is explicit in terms of who's eligible to
be elected to a delegate, and I ruled that you can't go
beyond the Constitution. You can't have a delegate from
Lansing being elected under a different set of standards
than a delegate from New York City or a delegate from
Tampa, Florida.
Now, if my chapter has passed the resolution to this
effect, when I'm there voting I can certainly say it would
be nice to do this, and I can be influenced by it, but a
person can't be disqualified.
So, it was these types of questions, if you will, go
through the several rulings that I issued that, basically,
arose, not great trauma-inducing events.
July 18, 2011
33
The next one, which I found the most undesirable of the
duties from my previous experience, is prosecution of
members where you get the complaints that so-and-so is not
acting properly and should be disciplined and kicked out of
the Order and on and on. We're just not having it this
year. We had one complaint coming out of one chapter. I
really, at this point, feel that the thing, I've asked,
basically, the District Lodge to take oversight. I've set
some standards for their review. There is a precedent for
this of some 20 years ago, and I happen to know because it
came out of my district. I'm confident that this will be
resolved, and I think in the interest of not stirring the
pot, I'm satisfied that this matter is proceeding toward
resolution given the proper people acting in a fraternal
matter.
Lastly, the report concludes in terms of the meetings.
Again, I won't burden you with that. That appears on page
37 that I attended.
Finally, again, in concluding here, I think sometimes we
get down on ourselves. The AHEPA is dead, and the AHEPA is
dying, and we don't have enough young people, and we don't
do this, and we don't do that, and we become our own worst
enemies. Instead of seeing the cup as being almost empty,
we should see the cup as being more than half full. Now,
there's work to be done to fill the cup to its top, but
we've got the energy. We've got the synergy. And one of
the things that I noticed in attending the various and
several district conventions, you've got a lot of good
blood out there. And you've got a lot of energy out there.
If you look at what's happening in the chapters and in the
districts, the thousands and thousands of dollars of
scholarships that are being given. And if you look at the
charitable work that's being done. And if you look at when
you ask the chapters to get involved in contacting their
congressmen for a particular issue it's there, but we have
to focus more on bringing these elements together right
now. Really, this is the one body where all the chapters
have an opportunity to get together on a national level,
and we're not getting the attendance here. We're not
getting the attendance either because of cost or because
the younger people—I'm retired. I work out of the house,
to my wife's dismay. In fact, she's glad when the
convention comes around and I get prepared, so I get
July 18, 2011
34
distracted and we don't go to the grocery store. And I'm
telling you why are you buying the Pepperidge Farm for
$2.50 when you can get the generic for $.89, and she tells
me get a life. So my life has become the AHEPA.
But the thing we have to do is, it's hard for people to
take a week from their businesses, from their professions,
unless they turn it into an occasion. We should give them
the choice. We shouldn't be doing it, but that's what we
need to do. These creative, involved young fellows who are
in their late 30s and early 40s, to get them here and
participate. And maybe give in in some consideration,
quite honestly.
I worked my way up from outside sentinel, and then they let
me become inside sentinel. And then I got to put the
swords on the table, and finally became chapter President.
And then I did the District Lodge, and that was great. I
enjoyed every step of the way. That also took, what, about
12 years to do that rise? That's hard to ask somebody to
do that today given the demands that are made on an
individual's life, whether they're family, professional, or
what-have-you. We should start giving serious
consideration that you've got a bright young person. I'm
only saying what I've heard you say. I look around and I
see faces here and see we're not getting these bright young
people involved at an early age, and that's what we ought
to be doing, and getting them here, and getting them
involved. Again, as I stated before, with information
before them like legislation and whatever, so we can then
come to determinations that benefits our fraternity. But
for heaven sake, let us not be negative about what we're
doing. The fact that I look at this room and I see you
here means we have something to care about, so let's be
positive.
Again, I apologize for the amount of time taken this
morning. I thank you for your help. I thank you for
having me selected to this position, and I appreciate it.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: Hearing no questions, the convention moves to
accept the report as read by our Supreme Counselor, Phil
Frangos.
[Applause]
July 18, 2011
35
MR. BETZELOS: Who else have we got to report? Chris
Economides, Sons National Advisor. Over here to the steps,
Chris. Chris Economides.
MR. CHRIS ECONOMIDES: Brothers, good morning to all of you.
You all look fresh and nice. I have a short report to
make, but before I make this short report on the Sons of
Pericles I would like to tell you something that I told
some people yesterday at some meeting. I don't even
remember where it was because I'm getting old. The thing
about the Sons of Pericles and the youths just like—where
did he go? Anyway, just like was said just previous to me
coming up here was about the youth and how we needed to get
them into the Order of AHEPA.
I will explain it to you in this way. I have one son and
two daughters. My son has a daughter and can't have any
more children. My two daughters have different names. My
name is gone when I'm dead. But my son, when he dies, I
have no name. I mean, my name. When he dies I'm gone, no
name. Now, what does that mean? I had two slogans that I
used in the Sons of Pericles. The first one was "Potential
is No Credential," and everybody liked that, and they
understood it. The one I had this year is "The Sons of
Pericles Are the Rising Sons of the Order of AHEPA." That
means I don't want the family to fail. We've got to reach
100 years so we can be known nationally all over that we
have made it for 100 years.
As far as the Sons of Pericles and the year we've had last
year, I'm so proud of those boys because they're real good
kids, and they're real sharp kids. I'm here to tell you
today that in the last year we tripled our membership,
tripled it.
[Applause]
MR. ECONOMIDES: Now, the truth of the matter is that we have
other people ready and lined up, and in the next two months
we will have quadrupled it, okay?
[Applause]
MR. ECONOMIDES: I thank you very much. The kids are brilliant.
They're a hell of a lot smarter than we were when we were
young. I'll tell you that right now, but they're good kids
and they're very, just a terrific organization right now.
July 18, 2011
36
We have a good Supreme President coming up. And the year
after that a boy name Mikey - - is going to be the
President, and he's going to be President of AHEPA someday.
Thank you very much, and I appreciate it.
[Applause]
MR. HORIATES: Okay, are there any questions, concerns, or
issues for Brother Economides? Any questions from the
floor? Hearing none, I will accept a motion to accept the
report. All in favor.
ALL:
Aye.
MR. HORIATES: Chris, congratulations once again. Okay, at this
point in time I want to make some announcements. Is the
AHEPA Board of Trustees, yes. Please come forward, ready
to give a report? Not yet. Okay.
I want to talk about the committees that were just
appointed, and I want to ask that each of the committee
Chairs that were appointed to please walk around the room
and see if you can garner some participants on your
committee.
MR. HARRY CAVALARIS: Brothers, my name is Harry Cavalaris. I'm
Chairman of the National Projects Committee. I want to
share the frustration of our Chairman and our Convention
Committee. In many conventions we have stood up, and many
of you have stood up, to make recommendations to better
organize and manage effectively and economically our time
at these conventions, include the organization of the
meetings and everything.
One of the recommendations we made was for the Supreme
Lodge to take the time to thoroughly investigate a
practical way to implement what we want to do and bring it
in as legislation. Every Chairman that comes up here has
the same frustration as Brother Steve had. And I will tell
you, normally there's a bulletin board that we have there
where we put the papers up so people can sign.
Unfortunately, he's adamant about having meetings today,
but Basil has gone to a lot of trouble to do a program here
with meeting dates and room dates, which is very difficult
because once this is circulated to the brothers, and it was
by email, to change this at a convention when many of them
are just arriving today. So, I share your frustration, and
July 18, 2011
37
bear with us. We can change this, but we're not going to
be able to do it here at this convention. We do need a
bulletin board of some type to put these sign-up sheets for
them to do because this is what we've traditionally done.
If we're going to change the procedure, because we cannot,
as Chairmen, walk around individually.
MR. HORIATES: Harry, here's what we're going to do. We
appreciate the comments that, the Vice Chair appreciates
the comments, on behalf of the Chair. Let's do this.
We're going to get Basil. Once we do a recess before I
yield the gavel back to the Chair, we're going to put a
bulletin board up. We're going to ask that the brothers,
if you're interested and feel confident enough to serve on
those committees, to sign up on the bulletin board. Also,
by way of further announcement if I may, the email that was
sent out, the official working program of this convention,
indicated that these committees would be meeting, in fact,
tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. So, Mr. Chair, I would suggest when
I turn the gavel back over that we're going to have to give
a couple of hours leeway time tomorrow in the morning.
MR. BETZELOS: As long as you're apprised of what happened.
This came over the email. This is the one that he's
talking about. Now, adjustments of this are always to be
made. As the Chairman of the convention, as the time
element completes and concludes everything. So, it can't
be set on hold.
MR. HORIATES: That's correct. That's correct, okay. So just
to be clear, we're going to find Basil after we adjourn,
and we're going to have a board put up with all the names
so we can have them sign up. Okay. There's corkboard
somewhere. Does anybody see the corkboards? They will be
wheeled in. And then Mr. Executive Director, if we wish to
meet as committees today would we be able to, even in this
room, perhaps? Okay. So that's an option that is
available to those committees that feel like they have
those people in place. At this point in time is there a
report that is to be presented? Okay. The Executive
Director, Mr. Mossaidis, Basil, is going to be giving his
report.
MR. MOSSAIDIS: Thank you, brothers. A detailed report is in
your yearbook. My pages start on page 46. Traditionally,
I come up and I give you sort of a synopsis of what we've
July 18, 2011
38
done for the year, and then open the floor for any
questions that you may have of my report because simply
reading what I wrote to you is useless.
We've had a very aggressive year this year. The first half
of the year, and in the AHEPA terms, as you know, the year
begins right after the convention. So, from August to
December we concentrate on membership. For the first half
of the year we were under the guise of, direction of the
Supreme Vice President and the membership program, and we
concentrated on trying to send out everything we could to
the chapters as often as we could. As you know, the high
cost of mailing has prevented us from mailing as frequently
as we've done in the past, but this year I think that we
did increase sending more things in the mail. Naturally,
whoever is connected to the internet gets our daily or
weekly email updates. I get calls complaining about we do
it too often, but I get more calls saying that they enjoy
it, so we're keeping it up until the complaints outnumber
the compliments.
What I did in my report, again, is I just broke it down
into sort of sections which deal with the administration of
the headquarters, which is always a very rewarding thing
for me as an Ahepan. It's great to be your Executive
Director and be in Washington at our headquarters, which
it's a beautiful building and you should all come and visit
your headquarters because it's really a beautiful,
beautiful thing to be able to say that AHEPA owns their own
building and it's in Washington, D.C. It's not some
trailer park cabin somewhere that we do all this work. If
you're ever visiting Washington I invite you all to come
by.
Our membership program this year was very aggressive. The
Supreme Lodge was really out there. They tried their best
to have an increase, which we did, but we need to have,
perhaps, a committee established after the convention to
come up with a three or five-year plan that's going to
really address our membership issues. There's a plethora
of reasons why people don't join. I think what's happening
out there is we are getting two sets of people that want to
be in the AHEPA: the ones that want to go to meetings and
want to participate in how chapters function and what they
do in their communities on a daily basis. And then there's
another group of individuals that would just like to be
July 18, 2011
39
members because they love being Greek-Americans or of
Hellenic background and sort of just be internet-based
members, to pay as they go. As you know, we have this
internet membership which we call Friends of AHEPA. We
have roughly 500 or 550 of those members. We sort of go
out and solicit those people to join, from headquarters
through email marketing. You shouldn't feel less
accomplished if you have people that don't want to
participate in your chapter meetings. Don't look at that
as a rejection of the AHEPA. If you can't get them to join
one for one, like the colonel said earlier, get them to
join on the internet because they'll still be connected to
AHEPA. They'll still get the magazine. They still have
the opportunity to come to your meetings if they really
wanted to. They just can't vote at your meetings. So I
think that's a really good way for the chapter to sort of
market themselves. "Look, Basil, join my chapter. You
can't because you don't have the time? Just join on the
Friends of AHEPA and come to any meeting you want to come
to. Be part of what we're doing." We need to become more
inclusive than exclusive, although we are exclusive because
we're such a niche association, and I use that word
"association" very loosely because we're not. We're more
of a brotherhood, a fraternity, more of a family. But in
the perception of the way we're structured we are like any
other association in Washington. So, that's food for
thought for you to do. I guess Jim, you have a question.
That's why you're standing at the microphone.
MR. JIM KARAMONOS: Yes. Jim Karamonos [phonetic], Monroe
Chapter Number 75, District Number Five, formerly Garden
State District.
MR. MOSSAIDIS:
That's okay.
MR. JIM KARAMONOS: Now John G. Thevos District. Excuse me for
taking everybody's time, but concerning the credit cards,
what percentage of the purchases or services that we take
with the credit card-MR. MOSSAIDIS:
[Interposing] I know what you're asking me, Jim.
MR. JIM KARAMONOS:
Yes.
MR. MOSSAIDIS: And I'll answer your question by telling you
when the Board of Trustees comes and gives you a financial
report you can ask it then.
July 18, 2011
40
MR. JIM KARAMONOS:
Oh, all right.
MR. MOSSAIDIS: What I'd like to do is sort of give you an
overview of what we do at headquarters.
MR. JIM KARAMONOS:
MR. MOSSAIDIS:
All right.
And then if you have any general questions--
MR. JIM KARAMONOS:
[Interposing] I'm sorry.
MR. MOSSAIDIS: --that don't deal with line items specifically,
I'll be more than, I mean, I'll answer all your questions,
but let me go through my report and then when I'm done you
can ask me a couple of questions.
This year we were very fortunate that the Board of
Trustees, in conjunction with our President, created the,
finally, after so many years, the PAC. At some point this
week the PAC will be asking you for donations. It can be
as little as $10, brothers. What's very important with the
PAC is this: That the Order of AHEPA cannot subsidize
donations to candidates. That's illegal for us. But the
Order of AHEPA, the association and the chapters, can help
pay the administrative element of the PAC. That's a very
important thing because that costs us about $7,000-$7,500 a
year. So, we'll be asking the chapters to sort of kick in
$100 or something to help offset the expenses of this. But
it's important for you to be connected with this program
and to want to have it because I can't tell you the
importance when you go knocking on a congressman's door for
whatever issue it is. Is it Macedonia? Is it FYROM? Is
it Cyprus? Is it Turkey? Whatever it is, if they don't
equate your visit with money in some factor, it doesn't
mean you have to give them a check right there but if they
don't think that you're going to be able to deliver
something to them, whether within their community or on a
national level, then they're just going to nod their head
and then you'll never be able to go see them again. I
think we're all cognizant of that. I know we're not
ignorant on how politics works. It doesn't take a million
dollars to do what I'm talking about. It takes $10,000,
and I know we can raise $10,000. If everybody gave $10 we
would have $200,000 in the PAC. There's others that have
given $1,000, and we thank you very much for that. We will
have some type of a seminar. We have a few congressmen
coming later this week, and I know the President and Vice
July 18, 2011
41
President are really supportive of this endeavor, and we'll
have some materials for you to voluntarily donate.
Other than those couple of things, if you have any
questions that deal with headquarters, and how the
headquarters works, and what we do, and what you'd like to
see happen, then I'd like to submit my report for the
record. Any questions, brothers? Okay, thank you very
much for your time, and have a great convention.
[Applause]
MR. MOSSAIDIS: Wait, I do have some administrative stuff if
that's okay.
MR. HORIATES: Are there any questions for the Executive
Director before he goes to some administrative issues that
the Executive Director is going to address, as well as the
committees and the meetings times. Are there any questions
for the Executive Director? Hearing none, I'll accept a
motion. All in favor?
ALL:
Aye.
MR. HORIATES:
Great job.
MR. MOSSAIDIS: Thank you. I was asked to explain to you a
little bit to you about these papers that you get in the
email and the ones that well have at the headquarters.
As you can see, these things are very fluid from my
perspective because there are constant changes going on
with, "I can't make this meeting. My plane is late. I
missed it. I don't want to be there at 3:00. I want to be
there at 1:00." So you can understand it's like Pandora's
Box. Once you change one thing there's a ripple effect
everywhere. So, we always put on our schedules, subject to
change.
Traditionally, what happens is, and I think this is what
the Chairman was telling you, that the committees that are
prepared to report are the standing committees that are
constantly open. Those people come to this convention
ready to report. There's no need for them to go to the
convention Publications Committee. I'm using that as an
example, but the best example would be, for example,
officers' reports. The Constitution says that you have to
have a committee at the convention that says they're going
July 18, 2011
42
to have officers' reports. These guys have been doing it
all year, so they're ready. These other committees like
Legislative and Grievance, they work all week.
The National Projects Committee, Brother Harry submitted an
official report for the book, but we afford that committee
a room today and tomorrow so they can augment any of the
stuff that they may have in their book report already.
These things, unfortunately, and this is why you never
really get the program until the very last minute. People
come here with a paper and say, "But you said 8:00. Why
aren't we not meeting?" We can't be held to that. We
don't work that way. We're very fluid with this thing, so
I want everybody to understand that this is not one
individual's flaw. This is just the way that we work, that
we need to afford our delegates and our members the
opportunity to attend the meetings whenever they can. And
then they come, they change things on us, so we move things
around.
The committees that are set for today and tomorrow, we're
going to bring in that thing. The sheets are here, the
sign-up sheets, the Chairman has them right in front of
him. We're going to post them up. Oh, you passed them
out. We can have them posted. You can sign up whatever
you want. You can meet on these table after you're
adjourned as working groups. If you're done, that's great.
This room is going to be here until 4:00 or 4:30. You can
use it like this. It's not that hard. And then tomorrow
you have designated meeting rooms. For example, Grievance
is already meeting. Legislative has a meeting room already
working. Some of the other committees have schedules for
tomorrow, so you just sort of have to go with the flow on
this paper work. So I hope that answers that issue. I do
have some convention, very quickly, administrative things.
How many District Governors are in the room? I only see
five or six. Okay, well, what's important is for the
banquet tickets. We'll be collecting the Grand Banquet
exchange tickets tomorrow. It's a responsibility of the
District Governors. They've all received a letter in the
mail from headquarters to gather each one of their
district's tickets to be turned in to the headquarters. My
assumption is that there will be more people coming today,
more District Governors. So please tell your District
July 18, 2011
43
Governor that that's his responsibility.
gotten the letter.
They've already
If there is no District Governor here for the AHEPA, we've
asked the Daughters District Governor to be the point
person for that district and collect the tickets. What we
do is we'll take as many tickets as come in from the
district. For example, Chris is going me 52 tickets.
We're going to give him a receipt. Then on Thursday
morning we're going to give him back 52 seats with table
numbers. He assigns who sits where. Headquarters doesn't
do that at the banquet. It's up to the District Governor
to put people, so if you've got complaints call your
District Governor, don't call headquarters.
Secondly, I have an open list of the people that want to
play poker. I have seats left. Please track me down. The
poker is tonight, 7:00. It's $50. There's only 60 seats.
I have 19 seats left, so please let me know who's going to
be playing poker because we have to make the appropriate
arrangements.
Tonight we'll have in here will be the dance. Next door
will be the casino. Everything starts around 6:30, starts
the - - , 7:00 is the casino, 8:00 is the dancing. That's
all I have, Brother Chairman and Assistant Chairman.
[Applause]
MR. HORIATES: Here's what we're going to do. We will, yes,
sir, Brother Supreme. Yes? Please state your name for the
record. Do you know what we're going to do? As a point of
order and/or superfluous commentary, we're going to bring
the microphones a little further in tomorrow. Sorry to
make you walk.
MR. PETE NICKOLAS: That's okay. No problem. Pete Nickolas,
Supreme Governor, Region Two. I just have one question
concerning the committees, and I would like it clarified.
Last year on the Cyprus and Hellenic Affairs Committee when
brothers signed up, the brothers that signed up were not
permitted to vote on that committee. I want that
clarified.
MR. HORIATES:
That is correct.
MR. NICKOLAS:
Okay.
As a point of order.
July 18, 2011
44
MR. HORIATES:
That is correct.
They can participate, but yes.
MR. NICKOLAS:
You cannot vote on that committee?
MR. HORIATES: It's a standing committee, so the answer to the
question is those who sign up that are not on the standing
committee cannot vote.
MR. NICKOLAS: Okay, because that was news to me. That's been
the first year that I've ever found that. And even the
Chairman of last year's committee, I believe it's Brother
Atsaves, was surprised because, basically, that committee
was not the standing committee. That committee was
actually a working committee of the convention.
MR. HORIATES: We will stand by the rulings that were made when
the issue was presented last year on the convention floor.
MR. NICKOLAS: Okay, the ruling that was made was that the votes
were permitted, but inside the committee they were not
permitted. Brother Lou, do you remember that?
MR. HORIATES: Brother Lou, do you remember your ruling? As I
recall the ruling, it was that it's correct, that they can
fully participate, but they could not vote on the
committee.
MR. ATSAVES: Louis Atsaves, Supreme Governor. Yes, and I was
the Chairman last year. What I recall is I was surprised
that the committee was a standing committee and not a
convention committee. It was listed last year as a
convention committee, and it was my opinion that if they
congregated as a convention committee, then the votes would
count of anyone who signed up for the committee. The
standing committee, of course, is a different issue, but my
understanding was when they were convened, they were
convened as a convention committee. This year I don't see
them on the list, so I'm assuming they're a purely standing
committee. That was my ruling last year.
MR. HORIATES:
Pete?
MR. NICKOLAS:
Yes?
MR. HORIATES:
morning.
Do us a favor.
MR. NICKOLAS:
Well, see, tomorrow the committee meets at 9:00.
Bring it to us tomorrow, in the
July 18, 2011
45
MR. HORIATES: No, no, no, no. Here's what we're going to do.
Here's what we're going to do, okay? Each committee,
because we have the little bit of confusion that we're
ironing out now, each committee Chair will report to this
convention tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., okay? And each of the
brothers that is here, and there are those who are so
inclined, will have the opportunity to participate on those
committees of their desire, okay? And we're going to find
out exactly where each committee will meet tomorrow so
there will be no confusion in that regard. Mr. Chair, you
will allow me that ability, correct? We are going to have
each committee report tomorrow 9:00, each Chair, and we
want to find out from them and get it on the record where
they will meet tomorrow.
Now, you can certainly meet again today as the Executive
Director indicated. You can meet in this room if you wish,
if you don't feel like going out in the sun, that's fine.
But that's how we're going to do it, and we'll have some
more answers for you at that time.
MR. NICKOLAS:
Thank you.
MR. HORIATES: Thank you. At this point in time we are going to
recess the convention. It's 11:36. Again, any committees
wishing to meet may do so at their leisure today. But 9:00
tomorrow we will reconvene and we are asking for each
committee Chair to be present 9:00 tomorrow so we find out
where they will be meeting tomorrow when we have a full
delegation. Thank you. This convention is in recess.
[END Ahepa_Nat_l._Convention_#2.mp3]
July 18, 2011
46
Miami, FL
July 19, 2011
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
July 18, 2011
47
MR. STEVE A. BETZELOS: We now open the second day of the
convention here and the Vice Chairman will proceed with the
program.
MR. GEORGE HORIATES: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning,
gentlemen and I know we have a long day ahead of us with
the beach in front of us but I wanted to put some things on
the record. To see your bright, energetic faces is always
a positive sign. We asked the committees to come forward
today. Before we set some ground rules as to who is going
to be on what committee, we have some sign-up sheets here.
Some of the committees are already meeting. We're going to
go over those committees.
However, the Vice Chair, in consultation with the Learned
Chair and our past Supreme President, Dr. Macris, in
response to a question posed yesterday by our Supreme
Governor of region 3, "Can each person vote on a
committee?", and the answer to the question is "Yes".
Cyprus and Hellenic Affairs Committee, if you're not part
of the standing committee, you are allowed and entitled to
a vote and that's pursuant to article 16 and also under
15B. So to Dr. Nickolas, the Chair has ruled, correctly,
that each delegate who is qualified to participate at this
convention is entitled to vote on the committee. This
ruling also applies to the Legislative Committee. Even as
that is a standing committee it is also a convention
committee. The only committee that it does not apply to is
National Projects.
National projects, if you wish to be on that committee,
please see the Chair. The chair is entitled to, if so
inclined, appoint up to six members on The National
Projects Committee.
So at that point in time I would like to call, can I have a
show of hands of all the committee chairs? Okay. Thank
you, gentlemen, however let's recognize our Supreme Vice
President to discuss his committee and tell us when and
where they're going to meet.
DR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, the first committee I'd like to
speak about is The Growth and Expansion Committee. The
Growth and Expansion Committee is actually conducting a
program tomorrow morning at 8.30. It's a membership
symposium with panel discussion to discuss how to bring in
new members and how do we sell the order of AHEPA. This is
going to be at 8.30 tomorrow morning.
Subsequent to that meeting, at 8.30 we will have a sign-up
sheet for all of those who would like to become part of
The Growth and Expansion Committee meeting which would take
place tomorrow afternoon. So, anybody who wants to sign up
for Growth and Expansion, please be at the membership
symposium tomorrow morning at 8.30.
MR. HORIATES:
Doctor, Mr. Supreme Vice President?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. HORIATES:
Where is the symposium going to be held at?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. HORIATES:
CONNIE:
Yes?
Let me grab that.
I'm sorry, Connie?
Glimmer No. 5 and 6.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Let me grab that. Glimmer, Glimmer, yes
that's correct, Connie. Glimmer No. 5 and No. 6.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Okay.
MR. HORIATES: Okay. And your committee will meet tomorrow at
half 5 and 6, after the symposium, just wondering?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: No, we're going to take a break.
it after lunch.
MR. HORIATES:
We'll do
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And I will announce the room tomorrow
morning at the symposium.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Director.
I just need to get that from my Executive
MR. HORIATES: Okay. So anybody interested in serving on that
committee, please see the Vice President.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
In addition, I just want to make one other
89 t h Annual AHEPA Supreme Convention
July 20, 2011
49
announcement. We will have a Redistricting Committee
meeting this morning at 10 am to talk about any chapters or
districts that would like to be redistricted. So, for
example, the Salt Lake City Chapter which is in District 19
would like to move, or District 20 would like to move back
to District 19 and we are going to bring that up for
discussion. We'll also have a District 18 which only has
one chapter in it, The Missoula-Montana Chapter. The
proposal is to move them into District 19 so that they have
other chapters that they may be able to work with and have
some type of a District Lodge.
So the Redistricting Committee will be meeting in the
Breeze Room at 10 am this morning and the last thing I
would like to report is the ad-hoc Health and Wellness
Committee which is going to be the You and Your Medication
Program on Friday morning at 8am in Glimmer 1 through 4
which is in, I believe, this room.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: So that will be to talk about anything to do
with your medications in case you have any questions, so…
MR. HORIATES: Okay. If you can stay at the mike, Mr. Vice
President. We've just consulted and there is no
Redistricting Committee as per se.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
announcement.
this body. It
legislation to
MR. HORIATES:
It's an ad-hoc committee and it's an
It's not an official meeting, committee of
is an ad-hoc committee so that we can bring
the Legislative Committee--
[Interposing] Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: --to reassign those chapters into other
districts so it's not an official committee but it is a
group, an ad-hoc group that would like to get together.
MR. HORIATES: The chair has just nibbled in my ear and wishes
to make it an official committee.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And we would then propose legislation to the
legislative committee to reassign those.
MR. BETZELOS: They have a right to go to the legislative
committee otherwise they don't have the right.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
Okay.
July 20, 2011
50
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Okay.
MR. HORIATES: The chair has ruled that it will be a committee
and if you can, please, tend to that committee and if
anybody is interested, certainly, they can find our supreme
vice president in that regard.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay. And as a reminder of it, that will be
10 am in the Breeze room this morning.
MR. HORIATES: Mr. CAVALARIS [phonetic], please come forward.
Which committee are you a chair of?
MR. CAVALARIS: National, AHEPA National Projects Committee.
We're meeting in Room 585 in this building. Take the
elevator to the fifth floor and follow the directions or
the signs and we look forward to anyone that would like to
join us.
MR. HORIATES:
And at what time is that?
MR. CAVALARIS:
It'll start now, as soon as I leave.
MR. HORIATES: It'll start now, as soon as you leave. And just
to be clear, if anybody is interested in serving on the
committee that is not on the standing committee, please see
the chair-MR. CAVALARIS:
[Interposing] The Chair, that's correct.
MR. HORIATES: --and or you, so we can put their names on the
record as the Chai, it's a Chair's prerogative to appoint
them.
MR. CAVALARIS: In the report I will submit all names to the
chairman. And I would like to ask the Growth and Expansion
Committee if they'll take care of our Growth and Expansion
when we have all our Mojitos and Cuban sandwiches that
we've been eating these last three days.
MALE VOICE:
You know we left the room.
MR. HORIATES: We, we will consider that but not as necessarily
the next business in order.
MR. CAVALARIS:
Thank you.
MR. HORIATES: Thank you. Mr. KOCHEVAR [phonetic]?
Resolutions; is that correct?
You are
July 20, 2011
51
MR. KOCHEVAR: That would be correct, Mr. Vice Chair. We are
meeting in the Dazzle Room as soon as I'm done. I'm
followed after the, immediately after that Legislation
where the Legislative Committee will be meeting in that
same room, so if anyone who is interested in Resolutions or
Legislative please follow me to the Dazzle Room.
MR. HORIATES: Well, when you say, I'm sorry to keep you, when
you say "Legislative", okay, well, Legislative just walked
in the room; is that correct?
MR. KOCHEVAR:
Yes.
MR. HORIATES: So he's, we're going to bring him to the
microphone and talk about that but you're on both.
MR. KOCHEVAR: Okay, alright, but Resolutions is meeting in that
room. We're going to do our stuff first and then the
Chairman of the Legislative Committee will take over since
we're, many of the members are on the same committee, so
we're just going to do it while we're there. Thank you.
MR. HORIATES:
Well, thank you so much for reporting and--
MALE VOICE 1: [Interposing] Good morning, brother Chairman,
good morning. We were asked to report in on our status
around our activities. The Legislative Committee is
meeting in the Dazzle room which is down the hall. We'll
be meeting shortly after our check-in here. Any of those
interested in proposed legislation, please write it down,
bring it to us; we can review it. We have numerous things
to go over but we're going to be effective in handling
these things.
MR. HORIATES: Yes. Two points of order for you, Mr. Chair of
the committee: number one, did you hear about this
Redistricting chapter can go from one area to another and
they're going to have an ad-hoc meeting.
MALE VOICE 1: Oh, I was informed of that by brother
Grossomanides. He had approached me and said that he, this
was something pending, I think, in 19 there were some
issues, Salt Lake 19. That's fine. Put it in writing,
we'll consider it and discuss the merits of it and then go
from there. Yes, I have, I have heard of that.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
July 20, 2011
52
MALE VOICE 1:
And we'll bring that up.
MR. HORIATES: Alright. Try, so if you can, possibly, in the
course of your day today draft a paragraph or clause,
however small or large, as you wish that would make this a
committee as opposed to an ad-hoc committee.
MALE VOICE 1:
itself?
You mean the, you mean the legislative committee
MR. HORIATES:
No, the redistricting.
MALE VOICE 1:
The redistricting, make that a committee?
MR. HORIATES:
Yes.
MALE VOICE 1:
We can make it a subcommittee.
MR. HORIATES: We're just making a recommendation. We're trying
to short-circuit the process. Think about it.
MALE VOICE 1:
Alright.
Alright.
We will look at that.
MR. HORIATES: Okay. And the other thing, if anybody wishes to
serve on the legislative committee the prior ruling still
applies which is: although it's a standing committee,
anybody wishing to serve on the committee it is also a
convention committee, they all get a vote.
MALE VOICE 1: Yes, there are some practical considerations on
that but yes, that's correct-MR. HORIATES:
[Interposing] Okay.
MALE VOICE 1: --any interested brothers can serve, make their
comments, put their suggestions in writing.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
MALE VOICE 1: Mr. Chairman, that's our report and we'll be
meeting and I guess we'll report, when do you want us to
report back?
MR. HORIATES: Well, we are going to be coming back tomorrow.
Would 10 o'clock, Mr. Chair, work?
MR. BETZELOS:
10 o'clock is fine.
MR. HORIATES: We think 10 o'clock tomorrow to knock off the
cobwebs, that would be--
July 20, 2011
53
MALE VOICE 1: [Interposing] Alright. We can give you a
preliminary report at that time and then the final report
when the chair is ready to receive it. Is that alright?
MR. BETZELOS:
Fine.
MALE VOICE 1:
Right.
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
MALE VOICE 1:
That's all for now.
MR. HORIATES:
Thank you.
MR. BETZELOS:
Thank you.
MR. HORIATES: Okay, now the committees that are, that are
Athletics, Athletics, okay. Athletics they'll be meeting
also on this floor. If you're interested they're down the
hall and they had a meeting actually yesterday, I want you
to know that. Is anybody in the room interested in
Athletics, serving on the committee? Okay.
The Auxiliaries. Mr. Chair, I'm making an inquiry, Sandy
Popadopoulos. I'm making an inquiry in terms of
Auxiliaries. Mr. Chair, I think when we convene tomorrow
we need to address that committee as it's, has not yet met
and the chair has not reported in.
Cyprus and Hellenic Affairs Committee, our esteemed past
Supreme President Dr. Macris is meeting, they did report in
and they are down the hall as well. If anybody else is
interested in serving on that committee after we break
please let us know.
Okay. Grievance, obviously, they have been meeting and
continue to meet. In fact Grievance is pretty, it's filled
up. There are 15 members right now. The record should
reflect that there are only, you should only have nine so
it's pretty packed. So that's a good thing, the most
popular committee.
And finally, Publications, Mr. Chair, has it already met?
MR. BETZELOS:
- - going to give us a report on Friday.
MR. HORIATES: Okay the Chair is informed that Publications will
present a report on Friday.
Do we have any Canadians here?
Canadian brothers?
Okay.
July 20, 2011
54
The Canadian president will be having a meeting and at some
point in time if anybody is interested in finding out
what's going on there just let us know.
Okay. We will start receiving reports even tomorrow in the
morning when we reconvene at 10 o'clock.
MALE VOICE:
- - .
MR HORIATES: Okay. Can we also, yes, can we also have the
Executive Director? Gentlemen, can somebody bring in the
Executive Director briefly for a service announcement?
He's down the hall. It would be so appreciated. Is the
board of auditors ready to present a report? Board of
auditors? Okay.
MR. LARRY OJACKS:
MR. HORIATES:
Mr. Vice Chair--
Yes?
MR. OJACKS: May I ask where the Cyprus and Hellenic Affairs
Committee will be meeting today?
MR. HORIATES: Yes, excellent question. Okay. On your official
program sheet it shows where each committee is going to be
meeting and just as I say that to you the Cyprus and
Hellenic Affairs Committee, there is an absence there,
right next to where they're supposed to meet, but for the
record, National Projects is in 585 as we've just heard,
the Grievance is in the Facet, Legislative is in Dazzle,
okay, Resolutions is in Bubble and Auxiliaries is in Dive
and, sir, what's your name?
MR. OJACKS:
Larry Ojacks [phonetic], Sir, Chapter 77 - - .
MR. HORIATES: Okay, Brother Ojacks what we will do is after the
break anybody interested, including you, I will personally
lead you to the committee.
MR. OJACKS:
- - .
MR. HORIATES: Yes, Brother? Larry, did you get that?
Gentlemen? Gentlemen, did you get that? Is that
satisfactory?
MALE VOICE:
Yes.
MR. HORIATES: I'll lead you there. Okay, unless the Brother
behind you can help us out and find out where they're at
July 20, 2011
55
and he could lead you there.
MALE VOICE:
It’s not in the sheets so - - .
MALE VOICE:
Meeting at 3 o'clock today in the Flash Room.
MR. HORIATES:
MALE VOICE:
Okay.
There's an updated sheet out there?
It's a new sheet.
MR. HORIATES: Mr. Supreme Governor, may I please have a copy of
the sheet? Okay. They're in the Flash Room-MALE VOICE:
At 3 o'clock.
MR. HORIATES:
MALE VOICE:
At 3 o'clock.
Okay.
And that's that.
Thank you, sir.
MR. HORIATES: Okay, can we still get the Executive Director in
here before we cut everybody loose, please? Basil? Thank
you. Mr. Chair, I think we're almost done but before we,
here's what I wanted to do, I wanted to talk to the
Executive Director and have him explain to us what the
couple of events that are here are.
The First Victory by George Blytas and Behind the Lens by
Pete Galanis [phonetic]. Really, that would be the rest of
the business. It's on the schedule and we've been
receiving a lot of questions about what they actually are.
So you're at 3 o'clock. You're good to go, right? Okay.
Anybody else, anybody have any jokes? Just to let you know
the recording device is still going on. We do have our
convention secretary but we're also recording behind us as
well. Yes, Sir, please rise and state your name?
DR. PETE NICKOLAS: - - .
MR. HORIATES: Okay, the answer to the question is I don't know
the names that are on the committee. What I can tell you
is that it's a combination of the standing committee, as
well as any brothers that are interested to serve on the
committee. Now, there is a provision in our by-laws and
constitution that if the committee is too large the
committee chair can reduce it just for a convenience
factor, but Dr. Macris, our past Supreme President is going
to be chairing the committee. It's at 3 o'clock. Are you
guys related? What's your last name again?
July 20, 2011
56
DR. NICKOLAS:
Nickolas.
MR. HORIATES: Nickolas. I think you have a cousin over there.
Okay, so you're both Nickolases, both last names and that's
great. So please see Mr. Nickolas over here and he will
give you the scoop. Okay? Thank you. Okay, that being
said, I'm not going to keep you gentlemen. The Executive
Director isn't here but I will tell you that if you are
interested in attending those programs they are in the
updated sheet. I ask that everybody, please enjoy
productive committee meetings, enjoy the rest of the day as
well. There's no board of auditors here. Mr. Chair, so
we'll address that at a later point in time.
MR. BETZELOS:
Tomorrow.
MR. HORIATES: We'll address it tomorrow.
allow me to recess this convention?
Mr. Chair, will you
MR. BETZELOS:
First at 10 am tomorrow we're going to open up--
MR. HORIATES:
Okay.
MR. BETZELOS: And at noon time is now the Athletics Luncheon,
so we're going to have a short period of time for work in
the morning.
MR. HORIATES: Okay. Alright, the Chair has reminded me that we
have the Athletic Luncheon tomorrow at noon so we will open
up at 10 o'clock, hopefully receive some reports and then
we will go to the Athletic Luncheon tomorrow. So, please
enjoy productive committee meetings. Please see, if you
can, to attend some of those meetings that are here on this
floor throughout the course of the day today. That is the
nuts and bolts of what we are as AHEPA. I hope you enjoy
the rest of your day-MR. BETZELOS: George, ask them is there anything that somebody
would like to bring up about the good of the order for the
moment.
MR. HORIATES: The Chair will allow The Good of The Order
session. Anybody wish to bring anything up about The Good
of The Order?
MALE VOICE:
Where's all the brothers?
MR. HORIATES:
Where's all the brothers?
July 20, 2011
57
MALE VOICE:
- - all there.
MR. HORIATES: Yeah, yeah. Well, we scattered some of the
brothers for the committees and typically-MR. BETZELOS: [Interposing]
committee meetings.
MR. HORIATES:
MR. KOUZOUNIS:
Well there are so many of them at
Yeah, there are many at committee meetings.
And there's golf this morning.
MR. HORIATES:
And there's golf this morning.
MR. KOUZONIS:
- - .
MR. HORIATES: The convention secretary has told me there's golf
this morning.
DR. NICKOLAS:
- - .
MR. HORIATES:
forward.
forward.
Mr. Nickolas, Brother Nickolas, please come
We want to you hear your story. Please come
Tell us where you're from?
DR. NICKOLAS:
I'm from Chapter 3, Silver Spring Maryland.
MR. HORIATES: Silver Spring Maryland.
the mike, sir.
Please come forward to
DR. NICKOLAS: Just a general question to the order.
wants to make a recommendation-MR. HORIATES:
If someone
[Interposing] Yes?
DR. NICKOLAS: --for the order at some point this week where and
when would they, would be the right place?
MR. HORIATES: What type of recommendation are you looking to
make, a legislative change?
DR. NICKOLAS: No, to, I guess, to recommend someone; a
recommendation.
MR. HORIATES:
Recommend someone as a nomination or?
DR. NICKOLAS:
Yeah, yeah; exactly.
MR. HORIATES: Okay. Well, we have an agenda and nominations, I
believe, are going to be in order on Friday; is that
correct?
July 20, 2011
58
DR. NICKOLAS:
Friday.
MR. BETZELOS: Friday after the nominations - - chapter to the
district and then the district brings them to the national
and as you know we have - - system here.
DR. NICKOLAS: Well, I guess I'm referring to, like, an
honorary, an honorary person.
MR. HORIATES: You know what?
if you wish.
We can talk about it afterwards
DR. NICKOLAS:
Okay.
MR. HORIATES:
Is that fine?
DR. NICKOLAS:
I have an idea so that's that--
MR. HORIATES: [Interposing] You have an idea? Do you wish to
share the idea with all the brothers now or do you wish to
talk about it off the record?
DR. NICKOLAS:
them.
Off the record first, and then maybe you can tell
MR. HORIATES:
Okay?
Okay.
DR. NICKOLAS:
That sounds good.
Okay, we'll have a Pina Colada together.
Okay.
MR. HORIATES: Thank you. Any other brothers for The Good of
The Order? Any other brothers for The Good of The Order?
At this point in time, Mr. Chair, I will recess. We will
reconvene tomorrow at 10 o'clock. God bless AHEPA.
MR. HORIATES: Brothers, real quick, I'm going to ask that you,
gentlemen, please don't leave the room. We're going to be
back in session real quick. We have a very, very busy
Executive Director this weekend and we've called upon the
Executive Director to give us a brief description of these
two events-MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Hang on.
MR. HORIATES: The, where's it at? What is this First Victory
and this Behind the Lens, Mr. Mossaidis?
MR. BASIL MOSSAIDIS: They're seminars that, they are presented
by the Educational Foundation today at 12 o'clock. There's
two, one after the other. One is about a book presentation
July 20, 2011
59
of First Victory from World War II. It's a history of
Greeks in Greece against the Nazis during the invasion in
1941 and the next one is a photo journalist who has taken
pictures of the Parthenon. Is that it?
MR. HORIATES: That's it and you expect everybody to come
tomorrow for the Athletic Convention too?
MR. MOSSAIDIS:
like?
MR. HORIATES:
I can go through the agenda if that's what you
Yes.
MR. MOSSAIDIS: Well, first and the most important thing is that
you've given your tickets to the district governor of your
district for collection and turning in to headquarters
later on this afternoon, so we can do the seat assignments.
But I would hope that everybody is going to come this
evening to the event which will be in this ballroom because
the hotel is worried about the weather this evening and
there's food there so they don't want to have a washout.
So they're going to have the food and everything in here so
we're going to, and we'll use that balcony outside that
porch.
Tomorrow is another meal function will be the athletic
luncheon which starts, I believe, at 12 o'clock so you all
have tickets for that in your banquets as well.
And then if you didn't buy your OPA tickets for tomorrow
night, we have some tickets left available for sale at the
headquarters.
I don't know if anybody is interested in doing Zumba in the
pool on Friday morning, but that's available. Exactly. I
think that's it. That's all I have on my agenda.
MALE VOICE:
Mr. Executive Director--
MR. MOSSAIDIS:
MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Yes, sir?
Where is the lecture of today - - .
MR. MOSSAIDIS: They are in the Flicker Ballroom which is, you
know where the registration was being held? Keep on going
down into the left, there's another set of ballrooms over
there. They're in Flicker 1 and Flicker 2. That's where
the seminars are at and then, well there's also other
functions there tomorrow.
July 20, 2011
60
They'll have their, they have another set of lectures there
tomorrow, also at 9 o'clock in the morning with Dr.
Kouvertaris [phonetic] and then at 10.30 they have the
Greek language seminar which is being hosted by one of our
sponsors in the same ballroom tomorrow but those start
tomorrow at 9 am.
MALE VOICE:
Thank you, - - .
MR. HORIATES: I think we should give the Executive Director a
round of applause.
MALE VOICE:
There's only 10 people in there.
MR. HORIATES: Now we have more than ten people, in fact we have
somewhere between 20 and 30, but, that being said, before
we do reconvene again tomorrow at 10 o'clock I'm going to
ask that we all rise. Today is the 37th day, I have a note
here anyway upon information belief, one of the brothers
believes today is the 37th year of the occupation of Cyprus
and - - that we all rise and take a moment of silence.
[Moment of silence]
Thank you, brothers. This convention will stay in recess
until tomorrow at 10am. Thank you.
July 20, 2011
61
Miami, FL
July 20, 2011
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
July 20, 2011
62
DR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES: Alright, brothers. We’ll get the show
on the road. I want to thank you all for coming this
morning. Thank you all for coming this morning. What we’d
like to do is to try to discuss membership. Membership is
critical to our organization and so this is a way for us to
facilitate some discussion, some new ideas, and maybe to
give you something to take home with you that might be able
to help you at your chapter in your chapter level to help
your membership grow.
What we’re going to do is, for those of you that were here
last year, we’re going to do the same thing as we kind of
did at Montreal. But for those of you who were not there
last year in Montreal, we’re going to have this as a panelstyle discussion. What we’re going to do is each of these
chapters represents a different chapter that has had a very
successful membership program, and I’ll introduce the four
panelists that we have up front. And then after that we’ll
have them kind of give maybe a two-minute intro about their
chapter, how big their chapter is, where it’s located,
maybe some unique idiosyncrasies of their chapter so you
can kind of get a feel of what their chapter is like.
And then what we’re going to do is I’m going to ask them
questions, and then you can ask them questions as well.
But what we’ll do is we’ll bounce questions off of all of
them, and then we’re going to have them speak to different
parts of what they do for recruitment, what parts they do
to help to grow their membership.
So at this time, let me introduce the four panelists that
we have. The first panelist to my right here is Brother
Jim Zafiros, Vice President of the Evzone Chapter 405 in
District 6. It is the largest chapter in District 6 with
about 155 members. Next, to his right, is Brother Dan.
Brother Dan is from the Columbia, South Carolina, Palmetto
Chapter 284. They have about 130 members. They have four
housing projects that they have as part of their chapter.
To his right is Brother Nick. Nick is a District Governor
from District 12 but he’s also from the Merrillville
Chapter 78 which won the Chapter of the Year Award last
year. A chapter that has about 141 now just brought in 32
new Sons and dual members in the last three months, also
some housing projects as well, six buildings, and so a very
dynamic chapter, very young chapter. And to his right, we
have Brother Nick Nikas. Brother Nikas is from the
Stanford, Connecticut Chapter 99, one of the largest,
fastest-growing. About six years ago the chapter had ten
people in it. Now they’re up to 85 so things can turn
around. No housing at that particular chapter but they do
a lot of great programs.
So what I’d like to do at this time is ask each one of them
to come to the podium, give maybe a two-minute synopsis on
some of the things about their chapter that they do that
helps them in recruiting. And then what we’ll do is I’m
going to toss them some questions and we’ll facilitate some
discussion. So, Brother Jim, will you please lead off for
us.
MR. JIM ZAFIROS: Good morning. Morning. As the Supreme Vice
President has stated, I come from New Rochelle, New York.
Six years ago our chapter’s membership was 62, today it’s
155. A goal after our 50 t h anniversary which is next year
is 200. It is one of the fastest growing chapters in the
nation. We take great pride in that.
Two years ago the Supreme President appointed me as a
member of his Membership Retention Committee. In the last
two years I’ve had the opportunity to do a number of
research studies. This year the study was a three-prong
approach analyzing membership in large chapters from 101+,
members from 50-100, and members less than 49. I’ll be
happy to distribute those findings later. The year before
in New York, only New York, and this was very extensive, I
was able to get my hands on the church memberships of every
parish in New York. And I compared the church membership
with the membership of AHEPA chapters by borough, by
county. And the findings were very revealing. With that
as a general introduction, I’ll be happy later to take your
questions and again, thank you for coming.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Brother Dan.
MR. DAN KARTANOS: Good morning, brothers. I’m Dan Kartanos
from Columbia, South Carolina, Chapter 284 in District 1.
Our chapter right now is hovering right at about 128-130
members which has been in that range 115+ for probably 15
years. We’ve lost some members over the last few years due
to deaths, but we haven’t lost any other than for that
AMERICAN HELLENIC PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION (AHEPA)
July 21, 2011
64
reason. Some of the things that we’ve been able to do is
take advantage of the athletics. It’s not as much as it
used to be but as an example, this past year at our
Midwinter Convention for the first time, it seems that all
of the kids playing basketball either had to be Ahepans or
they had to be Sons. And so we were able to get some
membership out of that for about eight guys, and we’ve
initiated them and putting them on committees.
The biggest problem that we’re facing is trying to get
those younger guys into the chapter and something that
appeals to them. So we do golf tournaments which we’ve
always done, we do an AHEPA-sanctioned tournament every
October, and we place a lot of the committee members from
some of the younger guys we have in our chapters. And they
reach out to their friends to play. We have several events
over the course of the year that is really used as a
recruitment tool.
Every February we do a once-a-year Men’s Fellowship Night
which is really a gambling night, but it is $150 a pop.
That gives them the best meal they’ll ever get in Columbia.
It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of the guys bring in friends
from work that attend that thing. And we get all of their
contact information from the Men’s Night. We get the same
from the golfers. A lot of times they’re two exactly
different lists. We put them together so that we can get
some interface with the golfers coming to the Men’s Night
and vice versa. And so we’ve gotten some membership out of
that as well. We stay in touch with those guys and not
only talk to them because of an event.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: That’s good, Dan.
from Brother Nick-MR. KARTANOS:
If I can get two minutes
[Interposing] Other than that...
MR. NICK KAVADAS: Good morning, brothers. I’m Nick Kavadas,
the District Governor for Hoosier District 12 and also a
member of Chapter 78. I have material here for more than
two minutes, but I’ll just-DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. KAVADAS:
[Interposing] We’ll catch some of it--
[Interposing] Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
--when we do the question and answer, so--
July 21, 2011
65
MR. KAVADAS: [Interposing] Okay. But I’ll just summarize some
of the main things that we’ve been doing in Chapter 78 and
also at the district level because we work very closely.
First of all, the Merrillville chapter is a very active
chapter, and not just only philanthropy and scholarships,
but we do an aggressive media campaign with the local
newspapers. There hasn’t been a month that’s gone by in
the last year where we have not been in the newspaper. And
we’ve made the front page once and we’re right in there in
the second or third page at least once a month because we
send them what we’re doing, we send them pictures. And
then I heard that in the fall, one newspaper wants to do a
whole, about two or three page article on us, so…
We just reinstated the Sons. We got 32 young guys, and I
hear that we’ll probably be up to 40-45 by the end of the
year. The AHEPA Chapter 78 supports them financially,
morally, and guidance so that’s another thing that we do.
We’ve been doing athletics. We created a district soccer
team. That’s been wildly popular. Even though it’s a
district soccer team, what we do is we use it as a feeder
system into all the local chapters in northwest Indiana.
So in order to be on the soccer team, you have to be an
AHEPA member. And then at that point we give them a choice
on which chapter they would like to join based on how close
it is to their house and stuff.
We have strong leadership. They work closely with the
district. Since I’m the District Governor and also a
member of that chapter, that’s very easy. I’m at every
single meeting. And we’ve created a generational bridge,
so if the questions come, I’ll tell you what we’re doing
there. And then, we’re fortunate to be financially stable.
This past year Chapter 78 has made some what we call eyepopping donations. People are talking about them because
they’re so big. We’ve donated $100,000 to the National
Hellenic Museum which is an AHEPA National Project. And
next month we’re going to be making another $100,000
donation to the Saint Iakavos Retreat Center which is the
Chicago Metropolis Archdiocese. It’s a-DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] Camp.
MR. KAVADAS: --a camp for Fanari and things like that. But
when people see these large donations, it gets them
talking. And at the last Greek Fest where I cooked the
July 21, 2011
66
shish kabob, a couple people came to me and said, “Hey,
I’ve heard what you guys are doing. I want to join.” And
we don’t say no. But I’ll stop there to move on and get
questions and answers.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Brother Nikas.
MR. NIKAS: Thank you, Brother John. Thank you all for coming.
I’m Nicholas Nikas, past President of Chapter 99 in
Stanford, Connecticut. And my partners in crime are here
as well: Arthur Kiratsous, our current president; James
Cocolis, our secretary, and Pete Paspalis [phonetic]. I
just joined the staff of PepsiCo in Purchase, New York, and
I’m mentioning this because they have a very interesting
motto. The motto is “Performance with Purpose.” And
really the reason why I joined AHEPA and why we’re working
so hard to increase membership is because we have
identified the purpose of AHEPA and we want to see it
carried through.
The purpose of AHEPA according to us, not necessarily
according to everybody here, is to promote Hellenism. It
is to preserve the ethnic identity of the Greek American
community and make sure that everybody remembers where they
came from. And so this is basically what we have done in
the last 12 years. We have increased our membership
tremendously by primarily acting as a catalyst for the
community learning more about their heritage.
So our simple value proposition is to please join us
because that way you can help us educate people and serve
our community. The chapter strategy is to be a visible
source of value to the community that we serve. It’s very
important. It’s not only that we provide value, but that
we are seen to provide value. And because of that people
see what we do, people who have not joined are willing to
join, and people who have joined already are glad to be
part of it.
We have done in the last 12 years about 44 cultural events
ranging from theatrical presentations to wine-tastings of
Greek wines, to lectures, movies, whatever, all of them
with a common theme: Hellenism. And because of that,
we’ve managed to increase our membership quite a bit as you
can see in the last chart.
July 21, 2011
67
As an example, this is one of the events that we sponsored.
Many chapters in the country have sponsored this. This is
Yannis Simonides performing the role of Socrates in his
translation of The Apology of Socrates. And it’s an
absolutely breathtaking event. And I have sample comments
that we got from our community, not only from men but
women, children, grandparents, etc. all saying “Thank you
very much for doing this.” And this is what drives us to
do more. We’ve also made a lot of contributions to our
community, our church, our schools, the Greek schools,
other churches, and so on. Nothing approaching $100,000
though, I don’t know how you guys do that. Maybe you can
give us a tutorial.
And that is the result of our efforts. We went from about
10 members in 2000 to right now 85 members and we’re hoping
to exceed 100 members by the end of this year in honor of
our native son being elected Supreme President. Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
PHIL:
Brother John, may I quickly, I need to--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
PHIL:
Thank you.
[Interposing] Sure.
Brother Phil.
Just wanted to - - Brother Jim. If you could just tell
me what percent and just give me the non-Hellene members of
your chapters. What percent is it, 1%, 5%, 20%?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: So the question is what’s the percentage of
Greek vs. non-Greek members?
PHIL:
Right.
Non-Greek--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
PHIL:
[Interposing] Is that the correct--
[Interposing] That’s all I need to know.
the demographics here.
I’m looking for
MR. ZAFIROS: We probably are one of the few chapters that have
had a person as president. Our president is Joe Keane, KE-A-N-E, an Irishman. He’s been president of our chapter
for 20+ years. And because he’s been president, of 155
members I’d say 10-15% are philhellenes. Does that answer
your question?
PHIL:
Yes.
What about - - --
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] Brother Dan?
July 21, 2011
68
MR. KARTANOS:
PHIL:
Yes, ours is--
[Interposing] Approximately.
MR. KARTANOS: I’ve never taken an actual look at it, but just a
visual look, I would probably think it’s 70-75%-PHIL:
[Interposing] Greek, just Greek.
MR. KARTANOS:
PHIL:
All Greek.
MR. KARTANOS:
PHIL:
Yeah.
So at least you have about 25?
MR. KARTANOS:
PHIL:
Greek.
Twenty-five, thirty percent non.
Okay.
MR. KARTANOS:
Mm-hmm.
MR. KAVADAS: I didn’t look at it either but I would say it’s
probably about 15-20% non-Hellenes. And just to give you
an idea, this past year when we started a soccer team, we
brought in four Serbian guys, a Mexican, a couple of
Italians, and then I got like three Hungarian guys that are
going to probably come around in the fall, so...
MR. NIKAS: Well, given the fact that we are pushing Hellenism,
you wouldn’t be surprised to know that we only have about
one or two non-Greeks.
PHIL:
Thank you, Brother Jim.
MALE VOICE 1: I think their question is how many are nonOrthodox since there’s such a--I mean, I think-MALE VOICE 2:
[Interposing] Yes.
MALE VOICE 1:
--you’re all Orthodox.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
I’m - - .
No, some are Catholics, some are...
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 3: I believe the question is, I’m talking about what
- - . Thank you, Brother John.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Some are Catholic, some are Episcopalian,
some are Protestant. Brother Nick, you had a question?
July 21, 2011
69
MALE VOICE 4:
NICK:
Thank you.
Yes, I was wondering in your chapters, what percentage of
the members are under 40 and how can you get young people
more involved? You mentioned committees, but what
committees are these and how do you motivate them?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
this one.
MALE VOICE 5:
MR. KAVADAS:
I’m going to pick Nick and Dan to answer
Is he under 40?
Yes, I’m 36.
[Crosstalk]
MR. KAVADAS:
MALE VOICE 5:
Yeah.
Greek girls, he’s available.
MR. KAVADAS: Well just to give you an idea, at this year’s
District Convention, our average age of this, we got one,
two, three, four, of the seven main positions, the average
age is my age, it’s 37. Our Lieutenant Governor is around
23, our Treasurer is 36, I’m 36, Athletic Director is 24,
Warden is 24, Secretary is 46, and our Marshal is 75.
But for the Merrillville chapter, the average age is
actually a little bit high but it’s coming down with the
soccer team that we started. The Schererville Chapter is
actually younger than us. They probably initiated in the
past two years over 25 guys, probably close to 30, that are
under the age of 25. But now we have a Sons so that’s
going to probably change; we never had a Sons until this
past year.
What we do is, I call it a, we create a generational
bridge. It’s easier for a 60-year-old guy to relate to
somebody like me in his upper-mid 30’s, and then it’s
easier for me to relate to the guys that are in their early
20’s, late teens. You got different interests, what you
grew up with, everything from music and things like that.
So we don’t ask the 60-year-old guy to go ask the guys to
join. They’ll come to me and then I’ll reach out and
that’s what we did at the district level. These guys that
are in their 20’s, they’re the ones that are bringing in
these Sons and the 18-year-olds because they can relate
better and they say we can do things together. And what we
July 21, 2011
70
do is we also get them involved with the committees. We
don’t wait for them to come to us to get involved, we reach
out to them. And nine out of ten times, they don’t say no.
We say, “Hey guys, we need somebody to help us with the
funeral ceremony,” or something like that.
MALE VOICE 6:
[Interposing] Cookout or something like--
MR. KAVADAS: [Interposing] Exactly. So if you reach out to
them, you’d be surprised how many times they don’t say no.
And one thing that we do at the meetings is we encourage
them to participate. We don’t, in the past when I first
became a member, one of the things is like, “Oh, you’re too
young. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” We
discourage that, we don’t actually allow that to happen.
We let everybody, good idea, bad idea, whatever, we just
let them speak their minds and give them the due respect.
They respect the more mature members and the mature members
respect the younger guys. So respect is a two-way street,
so…
And that’s some of the few things that we do and we’re very
active in communications at the district and at the chapter
level. We’re on Facebook and we’re on Twitter now. We
have a website so it’s easy to communicate. That’s how
those guys communicate most of the time. They don’t get
the snail mail, so… But those are a few things that we-DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] Dan, why don’t you expound a
little bit on, you have some younger members in your group,
what you do to get them?
MR. KARTANOS: Out of our 130 members, we probably have maybe 40
under 40. And what we try and do with the really younger
guys in their 20’s is appoint them to committees. We have
a lot of events going on at our chapter over the course of
a year: the golf tournament, the Men’s Night. We put them
on those committees; we have them as part of the initiation
committee.
Every month at our chapter there’s a sit-down dinner and
the way we rotate that is alphabetically, five brothers
every month are responsible to put on that dinner. And we
talk to the younger guys and a lot of them would rather
than do it alphabetically, they like to get together
themselves, three or four or five friends and they do that.
We just try and keep them involved.
July 21, 2011
71
The problems have always been like Nick says, you get them
to join, you get them to attend a couple of meetings, and
they sit there, and they’re bored and you never see them
again. And the only way that we’ve found to at least
maintain what we have is to get them involved in anything
we can think of to get them involved in. And they
appreciate that. I’ve had several of them say, “I’m only
here because my dad wanted me to come,” or something like
that. And they said, “But we’ve got something to do.”
We have not crossed the hurdle yet. We’ve really been
working hard on this the last couple of years but we
haven’t crossed that hurdle yet of finding other reasons
for them to want to be Ahepans and to come. We have four
housing projects in Columbia, and we try and get them
involved on some of those housing committee
responsibilities. But there are still other things we can
do.
Just in the last year we put out a chapter gram. We’ve
done that for years by snail mail. In the last year we’re
doing that electronically now. So every member that has an
email address is getting that chapter gram electronically.
And the first responses we got to that were all the younger
guys, the under-40 crowd, that said, “This is great.
Whether I’m traveling or on business, I can get the chapter
gram.” So we’re trying to do more of that.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
If I can, go ahead.
MALE VOICE 7: - - the reception afterwards, will you still have
the - - belly dancing because I attended it one year and it
was great. So how about it?
MR. KAVADAS: No. No, we don’t. But I’ll tell you, one other
thing that we’ve gotten some younger members in is we put
on one of the largest Greek festivals in the southeast
United States in Columbia, or at least in the Carolinas and
Georgia. And a lot of those beer vendors that show up for
four days with us, those young guys that are out there with
their booths, we’ve gotten a lot of them to become involved
with some of our events, the golfing events, the Men’s
Night event, different things. And as a result of that,
they see people that they’ve known that they didn’t know
were members and they become more involved as well. And
we’ve gotten some membership out of that.
July 21, 2011
72
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: I’m going to ask a question, here. I’m
going to pose it to Brother Nikas and Brother Zafiros.
Very dynamic chapter, Evzone. What would you say is the
one item or maybe one of the leading events that you have
that helps attract a lot of your members; and part b is
what do you do special to try to recruit members into the
organization?
MR. ZAFIROS: We take a very professional approach to
membership. I will not sign any application for anyone to
join my chapter unless they have received and have read our
media kit which has been recognized throughout the country
which includes an application in here as well as a dossier
of what we’re all about. Our chapter’s average age is
about 55. Our marquee event is held annually at the
Westchester Country Club. It is one of the nation’s
preeminent facilities. Every year we get full
participation from the entire supreme lodge.
What we do differently: the initiation is by the book,
full-dress uniform, music, flags, by the book. We have
been asked and hopefully we will do this to tape the
initiation down the road and showcase it at a national
convention. We don’t beg people to join. Now, like the
gentlemen here have said, we offer dinner every month free
for our chapter. The average participation is about 75.
Per meeting, the last one in June was 102 members came.
MALE VOICE 8:
And that was unique because--
MR. ZAFIROS: [Interposing] And that was unique. How do we pay
for this? We have some fun in January. Keep in mind that
the entire board of trustees, with the exception of the two
women of our parish, are members of our chapter. Any one
of them could be president. Keep in mind that the priest
is our chaplain and comes to all the meetings. And because
they’re all on board, every December we have a Super Bowl
lottery where we post in the atrium a big box of 200
squares. We sell each square for $50. We gross $10,000.
Half of that is profit that pays for the meals every month.
And we have prizes the first quarter, the second quarter,
the third quarter, and the fourth quarter. The winner of
the 2009 was the priest. There is no problem in my
community with the priest. He’s as gung ho as we are. He
could be standing here as I am.
July 21, 2011
73
While I’m here for a moment, it’s important because next
year perhaps because they also play a very vital role in
District 6 and they’re a clone of our chapter, it’s
important that I recognize the Gold Coast Chapter which is
a clone of ours and it’s got one of the most resourceful
membership. Their president, their executive vice
president, and their treasurer are here today and that’s
terrific. And hopefully next year you’ll be here, John.
[Laughter]
MR. ZAFIROS: At the same time I also want to point out at this
convention not only do we have five votes, we have the five
votes, we have the five alternates, we have 16 members of
our chapter attending this convention plus wives, wives.
The total delegation from my chapter probably exceeds 20 at
this convention. This could be a problem because they ask
a lot of questions and I can’t answer them. Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Brother Nick.
MR. NIKAS: So the question was, what do we do? What is one of
the major events that we do to attract members? Basically,
there’s one major event and we have what we call an AHEPA
Orientation Dinner every fall where we invite people that
we have identified as potential members during the year to
come and share with us a dinner in which after the dinner
we tell them a lot about the AHEPA activities at the local,
district, and national level. We have been fortunate to
have had John Grossomanides attend the meeting and make
presentations to the prospective members in the last two
years. And we plan to have another one this October.
But that’s not the only thing that happens. In order to
have that event be successful, you have to have a presence
that reminds people of what AHEPA is. So we have our
events that we do every year, the cultural events like, for
example, we had a terrific concert - - in May. We showed
movies, etc. this year. The point is that there is a
drumbeat that reminds people of what the AHEPA is doing and
the orientation dinner is just kind of a culmination of now
it’s the time for you to join. I hope that answers - thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: As you can see, I think one common thing is
that all of these chapters have a presence in their
community. The community knows them. They know what the
July 21, 2011
74
AHEPA is all about. Just to demonstrate, Brother Nick
talked about the orientation dinner. This was a slide show
that I put together to show to their orientees, and I’m
just going to flip through it real quick. And I’m willing
to share this with any of the other chapters. But we put
together just a little thing about AHEPA, what is AHEPA
about.
This is our AHEPA membership brochure. I don’t know if
you’re all familiar with it, but you can get this through
headquarters. You can call Rory. It’s a very descriptive
brochure that shows all of the different things that the
AHEPA has done: benefits of membership, history of the
organization, different civic responsibilities that the
organization has done over the years, Hellenism, some of
the programs, Hellenic history. Trophy tournament is
something that the district in Connecticut does. It’s very
popular, it’s a jeopardy game for high school students and
there are cash awards at the end of the day for the team
that wins.
This is the Greek Independence Day parade in New York City,
and I think that’s Brother Vogas [phonetic], there. Is
that Brother Phil, is that you on there? Oh, he left. And
this is done all three districts: New York, Connecticut,
New Jersey get together and march down Fifth Avenue. And
any brothers who are available on March 25 next year, the
parade will be on March 25. We invite you to join us. We
have a big float and it’s a very wonderful event. Greek
ambassador, business networking, friends and fellowship and
paideia.
Chapter in Connecticut did a Greek night at a minor league
baseball park had a Greek anthem sung at the game, paraded
around the field, as you can see, before the game, and had
Greek dancers dancing before the game. There were 300 or
so people that attended this event, and not to mention
there were just Greeks that came the local chapters. There
was another 5000 that were at the game that were there to
witness it. Supreme Conventions, Educational Foundation,
obviously educational is core component of the AHEPA,
philanthropy and all of the things that the AHEPA donates
for, current programs that the AHEPA is doing, that was
Epiphany.
July 21, 2011
75
Athletics, another core thing that all of the chapters seem
to have some part of to try to recruit some of the young
people. One of our more famous Ahepan brothers, Nick
Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles, other famous Ahepans, as
you can see, a lot of politicians, a lot of athletes, a lot
of philanthropists. Another name that I should have
probably added on there is George Barakos, a
philanthropist, leadership 100, president/CEO of a
pharmaceutical company. So those are just some to name a
few.
Communications is obviously key. This is the old AHEPA
website; I apologize for not updating it. AHEPA membership
application, it’s always important to carry an application
with you at all times. You never know when you’re going to
meet somebody that you may say, “Hey, are you a member?”
Just to give you an example, I was on the phone the other
day talking to somebody who was doing some printing for me.
And he had a Greek name. And at the end of the
conversation, I just happened to say, “Hey Dean, are an
AHEPA member?” And he goes, “No, I’m not.” I go, “Can you
do me one favor? Join the AHEPA.” He’s a 40-somethingyear-old guy, he owns a big marketing company in
Indianapolis, and we were doing some business and something
didn’t go right. I go, “Do you me a favor. You know what?
I’ll eat this piece of the business but you know what?
Join the AHEPA for me.”
And then obviously marching down Fifth Avenue. That was a
theme we had a couple of years ago: Invest in Hellenism.
So Brother John?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
How often do the chapters meet?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Brothers?
your chapters meet?
I’ll let you just, how often do
MR. NIKAS: We meet the standard frequency: once a month for
ten months. But we don’t meet on July and August.
MR. KAVADAS: Once a month except I think they have like board
of governors meetings more often when they talk about these
large donations. They come to the membership with their
stuff planned out to bring to the open floor and stuff.
But it’s once a month and we don’t meet in June, July, or
August. No actually we do meet in June, but it’s a
district convention.
July 21, 2011
76
MR. KARTANOS: We meet every single month. There’s a meeting 11
months a year. What we do in December, we combine our
AHEPA and Daughters Christmas party. And at that Christmas
party we award the annual scholarships that we give out and
we have those parents come. And we’ve gotten some
membership out of that as well. For a long time those
scholarships were given out maybe after church or
something, and it just wasn’t done professionally, it
wasn’t done right. So now we’ve worked that out so that
that December meeting is really a Christmas party with
Daughters and Ahepans and the families and kids that are
getting the scholarships. That works out great for us.
MR. ZAFIROS: Our chapter meets once a month; however, our
executive committee which is comprised of about 15 brothers
meets twice a week.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
How many have your own building?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Two.
MR. ZAFIROS:
Two do.
When you say “your own building”--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] AHEPA building, they’re
talking about. AHEPA housing.
MR. ZAFIROS:
--doesn’t include the church.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. ZAFIROS:
What?
That doesn’t include the church.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Am I correct?
Are you asking about AHEPA housing, John?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: No, no. How many have your own chapter
building that you own - - ?
MR. KARTANOS: Oh. No we don’t own our own building. We have
four AHEPA homes and we have a meeting room in one of those
homes.
MR. KAVADAS: Same with us.
projects.
We meet in one of our housing
MR. NIKAS: We meet at the church facilities but we have two
churches so we alternate between them. By the way, if you
did mean the AHEPA housing, there’s an observation in
Connecticut. Anything west of the Connecticut River does
not have a housing project, and everything east of the
July 21, 2011
77
Connecticut River does.
something do with it.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
NICK:
So real estate prices have
Brother Nick?
Yes, I really envy you. What I’ve heard today and we are
in Greece operating under many, many disadvantages. And
not just our Greeks, our characters. They’re very
substantial ones. The Greek Church is not very friendly to
us. Maybe the Archbishop of Athens is, but under the Greek
C-note system, every metropolitan is his own king, his own
emperor. So whenever we go to set a new chapter, we got to
get his okay, his permission. They think we’re Masons; I
have no problem with that but some of the church people
have a problem with that.
Second thing, if they heard we have Catholics as members,
that’s an [Greek spoken]. They will never allow a Catholic
to be a member. Even the Greek state is supposed to be
[Greek spoken]. You can believe in whatever you want but
you try to pass this through only the Orthodox Church. The
Catholics is just an organization, it’s like a corporation,
and they pay taxes. The Greek Church doesn’t pay taxes.
So we cannot have a Catholic.
Third thing, we cannot have a Serbian, an Orthodox Serbian
or Bulgarian Serbian, a Bulgarian Orthodox because they’re
- - , they’re foreigners. We forgot we were - - at one
time or another. So when I suggested that we have because
I lived in Hong Kong and I was - - and we have many
Orthodox who are not Greeks. We have a chapter to have
Bulgarians, Serbians, etc. Like I was telling them to do
something to their family. It’s unbelievable.
We have a tax situation. The tax situation in Greece, the
tax authorities will not recognize as deductions, so forth
and so on. I’m saying this hoping that some of you may
have ideas and may have contacts, may know people in Greece
in the church to help us because I would like to have
Catholics, too. They’re Christians, but--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] And by our bylaws of the Order
of AHEPA, anybody who is a Christian is eligible to join.
So that’s why, as we said, we do have brothers who are not
necessarily Greek and as Brother Zafiro said, an Irishman
has been president of their chapter for 20 years. Just to
give you some membership statistics. And I love-AMERICAN HELLENIC PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION (AHEPA)
July 21, 2011
78
MALE VOICE 9:
[Interposing] Excuse me, Brother John?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Brother Zafiros, yes, brother?
MALE VOICE 9: I just want to refer to the brother there.
he say he needs some help from maybe from us?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 9:
Yeah.
That we might know somebody in Greece?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 9:
Did
Yes.
So maybe somebody can see if we can help him--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] We can try. We can try in our
travels. Obviously, Brother Karacostas has been to Greece
many, many times. I look forward to going to Greece this
year. So in our travels we will see what we can do to
facilitate the expansion beyond just the Orthodox faithful.
MALE VOICE 9:
[Interposing] Yeah, that’s good.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: We’ll try. So if I can go over, and I know
Brother Zafiros and Brother Nikas love to play with
statistics too, so let’s play statistics here for a second.
So I’m going to read off by district some of the districts
and how successful they were in their membership from 20092010.
District 1 actually lost four members. District 2 lost 20
members. District 3 lost 41 members. District 4 gained 67
members. District 5 gained 67 members. District 6 gained
33 members. District 7 gained 57 members. District 8
gained 81 members. District 9 lost 3. District 10 gained
3. District 11 lost 17. District 12 gained 6.
District 13 lost 73, that’s Chicago. District 14 lost 13.
District 15 lost 5. District 16 lost 2. District 17
gained 1. District 20, Southern California, lost 117
members as a district, biggest drop in our order.
District 21 gained 4. District 22 lost 1.
So we talked about growth consistency, the top districts in
growth, I’ll do it by district. Top districts in growth
consistency over a three-year period: District 7, 29%.
They were in 2007 at 637 and last year they ended with 822.
Second, District 5, 19.8%. In 2007 they were at 995, last
year they ended up with 1192. And third was District 6,
and if you want to know your particular district, I’ll be
July 21, 2011
79
happy to quote for you. District 6 went from 1139 to 1313.
I like to use the numbers as a benchmark.
MR. ZAFIROS: I’d like to comment on - - . When you look at the
nation, and you break up the chapters into three
categories: 101+, 50-100, and under 50, there is a severe
problem with chapters with 49 or less members. The growth
of the Order of AHEPA since 2005 has come in the large
chapters.
Just to give you an example. Small chapters with a
membership of 1-49 since 2005 have lost 20% or more than
1200 members. I repeat more than 1200 members. Probably
because their membership is thin and some have passed on
and have not been replaced. Perhaps even some of these
chapters should never have been granted charters. If
you’re down 20% from 2005, and this accounts for 31% of the
AHEPA’s membership, by the year 2015 these chapters will be
even smaller. So the growth of the Order of AHEPA is
coming from medium and large chapters and shrinking,
shrinking considerably, among small chapters.
At the conclusion, I would be more than happy to give you
the analysis as well as email you the individual chapter
numbers since 2005. If there are any questions on this,
it’s important because this was a nationwide survey that
was done with the support of headquarters and one should
understand that when we’re here in 2015, if this continues,
there will be a depletion of members among smaller
chapters.
MALE VOICE 10:
How much on that?
MR. KARTANOS: In District 1, we have 17 active chapters, only 2
above 100 members. And it’s absolutely true that if we’re
going to look at decreasing membership, it is always from
those very small chapters and the obvious reason is, I
would think, or one of the reasons is large chapters can do
more. Large chapters can attract more people through large
events. The smaller chapters really is where the rubber
meets the road. They’re going to have to really get into a
planned, organized effort towards increasing membership.
It’s a real, real problem.
MR. KAVADAS: For us, we have really just one really small
chapter and if it was up to me, it was done before my time,
I probably would not have created it mainly because, for
July 21, 2011
80
example, when the Sons wanted to start a chapter, I was
100% for it. But I told who is now our Sons advisor who
approached me saying there was some kids interested, I
said, “I’m not going to start it unless you get at least 15
kids. I don’t want you to get me like eight guys and then
next year the Sons dies. I want a fairly large chapter.”
Because I believe more in quality than quantity.
Because when you have chapters like Chapter 78 and
Chapter 157, they’re large chapters but they do a lot in
their community. They’re very active and people see that.
If you have a chapter that does nothing, then nothing gets
out there and people are saying, “What do you do? You
don’t do anything.” So personally I believe in quality
rather than quantity. That’s my personal...
MR. NIKAS: Brother Jim, I want to congratulate you on your
statistical analysis there, but I think you need to couple
that with the previous statistical analysis that you did
which compares the chapter membership to the population of
a parish. And the reason I say that is because there are
basically two reasons why a chapter is small and declining.
One is that it is a member of a small and declining parish;
you can’t do much about that.
But in my experience as past District Governor, there is
another reason and that is that the chapter is declining
even though it is part of a thriving community. We had
several of those in District 7. And I really dedicated
myself to convincing the people in those chapters to do
something to reverse the decline and take advantage of
their thriving community to increase their membership. And
I’m proud to report that at least in two cases, Hartford
and New Haven, we’ve made some significant progress, taking
advantage of the fact that they do indeed have a thriving
community. So, thank you.
MR. ZAFIROS: Thank you for your comments. Two years ago, as I
said earlier, I got my hands on some information comparing
in New York. New York is an underperforming district
irrespective of Gold Coast and Evzone. In the borough of
Queens, there are thousands of members; AHEPA doesn’t have
5%. I can do it by parish.
In the borough of Manhattan, the nation’s premier borough,
AHEPA is severely underperforming. Only in Brooklyn and in
July 21, 2011
81
Westchester and parts of Long Island is AHEPA is
outperforming. In the nation’s largest community of
Hellenic Orthodox people, AHEPA is underperforming. And
there are other reasons for that. I can only estimate that
that’s the case in New York. That holds true in Chicago,
that holds true in Los Angeles, and all major what I call
A-markets.
And in some states in state capitols, and I think one is in
Illinois, AHEPA is dead in the capitol of Springfield,
Illinois. That’s unheard of. So that information is
available to all of you. But it was done in New York and
I’m projecting the nation. There is a huge opportunity for
AHEPA to grow, to really grow, and there’s no reason why
these chapters here, especially, and I’m delighted that
Gary which does a fantastic job in promoting and marketing
and merchandising their chapter to the nation, and I get
the emails, does a terrific job. And the same thing holds
true for - - , and the same thing holds true for my
colleagues at Gold Coast.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: One quick commentary, John, and then I’ll
let you talk. Any of the statistical stuff we can email to
you. I have a signup sheet here. We’ll be happy to share
any of the statistics with you. The other thing is the
PowerPoint presentation that I kind of flipped through real
quickly. If you’re interested, just put your names and
email addresses and we’ll get those to you. Brother John?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: The question is for the four of you that are
up there. Do you have rival chapters like Evzone and Gold
Coast has? Do you understand what I’m asking?
MR. ZAFIROS:
I do.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Jim, you want to elaborate on that? And the
same thing what we’ve done in the last couple of years?
MR. ZAFIROS:
I’d be happy to--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] And also about events as well.
MR. ZAFIROS: Two years ago, the patriarch came to the United
States and the Supreme President needed support, nationwide
support. He created the momentum; a number of chapters
stepped forward. Ours was one of them, and we visited Gold
Coast one evening. And one of our brothers threw out a
challenge to Gold Coast. My chapter gave them $5000, and
July 21, 2011
82
we threw out the challenge to Gold Coast to match it. You
should have seen the debate and the enthusiasm. Now we are
banned from their chapter because they met the challenge
and 15% of the total revenue, the total of monies that were
raised for the patriarch’s visit to the United States came
from Gold Coast and Evzone because of the competition and
the spirit and the enthusiasm that we have in love for each
other.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: It also goes for the membership. Their
chapter and our chapter have always been rivals back and
forth. And as of this convention, we just found out that
if you have Sons chapters that are attached to your
chapter, those Sons automatically by operation 18 years and
older become-DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] They don’t. You have to
initiate them into both. They become dual members. They
get initiated into the Sons at 18 but you’re also
initiating them into the AHEPA. And so anybody 18-27 can
be a dual member, so...
MALE VOICE 11:
- - .
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
if I can--
Brother Maropis [phonetic] had a question,
MR. NICK MAROPIS: Good morning. Nick Maropis, Chapter 400. I
would like to make a comment on just this subject and that
is that you really need to find a champion of AHEPA in the
area you want to grow. I will give you an example. In
Valley Forge chapter, I don’t recall our number, I was
there for 15-20 years. We were over 100 members. I left
there in 1990. I went back in ’91, it was about half, and
two years later it disappeared. We had a governor, I
forget, ’96 or ’97, who wanted to reactivate it. And we
went down with him, and we successfully reactivated it. It
went back up over 100. It’s now disappeared.
You need that champion. You need that individual who will
work out with anybody programs for the year and get
activity going and that’s the way you’re going to make it
grow.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. MAROPIS:
Yeah, Brother--
[Interposing] I think.
July 21, 2011
83
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: I think Brother Maropis brings up a great
point because I see two of the individuals on this panel,
Brother Zafiros and Brother Nikas, who are really the
cheerleaders and champions of those chapters. They are the
ambassadors of those chapters. They go around at all of
the different events, whether it’s a church event or other
event, to try to look to seek out who might be a potential
member to join the organization. And I think you have to
have that one individual in your chapter who is that
cheerleader, who is that champion, who is that ambassador,
who is going to go out and ask, “Are you a member? Are you
a member? Would you like to join the AHEPA? Here’s an
application. Fill it out.” As Brother Zafiros says they
have a brochure or have an AHEPA pamphlet that they hand
out and they have a cover letter that goes out saying, “Hey
look, we’d love to have you join.”
I’m going to stop here because I think we need to get going
to the next general session. I thank you all for coming
today. I want to thank all of our panelists for their
great remarks. Yes, Brother Nikas?
MR. NIKAS:
- - wanted to--
MALE VOICE 12:
[Interposing] Sure.
MR. NIKAS: Thank you. It’s going to be very brief. When I
became District Governor three years ago, as part of my
chapter visits, I always asked the question to the members,
why did you join AHEPA? And I was looking for things like:
I believe in Hellenism so that’s why I joined; or I like
senior housing, that’s why I joined; or I like sports or
whatever. Amazingly enough, the question that I got more
than 95% of the time was I joined AHEPA because somebody,
my brother, my father, or somebody, asked me to join. That
was the reason. It wasn’t any of the substance that I
associated with it. It was somebody asked me to join. So
if you’d like to increase your chapter membership, ask
somebody to join.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Again, I want to thank you all for coming
this morning. I hope it was enlightening for everybody.
One last thing is, just so we kind of get a sense in this
room, how many people are from chapters, we talked about
large chapters, medium chapters, and small chapters. So if
you’re from a chapter who is 100 members or more, stand up.
July 21, 2011
84
If you’re from a chapter that has 50-100 members, stand up.
And if you’re in a chapter that has 10-49 members, stand
up.
Well, we thank you all for coming. And if we can do
anything to assist, if the big can assist the small, if the
small can assist the big, if the medium can assist
somebody, we all want to work together because we feel
obviously membership is the core to our organization.
Thank you again for coming. Thank you for the
participation for all our panelists. And let’s give them a
big round of applause.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Thank you, brothers.
One more announcement. I have a signup sheet here for the
Growth and Expansion Committee. We’re going to meet at
1:30 this afternoon in the, I think it’s the Flicker Room.
But anyway, let’s meet at 1:30 outside the Flicker Room and
then from there we’ll find the place if that one’s booked.
So please, if you’d like to talk about growth and
expansion, I ask you to please come and sign up on the
signup sheet.
July 21, 2011
85
Miami, FL
July 21, 2011
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
July 21, 2011
86
MR. STEVE BETZELOS: I would like to call this session of
Thursday morning now open for work. And the first report I
would like to get would be the national projects, as long
as he’s right here. Thank you. Pardon? I didn’t see you
there.
MALE VOICE 13:
Yeah, we--
MR. BETZELOS: [Interposing] I was looking this way.
going to be long, are you?
MALE VOICE 14:
You’re not
- - , okay.
MR. BETZELOS: Charles Stamoulis, Grievance Committee, will make
his report.
MR. CHARLES STAMOULIS: Good morning, brothers. My name is
Charles Stamoulis, I’m past Supreme Governor from Region 1,
belong to Chapter 15, James Scofield Chapter from St. Pete,
Florida. First I will read the names of our committee.
Myself was the chair; Brother Nick Dixie, Co-Chair; Eli
Dalabakis, Secretary. We had John Yorgatanides [phonetic],
John Magrannis [phonetic], Joe Scaraggia [phonetic], Louis
Atsaves, Tom Maglaris [phonetic], and Andrew Benas
[phonetic], and we had five alternates.
I have been involved with the Grievance Committee for
probably 5-6 years. This was my first time that I chaired
the committee. And I’ll tell you, it was the most
compassionate, it was the most understanding committee out
of the six years that I’ve been involved with the
Grievance. We tried to accommodate and seat as many people
as we could, as many brothers, that attempted to come. And
I think we did an excellent job. We listened to 23 cases
that came in front of the Grievance Committee. Out of the
23 cases, we approved 18. A lot of those 18 cases that we
approved, they were public-transportation related. We had
a brother that he’s the caretaker of his 93-year-old mother
and he had to make sure that he can leave her alone so he
arrived a little later on the convention. We had a
handicap brother that he cannot fly, so he had to arrange
for a train ticket, he came in late.
So we tried to accommodate everybody. We sat 18 and we
rejected 5. The five people that we rejected were strictly
according to the constitution. We have a June 1 deadline
for registration to the convention, and they did not meet
the deadline. One was missed, the election to elect the
delegate was held on June 16, 16 days after the deadline to
report. So the last four years we have abided by the
June 1 deadline, and it’s almost very restrictive. We
don’t deviate from it. So those five cases, either they
did not meet the deadline, we had one brother that came and
he wanted to substitute for a delegate that was not even
present at the convention. And basically, that’s about it.
I thought we were very understanding. I’d like to thank my
committee. We had five alternates besides that, and the
alternates sat through the deliberations. We extended them
the courtesy of speaking; of course, they had no vote.
Only the nine people voted and most of the decisions were
unanimous vote. So at this point, I’d like to ask for your
approval to seat the 18 brothers and reject the 5.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
their names?
Can you read their names?
Can you read
MR. STAMOULIS: The names I don’t have them with me, the people
who were rejected or the people we approved?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 15:
Approved?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMOULIS:
The people that you approved.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, we have them.
Tony has them.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: May I, Steve? Okay. First, we’re going to
read the ones that were approved by the Grievance
Committee-MALE VOICE 16:
[Interposing] I don’t have the rejected ones.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMOULIS:
[Interposing] That’s--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
as well.
MR. STAMOULIS:
Well, we should--
[Interposing] We should have the rejections
I’ll get you the rejections.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
88
MALE VOICE 16:
I’ll give you the ones--
MR. STAMOULIS: [Interposing] Right. Okay, we have from
Chapter 99, we had Nick Nikas; Chapter 99, Anthony
Kiratsous [phonetic]; Chapter 505, Alex Rigopoulos; 505,
Jim Rigopoulos; 98, Greg Stamos [phonetic]; 98, Peter
Stamos [phonetic]; Chapter 29, Anthony Tripoli [phonetic];
Chapter 247, Alex Anderson; Chapter 127, Joe Kalemanis
[phonetic]; Past Supreme President Gus James [phonetic];
Chapter 219, Don Maroudis [phonetic]; Chapter 24, Fodias
Kokotas [phonetic]; 209, Carl Hollister; 34, Demitrios
Pantzoulas; Chapter 1, this is from Canada, Andrew Tzemis;
Chapter 7 from Canada, Fotis Antoniou; in Chapter 7 from
Canada, Ken Matziorinis; 122, Jim Milonas [phonetic]; 108,
Christos Genes. I move for the adoption, Mr. Chairman.
MALE VOICE 17:
MR. BETZELOS:
Point of order, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, sir.
MALE VOICE 17:
What’s the total of our voting strength?
MALE VOICE 18:
May I give my report?
MALE VOICE 19:
Are you going to--
MALE VOICE 18:
[Interposing] I’ve got to report next.
MR. BETZELOS: Alright. What is the feeling of the consensus of
the body here? Approve or disapprove?
MALE VOICE 20:
The report.
MALE VOICE 21:
Seat the 18.
MR. BETZELOS:
Pardon?
MALE VOICE 21:
Seat the 18.
MALE VOICE 22:
Seat the 18.
MR. BETZELOS:
ALL:
Seat the 18.
All in favor say aye.
Aye
MR. BETZELOS: Those against? The ayes have it unanimously.
Thank you very much for that report. We want to get the
names of the five that were disallowed so we can place them
on record.
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July 21, 2011
89
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Mr. Chairman?
MALE VOICE 23:
Are any of the five in the room,
Yes, there’s one standing right there.
MR. STAMOULIS: I don’t know.
right to appeal.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
We advise them they have the
Right.
MR. STAMOULIS: The five who were rejected was Gus Badaledis
[phonetic], Vasilios Belus [phonetic], Charles Thematelos
[phonetic], John Soccatos [phonetic], and Daniel Katamis
[phonetic]. And again, I move for its adoption.
MR. BETZELOS:
MALE VOICE 24:
Here are the, yes, sir?
I move to accept that part of the report.
MR. BETZELOS: Alright, it has been moved to accept the report
that the five will be disallowed from voting at this
particular convention.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
No, the five have a right to--
[Crosstalk]
MR. STAMOULIS:
- - have an opportunity--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] Right.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 25:
They have the right to appeal.
[Crosstalk]
MR. BETZELOS:
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. BETZELOS:
So that motion is out of order.
Alright.
MR. CHARLES STAMATOLIS:
MR. BETZELOS:
Go ahead.
I was--
[Interposing] Name?
MR. STAMATOLIS: Charles Stamatolis [phonetic], Daphne
Chapter 296, Pensacola, Florida. I was told to be here at
10:00 sharp to address this matter and apparently we
started it early. And I apologize, I’m not a seated
delegate so I didn’t think I could have any-AHEPA
July 21, 2011
90
MR. BETZELOS: [Interposing] One moment, please. I want to make
it clear to everybody here that all the motions and
discussions that we’re going to have on any legislation,
litigation, or whatever, we’re going to contain it and
close it within 15 minutes. So everybody should make their
point for this approval or disapproval, but I want to make
sure you all know. Fifteen minutes is the limit for any
one subject. Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 26:
Brother Charles?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMATOLIS:
MR. STAMOULIS:
Charles?
Brother Charles?
Yes.
Oh, okay.
MR. STAMATOLIS: Thank you allowing me to address you, brothers.
As I said, my name is Charles Stamatolis, Daphne
Chapter 296, Pensacola, Florida. I come to you as a very
motivated Ahepan; I’ve been an Ahepan for over 35 years.
And I draw back to my thoughts of Gainesville, Florida when
Louis Polopolis [phonetic] and Dr. Phelis [phonetic] put
their arms around me and said, “Son, you need to join the
AHEPA.” And fortunately I ran into those people. My
whole, entire life started in Pensacola, Florida, but then
I went to Gainesville, Florida. I just told you I was
initiated 35 years ago, but what happened after that is
incredible.
Everywhere I went after the University of Florida, I went
to Atlanta Chapter 1. They put their arms around me and I
always felt like I was a special person in the room. Every
other city I went to, I could draw on the strength of
AHEPA.
I say to you just like a [Greek spoken] would say, every
customer is a good customer. Well, what does that have to
do with AHEPA? When you have people that take time off of
their work and spend money to come to a convention like
this, we don’t need to sit there and stumble over mumbo
jumbo and constitutions, we need to put our arms around our
brother Ahepans and embrace the thought of philanthropy
within our organization. I’m not going to sit here and go
through all this paperwork that I think proves why every
brother Ahepan, whether he be strong or weak, be seated in
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
91
this convention because guess what? It will be stopped, as
it was yesterday and the day before. I have embraced this
matter for the last three days at a place that I’m supposed
to be at a convention and join with my family. And this
has been in my gut since then. This may be the most
important moment in my 35 years of AHEPA addressing you
guys. And look in this room now and listen to the numbers.
How many members do we have seated at this point?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Sixteen thousand eighty-four.
MR. STAMATOLIS: No, that’s not right. It’s like two hundred
and something. Seated as delegates.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 27:
Seated as delegates.
Two hundred and one.
MR. STAMATOLIS: Two hundred and one. I sat on this very
property years ago and I saw in excess of 500 delegates.
What is the problem and what are we going to do about it?
And as we’re bleeding, are we going to let ourselves bleed
to next year, and bleed to next year, and bleed to next
year? I’m not talking to the front podium, I’m talking to
you members that are sitting around these tables. I’m even
talking to the ones that walked out of that meeting and
weren’t seated that said, “[Greek spoken]. I’m not going
to be an Ahepan anymore. Forget it.” Can we afford to
lose even one member? I say no. And how do we feel in
this room about that?
So, let’s get to the point right now. What are we going to
do in a dying group? Number one, any and all ideas are
good ideas that any business principle. I’m sure there’s
other brothers that need to give their feelings, but
there’s a lot of people that are motivated about being here
that are pushed aside. One that’s even more important,
this is not about Charles Stamatolis. I have a fellow
brother Ahepan, and I hope he’s in the room to speak up on
his behalf, that came all the way from Voula, Greece, that
was put out of the room. And I ran into to him and he
said, “You know what? What is this [Greek spoken]?” I
said, “[Greek spoken].” And from that point on, I will not
walk out of this room because I’m an Ahepan through and
through. And if this is the way it is run from the front
podium, then it needs to change. Thank you very much.
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July 21, 2011
92
[Applause]
MR. STAMOULIS:
Mr. Chairman?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Yes.
MR. STAMOULIS:
Mr. Chairman?
I’m going to ask that he doesn’t leave.
Okay.
MR. PAUL TAROS: My name’s Paul Taros, District 10, Chapter 40.
And I was alternate on the Grievance Committee. And I
respect the difficult job all the members on the Grievance
Committee had. I mean, no one wants to deny any brother
from participating in this organization. And I think in
the spirit of brotherhood, I mean if we truly are brothers,
would you not set aside the rules and embrace our fellow
brothers who maybe... mistakes happen, paperwork gets filed
late. So I ask and I speak in support of the five that
were denied, and especially Charles who was here that we
allow these people the credentials. Thank you.
MALE VOICE 28:
Thank you, brother.
[Applause]
MR. STAMOULIS: Brothers, we had a bipartisan agreement back in
Denver. I used to be on that committee and we went to the
convention. And the Grievance Committee will be in session
for five days and we listened why they missed the deadline.
One, the secretary went to Greece and took the report with
him. The other one, the president did not mail it on time.
So we finally, we had almost fistfights and we had a
brother yesterday that he came close to it. He ripped the
signs off the walls and everything else because he was
rejected. Ever since the two parties got together and they
agreed that the June 1 deadline will stand, not one person
has been seated in the convention that missed the June 1
deadline. That’s what we used as a guideline yesterday.
The committee, like I said, it’s very generous. We sat 18
people.
The brother, even though I sympathize with him, the brother
faxed which he happens to be a professional man and also
you’re an excellent orator. Maybe you should have been a
lawyer instead of a dentist. But I’ll tell you, you mail,
you, was it faxed? It was faxed from your office on
June 2, two days late. We accommodated a dentist yesterday
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
93
that got here late, but the report was sent on time.
Unless you want to go back to the same thing that you will
get, I was proud this year because every year we have to
drag the people to sit on the Grievance Committee, and this
year I had 15-17 people on the Grievance Committee at
opening because everybody saw the job that we’re doing and
we have simplified. You want to refer back to the old days
with threats and political parties, this one belongs to the
Horizons, that belongs to the AHEPA first, we’re going to
seat this one, we’re going to seat that one. We don’t seat
anybody past the June 1 deadline. I move for its adoption,
Mr. Chairman.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Actually, there was a motion that was made
first by a brother from Michigan who came up. Where’s he
at? Please say your name.
MR. TAROS:
Paul Taros.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. TAROS:
Okay.
And the motion was to seat all five.
Yes, sir.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Okay, is there a second to that motion?
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 29:
Second.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, alright. Let the record reflect
there’s a second to that motion.
MR. BETZELOS:
Is there any other - - ?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. BETZELOS:
Okay.
What about those people?
MR. STAMOULIS:
We said - - , right?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
DR. EVAN SPARAS:
We have speakers on the issue?
Yes, I do.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Could we make those comments brief?
can be passionate. But thank you.
DR. SPARAS:
They
I’m Evan Sparas [phonetic] from District 10--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] Yes.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
94
DR. SPARAS: --Lincoln Park Chapter. I have registered. I have
put in my monies based on the monies that were due for the
registration. Got my registration packet. I’m a
physician. We came in late yesterday. I went to the
Grievance Committee, they were not meeting. I was told to
be here between 9:30 and 10:00. I came right at 10:00 and
the Grievance Committee had left. So I’d like to be seated
in this convention. I came here with a purpose. I am the
District Representative and also the District Guidance
Counselor for the Sons of Pericles. I’d like to take
something back to those chapters.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMOULIS:
He’s not part of this.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
DR. SPARAS:
Evan Sparas?
Right.
MALE VOICE 28:
DR. SPARAS:
I’m sorry, can you give us your name again?
Evan Sparas.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
DR. SPARAS:
Okay.
- - chapter.
I’m from Lincoln Park Chapter, District 10.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay Evan, I want to answer you. Step
aside, you’re not part of the motion right now, but right
now we’re worried about five. We’ll get to you, don’t go
too far. Yes, sir?
MR. GUSOV THEMEO:
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
I’d like to speak on the issue.
Yes.
MR. THEMEO: I’m a delegate, I’m qualified, and so it’s nothing
about me. But my experience and my name is Gusov Themeo
[phonetic], Miami Chapter 14. I’ve been an Ahepan for 62
years. I had an experience twice now, one in Athens,
Greece when we had the national convention there, and the
one we had last year in Montreal, Canada. Each time, even
though I came back from Greece and went all the way over
there and because our chapter’s secretary didn’t send in
the names to the headquarters, when I got to Greece I was
told that I didn’t qualify but I had to go to Grievance
Committee. Well, I did that and nothing happened.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
95
All I know at the end is I wasn’t qualified. And that’s
not the Grievance Committee’s fault, and it’s not this
committee’s fault. The problem is your constitutional
provision that says that you got to do something but you
have no control over what you have to do because it’s your
chapter’s secretary. And if your chapter’s secretary
messes up, then you have been disqualified. And I don’t
care what you tell that Grievance Committee, they’ll tell
you the same, “I’m sorry, it’s in the constitution. We
can’t change the law. So this is what you have to go by.”
And I think you can. I think there may have been a reason,
I don’t know what it was, there may have been a reason for
having that provision. But it isn’t there anymore because
again you heard the first speaker, you’re having a dying
chapter. So they come all the way, and they get here but
mind you, they don’t know at home with it. If they are
told at home, “I’m sorry, you’re out of it,” then they
wouldn’t spend all that money and come here. They have to
come here, find out what happens, and then they’re
disappointed. And I don’t blame them. They want to leave
and don’t want to see AHEPA again. Well, I think we ought
to change it, and I think we ought to change it as soon as
possible. Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Thank you, great point.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Okay, please come forward, state your name.
MR. CONNIE CALLIONTZIS: Connie Calliontzis, Boston Chapter 24,
member of your board of trustees. I got one of our
youngest members from my chapter here with us. Paperwork
came in on time. Went to report to Grievance, Grievance is
closed, unfortunately. Young man is unable to get here in
a timely fashion to meet the requirements because of his
commitment to business. That’s impossible. This young man
joined this organization-DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] What’s his name?
MR. CALLIONTZIS: George Panagopoulos. He joined our
organization in September or October of this past year and
here he is at his first convention. This is not what we
should be doing, folks. He didn’t even get a chance to be
heard and was told that you probably won’t get seated.
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July 21, 2011
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This is not the way for us to be doing business, folks.
need to stop this.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
Okay.
Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
around?
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
Thank you.
Don’t leave the mic.
Is he
Right over there.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, okay.
Pantopolis [sic]?
MALE VOICE 30:
We
Thank you.
And it’s George
Yes, it is.
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
Panagopoulos.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Panagopoulos.
[Greek spoken]
MR. STAMOULIS:
Did he come in front of the committee?
MALE VOICE 30:
He couldn’t come in front of the committee.
[Crosstalk]
MR. STAMOULIS:
He couldn’t come in front of the committee?
MALE VOICE 31:
You weren’t there.
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
You were closed.
MR. STAMOULIS: What time did he appear?
yesterday.
We had a full day
MR. CALLIONTZIS: He wasn’t here all day yesterday, he got here
late yesterday.
MR. STAMOULIS:
We were open 9:00 this morning.
MR. GEORGE PANAGOPOULOS:
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. PANAGOPOULOS:
MR. STAMOULIS:
brother.
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
MR. STAMOULIS:
Where was he?
I came 9:00-9:30--
[Interposing] Well, nobody---9.30, 9.35.
We left the room at ten minutes to 10:00,
I opened that door-[Interposing] The whole committee came in.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
97
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
It was long before ten minutes to 10:00.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
The room was dark.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMOULIS:
MR. STAMOULIS:
[Interposing] Okay.
--so he was not seated--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. GARY METRY:
Metry--
Alright.
He never appear in front of the committee--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMOULIS:
Okay.
[Interposing] Let’s--
[Interposing] Good morning, brothers.
Gary
[Interposing] Does not apply.
MR. METRY: --Chapter 155, District 3. With all due respect,
last year in Montreal, Canada, we went for grievance
because our form was dated June 2. We were seated
correctly, and I think the record will show that in last
year’s minutes. Unfortunately, last year our chapter’s
secretary was out of town, we sent in our registration fee,
we thought everything was great. Unfortunately, we found
out the form last year wasn’t even on the website for us to
download to fax in. That may have been corrected by this
year. But as a point of all due respect and information,
our form was dated June 2 or mailed June 2, and we were
still seated at this convention. I just sat through a
great symposium on membership. And to hear the stories I’m
hearing now really doesn’t sit well.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Point well taken. Okay, we’re going to
limit, can we, one more? Just the last one. The chair is
telling me this is the last comment, and then we’ll put it
up for a vote.
MR. LOUIS ATSAVES: Thank you. I’m Brother Louis Atsaves,
Supreme Governor, also Northshore 94 Chicago. I also was
Chairman of the Grievance Committee for two consecutive
years, just a couple of years ago. And let me tell you,
chairing the Grievance Committee is the most miserable,
heartbreaking experience you can ever experience serving in
the Order of AHEPA. And let me tell you why.
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July 21, 2011
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You hear everyone come up. First you hear the bitching and
the moaning, that I can live with. But the things that I
could never understand is the rules for delegates are so
simple. The rules for registration are so simple it drives
you batty. The chapters need to elect their delegates and
submit their names by June 1. Not that hard. You would
think that would be not that hard, but every year we have
crises of extreme magnitude presented by delegates because
their chapters didn’t follow that simple rule.
The other simple rule is you need to check in by Tuesday,
what is it, 6:00 p.m.? Okay, you need to check in by
Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. Two simple rules. When I go to Wrigley
Field and I participate in a Wrigley Field experience,
which is also a very miserable experience this year, I have
a ticket. It has a time on it, it has a date on it. I
purchased a ticket. Who am I to show up eight hours late
and demand admittance to Wrigley Field? Who am I to show
up a day late and demand admittance to Wrigley Field? The
rule is simple. It’s printed right there on the ticket. I
don’t know.
I sympathize with a lot of the brothers. And some brothers
run into transportation problems. We never had a problem
with them on that committee. I sat in on Grievance this
year as well. They didn’t have a problem with people with
legitimate transportation problems. There was one
gentleman who had the Securities and Exchange Commission
visit his office unannounced. He was a day late as a
result. You know what? That’s not a problem. That person
is one of the 18 who is being seated today. But some other
people, they showed up at this convention where their
chapter, for example, elected their delegates 16 days after
June 1, and then they didn’t send the form in. And then he
showed up here yelling and screaming, demanding to be
seated. That behavior has got to stop.
The rules are simple. We can storm out of here angry
because we didn’t follow the rule, or we can say, “Okay,
I’m sorry. I messed up. I made a mistake.” Or if your
chapter’s secretary made a mistake, admit it so we can move
on. But these temper tantrums that we experience on the
Grievance Committee have got to stop because you either
follow the rule or you don’t. The rules are simple.
Again, they’re way too simple. And I guess because they’re
so simple, there are some brothers who can’t follow them.
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July 21, 2011
99
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay. We’re going to call the motion. No
more rebuttal. First things first. Lou, I wanted to say
on behalf of everybody we understand the difficult job the
Grievance Committee has. And if that happened, thank you
for taking the heat for the rest of us. And although it’s
unwarranted, you do serve a useful purpose and we thank the
chair for that as well. Okay, all in favor of the motion-MALE VOICE 31:
motion?
[Interposing] Read the motion.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. BETZELOS:
What’s the
The motion is to accept the five, Mr. Chair?
Five.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: It was five delegates that were not accepted
by the Grievance Committee.
MALE VOICE 32:
Do we have the names of the five?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Well, we have three of them so far. It’s
Charles Stamoulis, John Sarakatsanos [phonetic], Daniel
Kartomis [phonetic], Gus Pantelides, and Lucky Vellous
[phonetic]. Okay? All in favor of the motion to accept
those five?
ALL:
Aye
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
against?
ALL:
Raise your hands and say aye.
Okay, all
Nay
MR. BETZELOS:
I think you’re going to have to count them.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: I’m going to have to count them.
the ayes keep your hands up, please.
Okay?
All
[Crosstalk]
MR. STAMOULIS:
down.
You’re part of the committee, put your hand
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Mr. Chair, I’m going to make a ruling that
the ayes have it. Are you satisfied?
MR. STAMOULIS:
Hold it, hold it.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Are you satisfied?
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
100
MR. STAMOULIS:
No.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Yes?
MALE VOICE 33: In the vote process you have five people here
that were rejected and are voting. They can’t vote.
MR. STAMOULIS:
They can’t vote.
MALE VOICE 34:
That’s correct.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Okay.
MR. STAMOULIS:
- - Cannot vote.
MALE VOICE 35:
I can’t hear anything.
MR. STAMOULIS:
The five people--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] The five people that were
rejected, we’re going to ask that you raise your hands
again, but those five do not raise their hands. Please,
all in favor of the motion to seat the five raise your
hands. The ayes have it.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 36:
Okay.
Mr. Chairman, point of order, what about the--
MR. STAMOULIS: [Interposing] How many did you have?
ask for against. How many? Count it.
MALE VOICE 36:
You didn’t
Point of order, Mr. Chairman.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Briefly. All against, there’s a request
from the chair to find out a show of hands against.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
count.
I mean if you guys want me to count, I’ll
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty,
twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four. You got
twenty-four? Okay.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
101
MALE VOICE 37:
All in favor raise your hands.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
All in, thank you.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 38:
Right.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 39:
All in favor.
One, two, three, four, five--
[Interposing] In favor.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twentytwo, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six,
twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirtyone, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five,
thirty-six, thirty-seven-[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] Thirty-nine, forty, forty-one,
forty-two, forty-three, forty-four-MR. STAMOULIS:
[Interposing] They don’t need a vote.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 40:
You guys vote?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
You’re in?
Forty-seven for.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
committee.
Listen, we appreciate the efforts of the
MR. STAMOULIS: The committee met and then what you people just
voted, the June 1 deadline does not mean a thing.
MALE VOICE 36:
[Interposing] Point of order, Mr. Chairman?
MR. STAMOULIS: So next year don’t bother complying with that.
Thank you.
MALE VOICE 36: Before the Grievance Committee leaves, what are
they going to do about the two brothers that were just here
saying that they couldn’t--
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
102
MR. STAMOULIS:
[Interposing] That’s a separate--
MALE VOICE 36:
--get into the Grievance Committee--
MR. STAMOULIS: [Interposing] That’s a separate issue, it has
nothing to do with it.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: --because they never met with the Grievance
Committee, that’s-MALE VOICE 36: [Interposing] They won’t be seated? The
Grievance Committee wasn’t open when they went there.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Okay.
MALE VOICE 36: Both of them said the same thing. I’ve been on
both sides of that Grievance Committee, believe me. I know
the problems.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, for the two, Evan Sparas of Lincoln
Park and George Panagopoulos, have they registered, have
they tried to register?
MR. PANAGOPOULOS:
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. PANAGOPOULOS:
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 41:
I haven’t.
They didn’t come through to me.
They didn’t come through with you, okay.
Through to me.
Yes.
Are the two guys here that--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] They’re both here.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 42:
I say we make a motion now.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Everybody go to the mic.
keep this quick. It’s two guys now.
Make a motion now.
And we’re going to
MR. DALTON RESPAS: Dalton Respas [phonetic], Chapter 15, St.
Petersburg, Florida. We’re talking about not being able to
get to the Grievance Committee. They met a couple of days,
almost all day two days. We met this morning at 9:00, they
weren’t there. If they want us to go back to the Grievance
Committee for two people, why? You just voted to let five
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in that we rejected.
people?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 43:
Why did, okay.
Make a motion.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 43:
Why don’t you vote here on those two
That’s--
[Interposing] Make a motion.
[Crosstalk]
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
motion?
Mr. Chairman, is it appropriate to make a
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
It is.
MR. CALLIONTZIS: I’d like to make a motion that the convention
floor seat the two brothers.
MALE VOICE 44:
I don’t--
MALE VOICE 45:
[Interposing] I second it.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Let’s calm down.
Okay, yes, brother.
MR. ERNIE POOL: Brother Ernie Pool, Yankee District 7. I’ll
just make one statement to the fact that I’m one that
believes that we should have abided by the rules and not
seated these people. However, if you’re going to seat
these five then you have to give these other two an
opportunity to take and go before the Grievance Committee,
I don’t think that we should prevent anyone if you’re going
to take and suspend the rules the way you did today.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, move the question. All in favor of
the two? All in favor of seating the other two?
ALL:
Aye
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
You guys are going to make me do this again?
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
All against.
MALE VOICE 46:
Alright.
MALE VOICE 47:
It’s unanimous.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
104
MALE VOICE 46:
Excellent.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 46:
The ayes have it.
Alright, thank you.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 48: Go through the damn what-you-call-it. Why did
they go, they didn’t even go through registration.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Those two and the five, we want you to know
that in order to vote, you’re going to have to pay your fee
and go through registration and go see Basil. You
understand that, right? Just so we know.
MR. STAMATOLIS:
Mr. Chairman?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Nobody gets away for free.
Yes?
MR. STAMATOLIS: I’d like to address the group, here.
just had a-DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. STAMATOLIS:
We’ve
[Interposing] Be very--
[Interposing] Very strongly contested vote.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Charles.
MR. STAMATOLIS: I think it’s important to come together now and
not be separate. So I think that’s important to mention to
this group now that we’ve had this strong contested vote.
We had two sides. We are one group, and we need to come
together if we’re going to go anywhere as opposed to going
down.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[phonetic].
Thank you.
Yes, George?
George Caracha
MR. GEORGE CARACHA: Mr. Chairman, I want to say that I am very,
very embarrassed that when I was in Boston, I did come late
and I got rejected from the Grievance Committee. But it
was a wonderful learning experience for me that here today
I’m on that committee and I have not missed a deadline.
There’s a fundamental question here that we have
committees, and I came here to do the work of AHEPA, and I
got on the Grievance Committee. And I sacrificed the
beautiful sun, the beaches with my wife, and the valuable
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105
time I could have had here enjoying myself. But instead
what happened is I got onto this committee and I made a
whole bunch of new friends here, different party
affiliations, but not in that room.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Mm-hmm.
MR. CARACHA: And what happens is that we were told that here’s
the constitution and we need to be the referees of this
constitution. Now it is part of AHEPA. And so before us
we come here and we said, “Look, we are the referees of
this football game.” Because without referees, you could
just imagine the chaos you would have.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
George--
MR. CARACHA: [Interposing] So again, my friend, I want to just
really ask the question: is there really a purpose for
Grievance Committee?
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, we’re going to take that as a
recommendation. However, at this point in time we also
have Credentials Committee ready to report with the
revisions that the body just made. And then we’ll get to
board of trustees.
TONY:
Good morning, brothers. My committee stayed two solid
days 9:00-9:00 and 9:00-6:00 and we did the credentials.
And it’s not a rewarding job because we didn’t get any
cooperation. And as you see, things like this happen. I
ran back and forth from my desk to the Grievance Committee
to see what’s going on in order to seat these people. I
know what the Grievance Committee has gone through and I
get frustrated myself. As of before this ordeal, as far as
seating the other five people, our voting strength is 209
with 11 alternates is our voting strength as of 10:00 this
morning. Now these will have to be revised in order to put
the other five people in and the other two. So, that’s my
report. Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: Alright, thank you very much, Tony. We have the
report. We’ve got to start moving. We have exactly 90
minutes to do a lot of work before the Athletic Luncheon.
National projects? You next. This is the great, great
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
106
Cavalaris man who is going to give us the inside and the
outside national projects.
MR. HARRY CAVALARIS: Brothers, my name is Harry Cavalaris,
Chairman of the Order of AHEPA National Convention National
Projects Committee. At this time, Aristotelis Chronis, who
is chairman of the AHEPAcademy, will give his report later.
He’s tied up with meetings. This is a project to bring
young men and women of AHEPA families to Washington, D.C.,
for a ten-day intensive program visiting the House, the
Senate, and various other institutions. We will also have
Brother Louis-DR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] Please give your attention.
I’m sorry, Brother Harry.
MR. CAVALARIS: Brother Louis Avares [phonetic] will give the
report on the National Hellenic Museum that was passed last
year. The committee members consisted of myself, Nicholas
Poleodis [phonetic], Demitrius Govotsis [phonetic], Tom
Grius [phonetic], Dr. Ani Karatonos [phonetic], Gary Metry,
Dr. Peter A. Pappas [phonetic], Peter Ensuras [phonetic],
Charles Tomatolis [phonetic], Rob Stepp [phonetic], Angelo
Tututsi [phonetic], and Dean Vanettas [phonetic].
The chairman Harry Cavalaris opened the meeting at
9:27 a.m. The chairman reviewed the duties of the
committee to receive applications for the status for the
approval as an AHEPA National Project and review the
application that the project is in keeping of the mission
of the Order of AHEPA and meet the qualifications for a
national project. A proposed budget for national status
must have the following: a letter from the proposed
project’s chapter and district supporting and approving the
project, a review of the vision of the project, review of
how the project is to be implemented, and review
fundraising proposals. Brother John Tanionos, District 8
Governor, set forth the Cobb Astro Park Hellenic
Educational Program in Barnstable, Maine to be an AHEPA
National Project.
Cobb Astro Park is a multifunctional and innovative outdoor
educational facility at Barnstable High School in Hyannis,
Massachusetts. Planning and preparation for the site began
in 2004. Over the past six years there has been a
tremendous collaboration and growth and sustained effort in
AHEPA
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107
bringing the arts and sciences together in this space
inspired by the virtues of ancient Greek civilization.
Cobb Astro Park is the direct result of hundreds of
dedicated, generous, enthusiastic individuals and
businesses who continue to show their support by providing
new learning opportunities for kids and adults of all ages.
Gifts of volunteerism, labor, and donations, design, grantwriting, and planning have been driving forces that
transform this once-forgotten space in the heart of the
school community into an outdoor classroom that can be used
during the day or night.
Cobb Astro Park features coliseum-style seating for 300
people; a 200-foot retaining wall made from alien block and
limestone; six telescope piers, two of which are wheelchair
accessible; the David Cole Observatory with retractable
roof, climate-control room, professional landscaping, and
irrigation system; a 17’x14’ projection screen with stateof-the-art technology; a human sundial; 300+ feet of mural
depicting Hellenic themes and an armillary based on
Ptolemy’s early view of the universe, and two kinetic wind
sculptures; handicap accessible ramps, walkways, viewing
areas, raised-bed garden, prominent sponsor boards
acknowledging benefactors that include District 8 AHEPA and
Daughters of Penelope; an all-season greenhouse, 30
engraved stone benches for the outdoor classroom use, and a
30-foot fiberglass pole and memorial garden.
The facility is an outstanding example of what can be done
with strong commitment and a passion for Hellenic culture
and heritage. The generosity of so many of our community
has created such a testament of ideals of ancient Greece.
The current facility represents a $2 million project today.
Currently the project has an active fundraising program by
private and corporate benefactors. As an AHEPA National
Project, Cobb Astro Park will endeavor to finance the
development of having the history of Hellenism placed on
the wall in fresco type as an inspiration to all who attend
the park and to complement the Hellenic character so far
developed. These additions will no doubt reach its full
potential as an interactive resource for students,
Hellenes, and for the surrounding community as a whole.
The motion to accept the presented proposal for national
project was moved by Gary Metry and second by Demitrius
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Govotsis and was passed unanimously. The AHEPA National
Convention Projects Committee by unanimous consent moves to
the AHEPA National Convention that Cobb Astro Park Project
be given status as an AHEPA National Project. The
Convention Committee having no other business and proposed
national projects to review was moved by Ani Karatonos and
second by Tom Grius to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned
at 10:33 p.m. The following motion is before the
convention floor.
MR. BETZELOS: The report has been read, a motion has been
placed on the floor. Is there any other further discussion
regarding this project? You want to speak? Get to the
microphone. Your name and chapter.
MR. STAMATOLIS: Charles Stamatolis, Daphne Chapter 296,
Pensacola, Florida. I think a little problem that people
may have is maybe they didn’t hear every word that Harry
said about the project. But to sum it up quickly, and I
was fortunate to be on this committee, it’s about-MR. BETZELOS:
MR. STAMATOLIS:
MR. BETZELOS:
[Interposing] Brother---reaching out to our community.
Make it very short.
MR. STAMATOLIS: Okay, very short motion. I make a motion that
we support the ideals and ideas that’s been presented
before you because it speaks about our Hellenism and
reaching out to the community.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. BETZELOS:
Speak in favor of--
[Interposing] Alright.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Pardon?
Speaks in favor of the motion.
MR. BETZELOS: He speaks in favor of the motion.
stands to reason.
Well, that
MALE VOICE 49: Yeah, just a question to the chairman. Was the
question of supporting the ancient games of Nemea in 2012?
Was that brought up before your committee?
MR. CAVALARIS:
I’ll answer that after this is taken care of.
MR. BETZELOS: Well, after this motion, we have a motion on the
floor. You’ve got a question.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
109
MALE VOICE 50:
Short?
MR. CAVALARIS:
No, no one came before the committee.
MALE VOICE 49:
question?
Okay, is it too late at this point to raise that
MR. CAVALARIS:
It’s out of order.
MR. BETZELOS:
Sir--
MALE VOICE 49: [Interposing] I asked a question on this point
of information.
MR. CAVALARIS:
I’ll an, come over here and I’ll--
MALE VOICE 50:
[Interposing] Thank you.
MR. BETZELOS:
ALL:
Okay.
Alright, all in favor of this motion say aye.
Aye
MR. BETZELOS:
carried.
Those against? The ayes have it, motion is
Thank you very much. At this time--
[Applause]
[Crosstalk]
MR. BETZELOS:
Oh, alright.
Okay Lou, come up.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, we’ll have a quick update on the same
committee regarding the National Hellenic Museum in
Chicago.
MR. ATSAVES: Thank you, brothers. Louis Atsaves, Northshore
Chapter 94, Chicago. I find it pretty interesting that now
that the controversy is over that this room is pretty much
emptied out. So I want to thank all the good Ahepans that
stayed. So you’re the people I want to speak to today in
particular on this project.
Last year at the AHEPA Annual Convention hosted in
Montreal, Canada, the assembled delegates approved
instituting the National Hellenic Museum as an official
AHEPA National Project. The purpose of this project was to
raise funds to assist the National Hellenic Museum in its
efforts to build a world-class facility for future
generations to enjoy as a learning experience. The
presenting chapter for the record was my chapter,
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
110
Northshore 94. The presenting or sponsoring district was
my district, Blue Ribbon District 13, which comprises
Illinois and Wisconsin.
The National Hellenic Museum is currently operating out of
temporary rented quarters located at 801 West Adams Street;
it’s the corner of Adams and Halsted in Chicago and has
been in existence over 20 years. Those of you who have
been to Greektown in Chicago, if you know where the Greek
Islands is at, it’s on the fourth floor. They were founded
in 1983, so this organization has been around for a while.
The current location on Halsted Street is important because
it’s in the heart of what we called Greektown, Chicago.
It’s also the gateway to the Loop, or the downtown business
district of Chicago. The main exhibition hall of the
current temporary quarters is named after Blue Ribbon
District 13 of the Order of AHEPA, which previously raised
substantial funds to allow them to move to that location a
few years ago.
On November 4-5, 2011, the National Hellenic Museum plans
their grand opening of their brand new world-class facility
or building. The facility will be located down the street
from their current location at the corner of Van Buren and
Halsted which overlooks the famous Circle Interchange
between the Kennedy Expressway, the Eisenhower Expressway,
and the Dan Ryan Expressway are three of the busiest
expressways in the world. Again, at the gateway of
Chicago’s Greektown and the gateway of the business
district. It also overlooks the Jane Addams Hull House
which is located just south on Halsted Street at the
University of Illinois, Chicago, my former alma mater.
Jane Adams was renowned for assisting early immigrant
Greeks at the start of the 20 t h century by offering them
shelter, teaching them English, the alphabet, and the
offering them many other services that governments did not
offer back at the start of the 20 t h century. For more
information, please visit the website. I’ve passed out
these documents. Those of you who need these come up and
see me. I’ll be more than glad to run off additional
copies if necessary.
The goal of this national project is to raise funds to
assist the National Hellenic Museum in defraying the
staggering costs associated with the construction. We are
looking at a $55 million project. We are also looking at
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raising money sufficient enough to get the naming rights to
the lobby. We’re looking to raise a half a million
dollars. Now if you think of all the chapters in this
domain of the Order of AHEPA, if each chapter donated an
average of $3000, we would be a quarter or halfway there.
If each member of the Order of AHEPA contributed $25, we
would have enough money today to satisfy what we would like
to pledge to the museum. Some pledges since the start of
this thing have been received. We have two districts in
particular that have pledged a total of $50,000. We have a
number of chapters mostly in the Chicago area which have
pledged another $15,000. So we’re well on our way with
pledges of $65,000.
However, there’s one chapter that’s gone above and beyond
the call of duty. And I want to do a shout-out today to
Merrillville Chapter 78. Merrillville Chapter 78 is
donating over the course of three years to the Hellenic
Museum the sum of $100,000.
[Applause]
MR. ATSAVES: And I can’t tell you, I attended their meeting
where they discussed and debated the issue. And I made an
executive decision at that time that we were not going to
count that $100,000 towards our pledge of a half a million
because it gives them the opportunity to have the naming
rights to a front staircase as you walk in the new
building.
So we have our jobs cut out for us. I have no budget, I
have no start-up cost seed money associated with it. These
things here you saw printed up here came out of my pocket
today. I went downstairs and ran off additional copies.
The initial mailing was funded by the AHEPA that went out
to all the chapters. We have collected some money already.
Our goal again is to raise a half a million dollars and be
part of this and think about it for one minute before I
close.
What does AHEPA stand for? If you look at the initials of
AHEPA, this is an American project, it’s a Hellenic
project, it’s an educational project, and it’s progressive.
How much more Ahepan can this project be? Thank you.
Please take this information back to your chapters. Take
this information out to the brothers who left the room who
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112
just want to come in here and fight, and tell them, “Hey,
we’re doing good things, not just bad things here in the
Order of AHEPA.” And let’s make this a reality. Let’s
become major players as part of this and we can have a
first-class, world-class facility in the transportation hub
of the United States of America, Chicago, for all future
generations to enjoy. Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS: Thank you, Brother Supreme Governor Louis
Atsaves. That was a tremendous report. As you all know, I
am from Chicago. The project is well on its way and we
hopefully expect the AHEPA to be greatly honored in those
premises. At this time I would like our chairman of the
board, is he present? He’s hiding on me with these
speakers. Frank Manios, past Supreme President, a very
good friend of Steve Betzelos, that’s me. Report on the
board of trustees.
MR. FRANKLIN MANIOS: Thank you sir, thank you very much. Thank
you. Good morning, brothers. I’m going to give you my
report first, and then we’re going to go into the budget.
I have Patrice Farish up here with me; she’s our controller
in Washington, D.C., and an absolute necessary person for
this report and for the function of the money area of the
order.
MALE VOICE 51: Watch it, watch it.
What’s your problem?
Just leave it alone.
MALE VOICE 52:
you mind?
Well I’m trying to get it out of his way.
MALE VOICE 51:
No.
MALE VOICE 52:
Give me a minute.
MALE VOICE 51: I don’t want it to fall down.
stuff, that’s all.
Do
It’s not our
MALE VOICE 53:
We can have the guy come in--
MALE VOICE 51:
[Interposing] So what time is the guy coming?
MALE VOICE 52:
Give me another foot and I’ll be done.
MALE VOICE 51:
Go ahead.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
113
MR. MANIOS:
again.
Okay, thank you very much.
We’ll start.
MALE VOICE 51:
Okay good morning
Good job.
MR. MANIOS: My name is Franklin Manios, past Supreme President
and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Order of
AHEPA, as I said along with Patrice Farish here. We meet
this year in Miami at the Fontainebleau. I would like to
thank all the members of the board: Vice Chairman
Constantine Highland; Secretary John Galanis, John please
stand over there; Lee Millas; Connie Calliontzis, he was up
earlier, is he in the room, please stand; and Vassos
Chrysanthou who helped me address the issues that were very
important to the financial future of our beloved order. I
would also like to thank Supreme President Nick Karacostas
for his efforts and inclusion, as well as Supreme Lodge
Officers Vice President Dr. John Grossomanides, Secretary
Anthony Kouzounis, Treasurer Nick Vamvakias, and Supreme
Counselor Philip Frangos for their attendance and
participation in all our deliberations.
This is the good news. The trust portfolio and the
educational foundation portfolio. In 2008, the beginning
of the 2009 fiscal year, you can write these figures down,
the balance was $2,600,000; the portfolio balance closed
$566,000 less in 2009 at $2,900,000. AHEPA experienced a
drop in their assets along with every other person and
organization in the world. The portfolio balance was under
the astute, prudent management of our investment counselor,
Philip Kandakos [phonetic], Wells Fargo advisors. And I am
pleased to report that we recovered everything. We
recovered our unrealized losses. The fund balance closed
last year at $2,600,000. The national trust portfolio
balance as of this fiscal year ended up with $2,687,000. I
feel that the worst may be over and the AHEPA is back in
the black. And I would like to thank Harry Lake [phonetic]
for his valuable effort along with our controller, Patrice
Farish, in this area.
Educational Foundation is a mirror image of this
advancement of the monies. The Educational Foundation in
’08 had a portfolio of $2,831,000. By March 2009, it had
decreased by $377,000 to $2,400,000. In March 2010, the
investments increased by $452,000 to a total of $2,900,000.
And at the close of the fiscal year of 2011, the portfolio
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balance was $3,049,000. The fund has increased by
$218,000. By the original 2008 until the present and even
during the economic downturn, the AHEPA Educational
Foundation is under the chairmanship of Paul Neal and
continues to make education affordable for our youth. Our
recommendation was to increase the size of the scholarship
awards, to give less of them but more money, and they
accepted our recommendation.
Athletics. After the passing of Athletic Director
Dr. Monthe Kofos, the athletic investment portfolio started
to become administered by the board of trustees. Previous
to that, it had never been in Washington, D.C. Since the
board took over in May of 2009, the investments have
increased by $151,000 from $208,000 in March 2009 to
$360,000 at the end of the fiscal year. So the portfolios
of the educational foundation, the trust, and the athletics
all in the past year and these past two years especially
have had dramatic increases.
Trademark infringement. The board of trustees has retained
our trademark attorney on the issue of a competing national
organization, the National Athletic Foundation of AHEPA,
using the AHEPA name. The AHEPA logo and name is
trademarked, especially at the national level. To
eliminate confusion as to which the organization follows,
the AHEPA policies and procedures.
Comment about investing for the future. This is more of a
personal thing here. The AHEPA needs to continue its
progress. To do so, we must ensure our future by making
sound investments. I firmly believe and I’ve been saying
this for the last two years that real estate in the
Washington, D.C., area whether it’s Virginia or Maryland or
in suburbia in that area would be a solid investment. The
Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Washington
Post have declared downtown Washington, D.C. fantastic.
The Dupont Circle where our building is, if you ever come
to the AHEPA and visit the Dupont Circle, that particular
area is just [Greek spoken] with the people, they’re just
everywhere. It’s probably the hottest property in the
area. We could maybe down in the future leverage, now
there is a lot of thought that has to go into all these
things, of course, and buy a building for income.
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July 21, 2011
115
We are developing areas in charitable annuities. This
would provide income to the Order for administrative fees.
They are donor driven and the donor would receive a
charitable deduction. At the request of the Sons of
Pericles Advisor Chris Economides, the board approved $3000
for its membership campaign. And we believe by investing
in the youth is a forward progress of our Order. I talked
to Chris Economides today, and he tells me that the Sons of
Pericles have just reached the 500 mark. That is really,
really impressive from what they have been in the past
couple of years.
The Charitable Foundation. It is my pleasure to report the
board of trustees created an AHEPA foundation, a tax-exempt
foundation in the District of Columbia. It will be a
501[c][3]. We are awaiting our letter of determination.
What will happen here is that all the entities of the Order
of AHEPA, Bone Marrow, Cooley’s Anemia, Athletic
Department, Educational Department, I know I’m leaving some
out, will be able to collect funds under the national
501[c][3]. This was a major change in the Order of AHEPA.
AHEPA Marathon. This is really a bright, shining light in
this past year. Under the direction of Anthony Kouzounis,
Demitri Karkelis [phonetic], and Peter Somaras [phonetic],
they reported 70 marathoners ran under the AHEPA banner
while raising over, listen to this figure, $219,000. After
the participant travel, lodging, and uniform expenses of
$87,000, online donation technology provider fee of
$11,000, event advertising of $9,000, $22,000 went to the
operating fund. That came to us now. Out of the money
that we collected, we gave AHEPA Cooley’s Anemia $12,000,
Educational Foundation $12,000, Patiahio [phonetic]
$10,000, Leadership 100 $10,000, AHEPA Charitable Fund
$12,000, AHEPA Bone Marrow $8000. These figures are all
plus, I’m giving you the round figure. The Ahir of
Jerusalem [phonetic] $5000, Saint Sophia Philanthropic
$5000, Hellenic Project AHEPA Chapter 151 $3000, Emergency
Relief Fund $2900, Penelope House $1900, AHEPA Chapter 145
$1900, Grameen Foundation $1700, and District 2 Scholarship
Fund $1600. Very, very impressive. These monies were
generated, they’ve never been generated before.
We’re going to have the marathon; the marathon is going to
continue this year under the same leadership. I’m not sure
that they’ll be able to reach these monies because the
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
116
marathon last year was historic, but I do expect
significant income for the Order in the future.
AHEPA Emergency Fund. The Haitian Earthquake Fund, the
tsunami in Japan, the tornadoes in Alabama are just a few
of the AHEPA Emergency Funds we have supported. The board
of trustees has made this fund a permanent part of the
Charitable Foundation of the AHEPA to help those in need.
The Emergency Fund has collected and contributed $23,800
for Haitian earthquake and collected $4400 for the Japanese
tsunami relief efforts.
Building income. The board has been proactive in
determining the current values of office space and we have
received from the building for operating fund $188,000 in
ready income but which 25% goes to the operating fund, the
rest goes to the trust. I can also tell you that we had an
appraisal this year of the building and the appraisal value
of the building is $4 million, this is an appraised value,
it’s not my figures. We had this appraised this past year.
It’s $4,250,000. This is double of what the building was
bought for at its inception. I also feel that if we put
the building up for sale in this room for $5 million, I
think we would not get out the door before somebody would
buy it because that’s how good that spot is for us.
John Economy Phalanx Fund [phonetic]. Originally this was
a dream developed by past Supreme President John Economy to
raise funds to augment AHEPA’s public relations efforts.
These funds can and should be used to promote the Order of
AHEPA. The board and the supreme lodge should actively
pursue and solicit members to donate to this fund in an
effort to support various presidential initiatives for
which we do not have budgeted funds established. The fund
would be best used in these ways.
The fund was initially established by contributors pledging
$500 a year for ten years, and the balance today is
$14,702. And during the year we supported a very
successful Greek Israeli relations conference held in
Washington, D.C., which was like a forerunner for the
president’s visit into the Jerusalem area.
For the first time, no for the second time because I do
remember back under Sam Nakas [phonetic] years and years
ago, the AHEPA did create an AHEPA pack and it didn’t get
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off the ground back then. But with all the Greek
candidates all over the U.S., we have decided that the
board has approved the creation of an AHEPA pack again.
Recently we have seen a dramatic increase in Greek-American
candidates for public office, and because of this, we feel
there is a need for a nonpartisan pack establishment to
assist those candidates.
Budget. I’m going to do the budget next but I strongly
urge the delegates to adopt the 2011-2012 budget which will
be presented to you today. I am proud that this board is
presenting a balanced budget for the fiscal year ending
March 31. Together with headquarters, our board has
managed to reduce some costs when compared with maintaining
our membership. We had a successful convention in Montreal
and we got $43,000, which was $23,000 over the budgeted
amount. And we came in $18,000 under budget last year.
As the chairman of the board, I have worked together with
other members trying to achieve a positive cash flow
building up a reserve for our organization to run with. I
am pleased, this is kind of new area and a significant area
because this is the first time again in many, many years,
the AHEPA for the very first time in many years has been
able to designate working capital of $66,000 for this
fiscal year in addition to the residual of the fiscal year
of $30,000 of last year which gives us a present-day total
of $97,000 in an active, working reserve fund.
Now we have never had a reserve fund, this is the first
time, with $90,000. This is in addition to the $288,000
that is held in balance from the reserve that goes back ten
years of $1 million that we had received from insurances.
And in those years, back in - - remember those days we had
no money and we were using that million and that was a
reserve fund we kept drawing and drawing and drawing. And
it got down to $288,000; it’s still there now. And now for
the first time we’ve added close to $100,000 to it. I
think this is significant and the whole entire Order of
AHEPA should be pleased and proud of itself.
[Applause]
MR. MANIOS: In closing, I would like to thank the entire board
for its efforts. The board has met in the spirit of
brotherhood with passion and sincere dedication and
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persevered for the progress of our Order. I’m going to go
off my report in this particular area and I’m going to say
this. This is my third year as your Chairman of the AHEPA
Board of Trustees. All these years we’ve had the same
board members plus one more, Terry Mitchell [phonetic],
that was on and went off. And we worked with two
presidents, Supreme President Nick Karacostas these past
two years and past Supreme President Ike Gulas the previous
year.
I can tell you with total, total, total honesty that this
board and the supreme lodges have worked together for the
good of the Order in a very, very dedicated, we have had no
rancor on either side of the aisle or in any manner. We
have had debate, we have had arguments, and we have gotten
mad at each other for different things. But I’m telling
you it has been a wonderful experience these past three
years. And some of the things that may have been passed on
the past history in the Order of AHEPA did not ensue this
past three years. And I wanted to thank the board members
themselves that are here today and the presidents for
helping make all this possible.
My gratitude to the AHEPA Housing Corporation, I saw
Brother Art Poly in here earlier, and Brother Nick Stratas.
And my congratulations to Art Poly in his new position for
the housing committee, for their continued contributions to
the Order of AHEPA. However, I feel that we can
successfully work together to find legal ways, this is
important, legal ways that housing can afford to give us an
opportunity to receive more money from them. There seems
to be a problem in doing it legally. We’re getting
contributions where I think we should be able to get more
from AHEPA Housing. That’s the way I feel, I felt that for
a long time.
I would like to thank Brother Andy Kafes [phonetic] for his
communication expertise, Rosalind Ofuokwu and Rory Puckerin
and Stephanie Maniatis for the performance of their duties.
Headquarters may be limited in quantity but they are not
limited in quality. Trust me, these five people are just
outstanding. We’re getting a lot of bang for our buck for
these folks. And a special thank you to President Nick
Karacostas on promoting the past two years the Order of
AHEPA here and internationally.
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July 21, 2011
119
Lastly, but certainly not least, my sincere thanks to
Brother Basil Mossaidis for his efforts and support during
my terms as chairman. Basil has a demanding job and I put
a lot of stress on him too, I know. Today was so bad, I
called him so many times. Yesterday he called me, I
answered, he had the wrong number, and he was calling
somebody else. So anyhow, we don’t always agree but Basil
is always flexible, creative, and persistent with his
thoughts on ways to improve our fraternity and is deserving
of our gratitude.
In the same vein, I would like to thank Ms. Patrice Farish
for her hard work and commitment to AHEPA. Her vast
accounting experience and financial knowledge have made my
job easier. She has never failed me in anything that I
asked. I extend to her and to Basil a very large and
sincere thank you.
In closing, thanks again to my Board Vice Chairman
Constantine Highland, Secretary John Galanis, they’re right
there, stand up there, folks, Lee Millas, Connie
Calliontzis and Vassos Chrysanthou. They have never failed
to do what is best for the Order. Well done, brothers, and
I thank you all. I also thank my wife, Mary, and my entire
family and my brother, Mike, for their unconditional
support. It has been an honor, it really has been an honor
and a privilege to serve the AHEPA as chairman of the board
of trustees and I thank you all for the opportunity.
[Applause]
MR. BETZELOS:
I want to thank--
MR. PETER SOURIS:
[Interposing] Mr. Chairman, I have a--
MR. BETZELOS: [Interposing] For a tremendous report and I would
like to have the convention unanimously adopt this report
as read. All in favor say aye.
ALL:
Aye
MR. BETZELOS:
MR. SOURIS:
MR. BETZELOS:
Those against?
Ayes have it.
I have a question, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, sir.
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July 21, 2011
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MR. SOURIS: Peter Souris, District 20, Chapter 454. What you
said about the logo earlier, did this limit in any way the
chapters’ ability to use the AHEPA logo in their-MR. MANIOS: [Interposing] No, nothing to do with that at all.
Just go about your business as before.
MR. SOURIS:
Thank you.
MR. MANIOS: This is at the national level and only for national
projects.
MR. SOURIS:
Thank you.
MR. JOHN GALANIS: John Galanis, Secretary of the Trustees. I
just want to say that Frank, whatever we’ve done really has
been through Frank’s leadership and ability to lead us in a
fraternal way because as he said, and I want to reinforce
that, we really have had a wonderful experience on the
board and good discussion and our purpose was for the
AHEPA. But I think he should be congratulated for a
terrific job.
MR. MANIOS:
MR. BETZELOS:
Thank you, John.
I’ll congratulate him again.
[Applause]
MR. MANIOS:
MR. BETZELOS:
Thank you, John.
Thanks, John.
Yes, sir.
MALE VOICE 54: Very quickly, brother. I am going to commend
him and yourself. As many of us were, we were here when
the money was lost, and I thank you for what has been done
to bring it back. I also would like to know where you’re
investing it because my retirement fund could use all the
help it can get. My last question: you mentioned someone
using our logo. I don’t care where they’re using it. What
is being done? Could you clarify that just a little bit to
stop that? And thank you.
MR. MANIOS: What has happened is that there has been an
organization that has created a 501[c][3] and they are
using the logo and the name for their purposes. But they
do not have the approval of the Order of AHEPA, neither the
supreme lodge nor the board of trustees. And we are in the
process of asking them and hoping that we will resolve
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this. They have promised as of yesterday that since we
applied for our 501[c][3], our letter of determination will
be coming very shortly within the next 30-60 days. We
applied back in February. Everything was accepted. We’re
onboard right now. Any donations can be right now onto
this 501[c][3].
We have had discussion with this other 501[c][3] and they
have told us that the minute that we get our determination
letter, that they are going to cease and desist. They are
going to transfer the funds that they have received under
that 501[c][3] into our treasury and they are going to
close shop. Now this is what our understanding is and I’m
hoping that this in fact does happen. But this is what I
was told as of yesterday.
MALE VOICE 55:
MR. BETZELOS:
budget?
MR. MANIOS:
Good question, good question.
Alright, are you going to be involved with the
Yes, I am.
MR. BETZELOS: Okay, let’s start with the budget. At this time
I would like to have our CPA, that wonderful little, tiny
girl with the tremendous balance of power that she controls
the AHEPA here, our dear Patrice Farish.
MS. PATRICE FARISH:
The chairman is going to present.
MR. BETZELOS: Oh, he’s going to, oh, I didn’t, we got to
present you, regardless.
MR. MANIOS: I’m going to present it but she’s going to, where I
goof up, whichever I’ve been doing for the last three years
goof up, right away she catches me, she corrects me, and we
go forward. First of all, you all got this in your packet.
You should have it, you can follow down with this hopefully
if you have it here. I’m pleased to present the proposed
budget beginning 2011-2012 to the delegates for their
approval. To help you follow along, you have this brochure
that you can follow. The brochure will also show you
historical comparison last year’s numbers.
Financial concerns over declining membership and combined
with increasing costs during an economic downturn are
paramount in the budget development. When we looked at
this budget, we took into consideration the membership
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especially and the economic times. And the board of
trustees also discussed cash flow concerns of timeliness,
the chapters do not report in a timely manner. They send
their money in on December 30 or December 25 or
December 26. And that’s important for the cash flow of our
organization. But they delay the per capita remittance.
The proposed budget presented shows a nominal profit of
$8500. Okay, so I will address by addressing the income
and then expenses and then I’ll be glad to answer your
questions where we can. Total budget for this fiscal year
is going to be $939,000. Program services of $7000 is
income AHEPA receives from credit cards primarily and some
other rebate programs.
Member services. We received $561,000 for member services
which the biggest bulk of this is 13,250 paying members for
$530,000; $10,000 in reinstatement and initiation fees;
$15,000 online membership fees; $6000 in merchandise sales.
Again repeating the biggest bulk of our money comes
basically from membership per capita and from the trust.
And then we get also a chunk from the conventions.
Management and general income includes administrative fees
that are charged to other divisions, like Educational
Foundation and Building Fund. We get $132,685. Magazine
revenue is $60,000. Now this is the $60,000 received from
AHEPA National Housing Corp. and I want to thank them for
that very much. I’m hoping that they will increase that.
I’m hoping they will increase it, I hope they are
listening, and I hope they will increase it. And
miscellaneous of $100.
The Miami convention is budgeted at $20,000 and we have
been averaging $400-$450 between the AHEPA and the
Daughters of Penelope. Now let me say this. Last year we
budgeted $20,000. I think we’re going to double that, I
hope. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Basil Mossaidis is
going to hit me in the head for saying that. But we made
forty-something thousand last year in last year’s
convention in Montreal. So with good luck and continuing,
we should be in good shape.
Investment income is at about $140,000. That’s from the
portfolio. That is stable. That comes in pretty much
steady this past couple of years. We had a long
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123
conversation with our Wells Fargo investment banker, Phil
Contakos [phonetic], and he’s doing a magnificent job of
keeping our portfolio up but his problem now is to find
areas of financials that generate dividends or incomeproducing stocks. And with the way that he can’t find,
bonds other than 1% or whatever, so he’s really scratching.
But he’s doing a great, great job. And so the income is
just hard to come by especially in the bond market.
The expense portion is $930,995 and it begins first with
Program Services. Program Services is $190,500 which
includes district rebates, $28,500 for district rebates,
public relations $90,000. Now that includes a lot of stuff
like cemetery, public affairs conferences, advertising, and
the next area is appropriations. We appropriate $71,400.
We have the Supreme President allocation of $20,000,
Canadian president of $4000, Board of Trustees $6500,
Supreme Lodge $8000. I’d like to repeat those numbers for
the supreme lodge and the board of trustees. These numbers
are not large expenditures. These supreme lodge members
and these board of trustees members, they’re out there on
their own nickel. What they get is a pittance for what
expend in a year. Headquarters travel $15,000, District
Governor’s conference $9500, Sons of Pericles and Maids of
Athena $4900, Sons appropriation $3000. We also have
member services which is a total of $142,000 and AHEPA’s
website is $4000.
The magazine is $90,000. I might add to you about the
magazine we’ve been back and forth about the magazine. We
need to get to some income in it. We can’t seem to get the
right formula to get it. I hope in the future somebody
will do that. But in the meantime, we also felt it was the
only way. Because I personally believe in communication.
And we felt it was the only way to communicate was with the
magazine. We felt we weren’t getting enough of them out so
we made more of them with smaller pages. And we decided
that that’s a little bit not working either, that’s a
little chintzy looking.
So we just made a decision to go
back to the four magazines with 32 pages instead of the
real thin magazine that you’ve been getting. So we just
made that decision. But it costs us $90,000. We have
death benefit claims; we still have people collecting
insurance, $6000. Postage and printing $34,000, member
services miscellaneous $7000.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
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Next category, management and general expenses to operate
headquarters $598,245. Biggest part of this is the
salaries, $380,000 and office operating expenses $218,000
of which are insurance $20,000, data processing $20,000,
audit fees $37,000, health insurance $35,000, payroll taxes
$42,000, office expenses $25,000, equipment and maintenance
$9000, credit card processing $3000, subcontractors $5000,
telephone $9000, and miscellaneous $4000.
So basically that’s it. That is the budget for 2012 as I
have given it to you. And again I want to tell you that I
want to thank all the members of the board for their
harmony and hard work. I want to thank the auditors for
helping us, guiding us, and to Patrice and to Basil for
their service to our Order. Questions?
MALE VOICE 56:
Questions, questions.
MR. MANIOS: Mr. past Supreme President, Andy Bennis [phonetic],
nice to see you, young man.
MR. ANDY BENNIS: Thank you, Frank. Andy Bennis, past Supreme
President. Frank, I only have one question. On your
original report on page 43 you made a distribution of $3793
to the Hellenic project, it’s a chapter function in
District 21, Chapter 151. I understand that this project
has been discontinued. When was the money distributed and
why?
MR. MANIOS: Okay, I think we just, that was the last letter I
got at home. I brought the letter to the convention
unopened. And as I popped the letter, Karacostas pops his
letter, he got the same letter, and Patrice pops her
letter. So I think it’s still here. I probably shouldn‘t
have said it.
MR. BENNIS:
So the money’s still here?
MR. MANIOS:
Am I--
MS. FARISH:
[Interposing] No.
MR. MANIOS:
Oh, it did go?
MS. FARISH:
Mm-hmm.
MR. MANIOS:
Okay so I’m correct here.
MS. FARISH:
It went to the Hellenic project.
So where did it...
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
125
MR. BENNIS:
I didn’t hear that, Frank.
MR. MANIOS:
It went to the Hellenic project.
MR. BENNIS:
It did?
MR. MANIOS:
It went there.
MALE VOICE 57:
Why?
MS. FARISH:
So we have--
MR. BENNIS:
[Interposing] Why?
MS. FARISH:
We’re going to have--
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 58:
MR. MANIOS:
The money went a long time ago.
Okay.
MALE VOICE 58:
As a result of the--
MS. FARISH:
[Interposing] Of the, yeah, it was--
MR. MANIOS:
[Interposing] Was that the--
MS. FARISH:
--designated.
MR. MANIOS:
Was that the Paul Denny business?
MS. FARISH:
Yes.
MR. MANIOS:
Yeah, okay, yeah, it slipped my mind for a minute.
MS. FARISH:
He was a marathon runner.
MALE VOICE 59:
He was a marathon runner.
MR. MANIOS: Was a marathon runner, it was designated, and they
went there.
MALE VOICE 59:
Let me clarify that.
MALE VOICE 60:
It’s not for the project.
MALE VOICE 59: Let me clarify that so everybody understands.
The individuals that registered for the marathon had the
ability to designate where they wanted their monies to go
to.
MR. BENNIS:
Got it.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
126
MALE VOICE 59:
marathon.
MR. BENNIS:
So this goes back to November when they did the
I see.
MALE VOICE 59: And as a result there were some runners who
chose the Hellenic project-MR. BENNIS:
[Interposing] Okay, I understand.
MALE VOICE 59:
MR. BENNIS:
--which was--
[Interposing] That’s fine.
MALE VOICE 59: --one of the approved entities to get the
donations. So we were just holding that money-MR. BENNIS:
[Interposing] That’s alright.
MALE VOICE 59: [Interposing] We were obligated on behalf of the
runners and the sponsors who sponsored those runners to
send that money there.
MR. BENNIS:
That’s fine.
MALE VOICE 59:
But it wasn’t--
[Interposing] And--
MR. BENNIS: [Interposing] It wasn’t a contribution from the
board of direc-MALE VOICE 59:
[Interposing] No.
Absolutely not.
MR. BENNIS: That’s all I wanted to know.
Mr. President. Good job, Frank.
MR. MANIOS:
Okay, thank you, Andy.
Thank you,
John?
MR. GALANIS: Yeah, I just wanted to, John Galanis. At our
meeting, you’ll notice that in our AHEPA magazine, we do
not have any advertising which really is a lost
opportunity. So this year we’re going to try to get fullpage ads, substantial ads, in the four issues. So the
reason I’m up here is if anyone has any ideas on people
that might be interested or firms. And what we’re thinking
about is like yogurt companies, and other type advertisers
that you find in Accent magazine and other magazines that
have an interest in AHEPA.
Now if you look at it, we have a mailing list of 15,000,
it’s probably more like 20,000. And then people talk about
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July 21, 2011
127
eyeballs meaning if people get a magazine and other people
look at it. So it probably has a circulation effectively
of 30,000. So if anyone has any ideas on firms that we
might contact, please see me because it’s an effort that
the trustees want to pursue this year. Thank you.
MR. MANIOS: Thank you, John.
any...Connie?
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
MR. MANIOS:
Connie, did you have
Yes.
Did you have something to say?
MR. CALLIONTZIS:
No.
MR. MANIOS: Okay. Any other questions, any other comments?
not, I submit this for acceptance.
If
MR. BETZELOS: Alright, hearing the report as read and the
budget as read, all those in favor say aye in accepting the
report as read to us today.
ALL:
Aye
MR. BETZELOS:
ALL:
Say aye, I didn’t hear a thing.
Aye
MR. BETZELOS: It’s been a tremendous report.
lot of ayes. ALL: Aye
MR. BETZELOS:
MR. MANIOS:
Thank you.
MS. PATRICE FARISH:
I like to hear a
Accepted.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. MANIOS:
Take this and this and - - over here.
MR. BETZELOS: Okay. At this time we have a very honorable past
Supreme President Gus James to give I hope a short report
on Hellenic & Cyprus Affairs.
MR. GUS JAMES: Chairman, thank you very much. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everybody. Good morning,
brothers. Let me clarify something. I’m not really giving
you the Cyprus & Hellenic Affairs Committee report, that’s
going to come this afternoon from Spiro Macris, he chairs
that. I chair another committee called the International
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July 21, 2011
128
Committee, so let me explain that to you as to what the
differential is.
If you recall, the International Committee was formed
initially to sort of coordinate the efforts of Australasia
and the United States/Canada, the rest of AHEPA. It has
expanded in scope however in recent years. And now our
scope is not only that, which it continues to be that, but
we’re also now focused on expanding AHEPA in other
countries. Our focus is to see if we can expand in Europe,
expand in the Balkans, expand in other areas and so forth,
South America. As well as and then the third aspect of it
is that we also, like the Cyprus & Hellenic Affairs
Committee, we try not to be redundant but we also adopt
certain issues that are germane to Hellenic type of issues
like the Parthenon Marbles has been our project for the
last several years.
So with that general scope let me sort of tell you what
we’re doing and where our specific focus is now. We have
generally identified opportunities in a number of countries
where chapters can be formed. As you know recently, this
past year, there was a chapter in Istanbul that was formed.
Well, there are opportunities to expand that. Hopefully,
we’ll get another couple of chapters in Turkey. Maybe
someday there will be a district designated in Turkey.
That chapter incidentally is sort of in a provisional
district. It’s sort of under the so-called international
district because we don’t have enough, it’s not under
Greece, it’s not under Cyprus, it’s not under Canada or any
other. It’s sort of provisional at the moment and if we
get enough chapters, then there will be another district
either for Turkey or in that area that will be designated.
There also is an opportunity, a very good opportunity, in
Bulgaria. There’s interest there and we’re hoping that for
the spring of next year that we can get a chapter formed
there. There’s been interest expressed in Romania, believe
it or not, Albania, Germany, there’s an interest there for
us to start a chapter, U.K., there have been ongoing
discussions with the churches there, the archbishops there,
certain citizens there. There have been discussions in
Panama regarding a chapter, so the efforts of the committee
primarily I think are focused as well as these other areas
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
129
trying to get these details worked out and try to get
chapters in other areas of the world formed.
Now as I indicated to you earlier, the Parthenon Marbles
was a major, major project of the Order of AHEPA for the
last x number of years and it’s continued under this
committee. However, we’ve sort of stalled it a bit now
because of the financial crisis in Greece. I’m not sure
we’re right on this, but our thinking is it’s difficult in
light of Greece’s financial instability if you will for us
to argue that the marbles should go to a country that
someone might question whether they can afford them at this
time. So we still haven’t changed our commitment to return
of the Parthenon Marbles, we’re just not sure that the
timing to continue the pressure is now versus delaying 6
months or 8 months or 12 months until there is further
stability in the financial situation in Greece. And the
other aspect of the committee is their definitive effort to
try to initiate some additional chapters from these other
countries in Thessaloniki is our attempt during the Supreme
President’s next spring visit in 2012 to Greece, the
patriarchate, and so forth.
And that’s in summary our report. And Mr. Chairman, I
would like to submit it to you and the secretary, and I’ll
answer any questions. Thank you.
MR. BETZELOS: Thank you. Any questions of our chairman of the
International Committee? Hearing none, your program
approved as read. All in favor say aye.
ALL:
Aye
MR. BETZELOS:
James.
Thank you very much, past Supreme President Gus
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MR. BETZELOS:
MALE VOICE 61:
Do we have a Sons representative here?
We have a Maid right now.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
here?
FEMALE VOICE 1:
MR. BETZELOS:
The Maids are here.
We have the Maids.
Are the Maids of Athena
Get the Maids.
Oh, Maids?
Okay.
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
130
MALE VOICE 62:
We’ll get the Sons next.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
applause.
Everybody, let’s give our Maids a round of
[Applause]
MS. KIKI AMANATIDIS: Good morning, brother Ahepans. I’m Kiki
Amanatidis, the Grand President of the Maids of Athena.
With me I have Grand Vice President Marianthe Kolokithas,
and Grand Treasurer Angela Armstrong [phonetic]. I’m sorry
the other girls aren’t here. We were playing beach
volleyball with the Daughters so they’re still out on the
beach.
Just to kind of give you an overview about what the Maids
did this year, we were celebrating our 80 t h anniversary of
the Maids of Athena so we tried to incorporate 80 in
various projects. We have our Flight Athena doll who
traveled around to different chapters and she had a list of
things that she wanted to do with the girls. So the target
was to hit 80 of those things. In addition, we did Project
MOA which was to try to come up with 80 different ways to
give back to our communities. Our national project this
year was Saint Basil Academy. We were able to raise money
and gift cards to donate to the academy. And additionally
we are selling beach towels at this convention for $25 and
having a date auction on Friday night where 100% of the
proceeds are going to Saint Basil’s.
We were able to reactivate six chapters this year, two of
them were partial reactivations, one was started last year,
and we completed this year, and the other one we started
the reactivation process about two weeks ago. Now it’s
Alethia [phonetic] No. 3 in Seattle, Washington. I’m going
to open up the floor for if you guys have any questions
that I can answer for you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MS. AMANATIDIS:
Any questions from the floor?
Yes, sir.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Please come to the microphone.
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MALE VOICE 63: Is there anything that the Ahepans can do along
with the Daughters in support the Maids of Athena? Is
there anything you’re looking for from us?
MS. AMANATIDIS: Definitely. We definitely want your continued
support. Go back to your communities. The Maids of Athena
have been a huge part of my life, and I know they’ve been a
huge part of the lives of all the girls on lodge and in the
Maids in general. Go back to your communities, encourage
your daughters, your nieces, granddaughters, goddaughters,
and whoever to join the Maids or visit us at convention to
see what we’re about. We have a brand new website that we
are fortunate to have past Grand President Stephanie
Maniatis in the room, and Stephanie took on the task of
recreating our website for us this year. So it’s an extra
form of public relations for us, and extra source of
information for girls to go to the website and pull on
information.
MALE VOICE 64:
MS. AMANATIDIS:
Any other questions?
Does anybody else have any questions?
DR. SPARAS: Yes, I have a question regarding the reformation of
some of the Sons and the Maids chapters, and especially
from District 10 which I represent. Basically I’m looking
for relevancy. What do you find that I can help to bring
these people on board? I address universities and the like
and other places, and I want to make sure the relevancy is
there because they’re pulled in so many ways and so many
directions, they really don’t know how this fits into their
lifestyle.
MS. AMANATIDIS: I think that you can be a part of every
different Greek organization. We have girls in our chapter
that are part of GOYA, that Greek dance, that play
basketball with GOYA, so the Maids are just something extra
special, it’s for the girls to be together. It’s the one
place where they can put all pettiness aside and be in an
environment where everyone’s happy, everyone’s a family,
and everyone’s friends.
DR. SPARAS: Any particular projects that bring you on board, be
it like you said, playing the volleyball, or whatever the
function, golf outing, whatever?
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MS. AMANATIDIS: As far as the Maids go, we haven’t really been
big on athletic tournaments. We’ve been doing a bunch of
workshops throughout the country. When the boys do their
Western Regional Basketball Tournament, we’ve started doing
a Maids workshop in conjunction with it. So while we don’t
have the girls to play basketball with the boys or in
conjunction with the boys, we do something separate so our
girls still come out, we’re still supporting the Sons, and
we still have alone time to work on things that we want to
work on.
DR. SPARAS: Thank you.
Thank you.
I applaud your efforts in the future.
MALE VOICE 65: If I could add for the brother, I’ve been
serving as District Advisor to the Sons in District 5, so
some of the projects we use to promote the youth are our
AHEPA projects for AHEPAcademy, Journey to Greece, and the
Hellenic History Tournament. Those are things for the
youth that we can offer that bring them closer to
Hellenism, make them more aware of their Greek culture, and
try and get the youth involved with.
MR. ALEC ALEXANDER: Alec Alexander [phonetic], Chapter 1,
Atlanta, Georgia. I just want to know can an AHEPA chapter
sponsor Maid chapters?
MS. AMANATIDIS: Absolutely. We reactivated the Anaheim Maids
of Athena Chapter two years ago and they are sponsored by
the Anaheim Ahepans.
MALE VOICE 66:
Good point.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Great point, great point.
MS. AMANATIDIS: And actually they are one of our chapters with
the most members because they’re pulling from three
different communities.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, any other questions? We’re going to
ask that you introduce these two ladies behind you.
MS. AMANATIDIS:
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: It’s because they want to say a couple of
nice words about you.
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MS. AMANATIDIS: Okay, I’m going to introduce Sister Marianthe
Kolokithas, who is the outgoing Grand Vice President and
Grand President-elect.
[Applause]
MS. MARIANTHE KOLOKITHAS: Good morning, everybody. I just want
to just tell you what a wonderful job Kiki did this year.
Without her wonderful speaking skills and enthusiasm for
the Maids, we wouldn’t have done such a great job this
year, and I want you all to know that she did a wonderful
job. And I’m looking forward to next year. I hope you
continue the support you’ve offered us in the past. And if
you guys have any questions, you can come find me. I will
be around this week and I’m looking forward to next year.
And I will see you all at the date auction. The tickets
are $5 so come see us. We will be bidding, some Daughters
are up, some Ahepans, some Sons and Maids, so it should be
a fun event. Thank you.
[Applause]
MS. AMANATIDIS: And Sister Angela Armstrong is the outgoing
Grand Treasurer and Grand Vice President-elect.
[Applause]
MS. ANGELA ARMSTRONG: Thank you. Kiki has done an amazing job
as MOA Grand President this year. Words can’t even
describe all the things that she’s been able to accomplish.
Her creativity, as Marianthe said, with all the Maids, her
skills, just bonding with the girls, bringing them
together, getting more membership, it’s been an amazing
year. So Kiki, we love you and congrats Marianthe, too on
being Grand President-elect.
[Applause]
MS. AMANATIDIS: Just in closing, I’d like to thank Supreme
President Karacostas and the AHEPA Board of Trustees for
giving me the opportunity to join the AHEPA family on the
AHEPA family excursion to Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and
Turkey. I had a tremendous time. I’m going to leave this
with you so you can read my report on it. It was an
experience that I will cherish, that I’ll never forget, and
I thank you guys.
[Applause]
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DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay, we move for the acceptance of the
report of the Maids. All in favor?
ALL:
Aye
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Congratulations, ladies.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: We are looking for the Sons of Pericles
report. Is the president, he was just here, I saw him with
his jewels on. If he’s outside...our Supreme President is
working until the very end. He’s walking around trying to
find people to come in and give their reports. We should
give another round of applause for our Supreme President.
And as soon as he did it, he got the job done. Brothers,
I’m thinking there’s a report here but I’m not sure.
MALE VOICE 67:
Yeah, there is.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Well, let’s give a round of applause to our
Supreme President of the Sons of Pericles, brothers.
[Applause]
MR. SPIRO NICOLOPOULOS: Good afternoon, brothers. Currently
walking in is our Sons of Pericles delegation. I believe
we have around 35-40 delegates this year.
[Applause]
MR. NICOLOPOULOS: Come on up.
lodge members real quick.
introduce yourself.
I want to just go introduce our
Go down the line. Manolis,
MR. MANOLIS SFINAROLAKIS: My name is Manolis Sfinarolakis,
Supreme Vice President of the Sons of Pericles from
District 7 in Waterbury, Connecticut.
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Could defeat his purpose.
MALE VOICE 68:
Hold on, hold on.
T.J. SCHWANKE:
T.J. Schwanke [phonetic]--
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] Hold on, hold on.
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135
MR. SFINAROLAKIS: Well everybody, my name is Manolis
Sfinarolakis, Supreme Vice President of the Sons from
District 7 and Waterbury, Connecticut Chapter.
MR. SCHWANKE: My name is T.J. Schwanke, I’m from Chandler,
Arizona, and I am the Supreme Governor of the Sons of
Pericles.
MR. GEORGE PAPPAS: Good morning, my name is George Pappas. I’m
the Supreme Governor of the Sons of Pericles from New York.
MALE VOICE 69:
Go on, John.
MR. NICOLOPOULOS: Our other supreme lodge members are Michael
Mikalopoulis [phonetic], Supreme Secretary. He is walking
around handing out some papers which I’ll explain in a few
minutes. And our Supreme Treasurer Nick Antonopoulos
[phonetic] is currently on special assignment. He’ll be
here shortly. I’ll go into my speech real quick.
I’ve had the great honor to serve as Sons of Pericles
Supreme President this past year. I saw this as an
opportunity to take an organization that has had
spectacular previous years and bring it to new levels of
recent history. Many of the Ahepans have approached me and
commended me on a job well done this year and stated that
the growth of Sons experience was clearly visible. There
are several factors that created this success.
First, we have been working diligently throughout the year
to update our website at SonsofPericles.com. In addition
to the website, we have also been sending out our monthly
electronic newsletter, the Periclean. Both our website and
newsletter have proven quite successful not only in
providing the supreme lodge with the ability to keep our
members and others in the AHEPA family informed regarding
upcoming events, but also about all the great things our
chapters have accomplished. We’ve also ensured that some
of our news articles and messages have gone to publication
such as The AHEPAN magazine, several AHEPA district
magazines, and various Daughters of Penelope publications.
Another key success factor this year is the new legislation
that we had in Montreal. This legislation allowed for
young men between the ages of 14 and 17 to be exempt from
Sons of Pericles dues. Additionally, young men that are 18
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136
and older pay just $40 in dues and they become dual members
of the Sons of Pericles and AHEPA.
Thirdly, our chapter reactivations and membership growth
this year have been outstanding. With the hard work the
Sons of Pericles Supreme Lodge put in this year, I am
pleased to report that we have successfully reactivated
nine chapters throughout the country including chapters in
Calgary, Chicago, Long Beach, Dallas, and Gainesville. Our
membership numbers have tripled from the number we had just
18 months ago.
The last factor I will mention is moving forward. At the
opening ceremonies of the convention, I mentioned that our
slogan is, “The Future Is Here.” I was specifically
referring to the future of the AHEPA family, and it comes
in the form of every member of the Sons of Pericles. I
want to take a moment to get some feedback from all of you.
By a show of hands, how many of you have young men of Sons
of Pericles age in your families? And of those with their
hands raised, how many of them are active Sons? I would
like to see more activity, and I’m not talking about just
immediate family members. I’m talking about extended
family members, nephews, and grandchildren and whatnot. We
would like to see all of those family members in the Sons
of Pericles.
The future of AHEPA lies within the Sons. If we don’t have
every Ahepan’s support to build our orders, how can we
expect the orders to thrive in the future? It is important
to promote and support the Sons of Pericles in your cities
because one day these young men will come to your chapters
as Ahepans and continue the legacy that you have built from
the members before you. This is why I encourage all of you
to go back to your communities, find that group of young
men that will carry the legacy that you have worked so hard
to establish.
I invite everyone to take a few moments out of their busy
week to talk to some of our members about their experiences
at Sons, and to share some of your knowledge about the
AHEPA family. I hope you all take me up on the offer and
talk to some of our members, whether it be in the lobby, or
on the convention floor, or in the convention area.
Additionally, I would like to invite all of you to attend
our events throughout the week. Please feel free to come
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137
to our after-hours nights, the Saturday brunch, and the
awards banquet.
Being the Supreme President has allowed me to do more than
I have ever thought possible. I have not only seen what my
home chapter has achieved this year, but also what this
organization as a whole has accomplished. It gives me a
great sense of pride and hope to see young men actively
reach out and give back to their communities not only in
times of need, but on a regular basis.
Lastly, I want to leave you with something to think about.
The Sons are the future of AHEPA, but we are here now and
we need your support now to ensure the success of AHEPA in
the future. George, do you have the handbook? So in your
delegate package you should receive this Sons of Pericles
year-end report. This details all of the reports of the
supreme lodge members, what we’ve accomplished throughout
the year, recommendations, and just other information that
may be helpful to you.
Another thing, first page of the handbook it shows that we
tripled our membership in the past 18 months. Our lodge
members have been working hard to accomplish this and we
couldn’t have done it without the legislation that was
passed in Montreal. That just goes to show you the hard
work and what we can do with the support of the AHEPA
family.
And on the last page of the handbook, which I hope all of
you will take me up on this offer, is a mentorship profile
which you also receive now and a lifetime membership.
We’re going to be releasing the Sons of Pericles mentorship
database. What this is, it allows members of Sons of
Pericles to log into the database and see your career
information and contact you to get advice on what they want
to do in their career paths. If they want to be a lawyer,
they can ask you what the best school to go to is or what
the best practice they want to look into is. So I hope all
of you take me up on this offer, fill out the application,
fill out the mentorship profile, and get it back to us.
You can mail it to headquarters or you can give it to one
of us as we are walking around throughout the week.
Okay, one second. I have a special presentation I want to
make. So I was just talking about the membership tripling
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and all the hard work that the lodge put into this. One of
the reasons that we did, and one major reason, was the
motivation that we received from our national advisor,
Chris Economides. And I want to take this opportunity,
he’s always saying that he has every award possible, but I
think this is one that he probably doesn’t have. He
doesn’t have a set of his own jewels so I want to present
him with this. Mr. E, can you come up?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Gentlemen, please escort him up.
applause, everybody.
Round of
[Applause]
MR. NICOLOPOULOS: We couldn’t have done a lot of the work that
we did without Mr. E so that just goes to show you the
support we have from Ahepans like Mr. E. And we hope all
of you will show that same support.
MR. CHRIS ECONOMIDES, JR.: Thank you very much. I’m very, very
impressed and it’s making me almost get teary-eyed.
MALE VOICE 70:
[Interposing] Can’t hear you.
MR. ECONOMIDES: I’m getting a little bit emotional right this
minute because of something that I’ve got here in front of
me. My first slogan when I took over the Sons of Pericles
years ago was “Potential Is No Credential.” And for years,
that was their logo. We had a meeting in Washington and I
had a big part in this kid, I hadn’t seen him in 40 years.
I remembered his face but I didn’t remember his name. And
the first thing he said to me, he said, “Mr. E, potential
is no credential.” He said, “I got 12 guys working for me
and that’s what I tell them every morning.” And today,
gentlemen, it says, “Chris Economides, Jr./Potential is No
Credential.” And this is a surprise. Today our slogan is
that the Sons of Pericles are the rising suns of the order
of AHEPA and that’s the truth.
I made a speech somewhere yesterday that my name is
Economides and I have a son who has a daughter and they’re
not going to have any more children. My two daughters got
married and they have different names. So when my son
dies, the name Economides is no longer around. Some of you
may have the same problem I do. And it bothers me.
But to be honest with you, this is what we’re talking about
right here. If the AHEPA doesn’t have the Sons of
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139
Pericles, then they’re a family too. And that’s the reason
why our resolution has been so successful in allowing
children from 14-17 to come in. And you guys know all of
that. And I want you to know that this year with these
great guys behind me, we have more than tripled the Sons of
Pericles this past year. In fact, in about a month we will
have quadrupled it. We’ve got three more, and there is
going to be one in Charlotte, too. So we’ve got three more
ready to come in. Thank you very much.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: I think it’s the first time that we see that
there’s more Sons in the room than brother Ahepan
delegates. Let’s give them another round of applause.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: At this point in time, I’m going to call the
Supreme Vice President of the Sons to come forward, say a
few words briefly, because we are up against lunch, on
behalf of his president.
MR. SFINAROLAKIS: Hello brothers. I just wanted to say a few
words about this year. This year was an incredible year.
The results speak for themselves. Mr. E, he just got
recognized because he has done so much for us. But really,
I think we need to give a round of applause for Spiro
Nicolopoulos because without him, his hard work, his
sacrifices, and sometimes monetary sacrifices with his work
commitments. If it wasn’t for him, all this coordination,
all this work, all this results would have never happened.
So can we please take a moment to clap for Spiro
Nicolopoulos?
[Applause]
MR. SFINAROLAKIS: And I think the foundation has been laid by
this man and by the hard work of all of our Sons here
today. The foundation has been laid. It’s time to take
the bricks off. We have an amazing communication system in
place that Spiro put together. Our website,
www.SonsofPericles.com, is a great resource to find all the
forms that you’re going to need for any occasion. And we
have links to a newsletter where you can hear all the
information you need to hear on a monthly and weekly basis
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140
on anything you need to hear.
support.
So thank you for your
I also want to say one more thing. We do have cash raffles
here for our national project. It’s a 50/50 cash raffle.
We’re going to have a few of our guys coming around and
seeing if you guys would like to support our organization.
Tickets are 1/$25, 5/$110, and a book of 10/$200. So thank
you very much everybody, and we’ll be coming around
shortly. Thank you.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay Mr. Vice President, you’re not going to
be able to come around that shortly. But you can do it
during the luncheon, and you can do it certainly throughout
the course of the day tomorrow. Isn’t that correct,
Mr. Chair? And bring a lot of books. Any questions for
the Sons? Any questions for the Sons? We got two minutes
on the topic. Because these guys want to go play water
sports today. You guys want to be here right now, right?
You guys want to go have some fun. Right? Alright.
DR. SPARAS: Evan Sparas, District 10. I’ve been recently
appointed Sons Advisor for District 10. I need some input
from you. I applaud your efforts. You’ve done a terrific
job. You are our future. I need some input in terms our
relevancy as I asked the Maids of Athena, the relevancy and
what I can take back. Let’s say the University of
Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Wayne State, in
terms of how to bring these young people on board. And how
does it pull, take something that will make a difference in
terms of their lives? If you could do that now, or if you
could meet me later-MR. NICOLOPOULOS:
DR. SPARAS:
[Interposing] Sure.
I would really appreciate it.
MR. NICOLOPOULOS: I can do both. I’ll give you a brief talk
just so everyone else can hear it. Probably the best way
to get members would be through basketball. We have
basketball tournaments. We publicize them on the website
and everywhere else. Get a team. That helps us get our
members in the door, get them to get the word out about the
Sons of Pericles, get in their ear about who the Sons of
Pericles are. After that we have their information, we’ll
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141
continue to talk with them about the Sons of Pericles. And
hopefully they’ll be able to form chapters and grow like
all these young men from various chapters have grown. So
that’s one way. But we can definitely talk offline about
other ways and all that.
DR. SPARAS:
Thank you.
MR. NICOLOPOULOS: We’re also starting to form a blueprint for
college chapters. The Gainesville Chapter, which I
reactivated this past year, they’re at the University of
Florida. They’re supported by the local AHEPA chapter, but
they’re all college students; not all of them live in
Gainesville. But they help the AHEPA chapter 9-10 months
out of the year. The AHEPA chapter is very happy with what
they do. And that’s a good blueprint for us for getting
college chapters. I think that’s very important. Also,
one of the district advisors brought that to our attention
that he’s working to get more organized with college
chapters as well. So hopefully we’ll be able to have
something out to everyone about how to form a college
chapter and how to go down that road.
DR. SPARAS:
Okay.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay brothers, again our thanks to the Sons
of Pericles and to their president. And we move for the
adoption of the report. All in favor say aye.
ALL:
Aye
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Okay gentlemen, congratulations. Thank you.
And we’d like to hang out with you guys down at the beach.
Are we done?
MR. BETZELOS:
Yeah.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Mr. Chair?
MR. BETZELOS: Brothers, the time has come, your tummy is empty,
and it’s time to eat that free lunch that you paid for with
your package right next door. We are recessed until
9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning in the same room, 9:00 a.m.
sharp because we have a lot of committees that are going to
report that are going to take time. And we want the
membership here to be cognizant of what is happening with
legislative reports and the auditor’s report. Thank you
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142
very much. See you tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
now recessed.
We are
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July 21, 2011
143
Miami, FL
July 21, 2011
Afternoon session
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
AHEPA
July 21, 2011
144
DR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES: But, when they go to medical school-I’ve had students of mine who have gone on to medical
school and they only get one class in the second year,
pharmacology first semester, pharmacology second semester.
They don’t get a lot of training on the medications like,
say, a pharmacist does.
When you go to pharmacy school, you have to take
pharmacology which is the study of how the drug works. You
have to take pharmacognosy. You have to take medicinal
organic chemistry; you have to take pharmaceutics, you to
take pharmacokinetics. You have to take--and Brother
Matthew Lacroix here is actually a professor at the
University of New England’s College of Pharmacy, so if I
get out of bounds here or say anything about - - feel free
to correct me.
But doctors are not necessarily the experts. I think the
pharmacists are better suited to talk about the drugs than
necessarily the doctors, certainly drug food interactions.
Drugs and foods can actually have interactions. So, for
example, a simvastatin which is one of the cholesterol
lowering drugs has an interaction with grapefruit. There’s
a specific enzyme in grapefruit that, again, inhibits the
metabolism of the drug. So what happens is instead of
taking drugs and getting the normal blood level that might
be here, when you take it with grapefruit the drug level is
higher, so now it’s almost like taking fourfold of that
medication and it causes you to have all of the side
effects that you might have with taking too much
medication.
So it’s always important to make sure that you read any
literature that the pharmacist gives you or even ask
questions. I always tell people call the pharmacy and ask
questions because the pharmacist will be able to fill you
in.
And then there are good times to call the pharmacy and
there are bad times to call the pharmacy. My experience is
Monday mornings is one of the busiest times in the
pharmacy. You don’t want to go to call the pharmacist at 9
o’clock on Monday morning because everybody from the
weekend waited to bring in their prescription. So Monday
morning is a very busy time. Also Friday afternoons was
always a busy time. People would get their paychecks;
they’d want to come in. They’d want to pick up their
medicine. And the day before a snowstorm, if anybody was
predicting a blizzard, that day before it was non-stop from
morning to night. So those are the bad times.
The good times is usually Wednesday afternoons because most
of the doctors are on, I wouldn’t say vacation, they’re on
a day off. On Wednesday afternoons they are at the golf
course or Sunday afternoons are usually slow times at the
pharmacy. So those are the two best times if you want to
have a nice long discussion with your pharmacist.
Drug and alcohol. Drugs like Valium, Xanax, Librium, those
are tranquilizers. Not a good idea to be taken with
alcohol because alcohol suppresses the respiratory
condition so that the tranquilizers--there’s almost like an
additive effect that happens so you won’t--I used to have
people who would come into the pharmacy say, “Look, I’m
going to a wedding and I usually take a tranquilizer, but I
want to have, you know, some champagne. I want to have a
few drinks. What should I do?” I go, well, if you’re
going to go to a wedding, leave the pills in the bottle,
just take the alcohol and that will relax you. You won’t
need the pills.
Drug and diseases, obviously, some drugs can impact certain
things. So if you have an ulcer and you’re taking Advil or
Ibuprofen those are going to cause your ulcer to get worse
because those are drugs that are irritating to the stomach
lining. And so if you have that condition and you add that
drug into your regimen every day, you will further irritate
your condition.
And the last thing is drug and lab work. A lot of drugs
can be affected by lab work. So people who are on
Coumadin, people who are on Coumadin there’s a specific
level that you have to be on to have a benefit from the
Coumadin level. Coumadin levels are usually between two
and three. And this is a great story that I have personal
experience with. I was working in a Coumadin clinic where
we monitored everybody’s Coumadin levels. Is there anybody
on Coumadin at all? So the Coumadin--and so if I’m wrong,
tell me I’m wrong. So you have to go in and you have to
have your blood work checked. Certain level has to be
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146
between two and three. If you’re over three, your blood is
too thin and you’re at risk of hemorrhaging. If you’re
under two, your blood is too thick and it’s like not taking
the drug at all. Usually people who are not on the drug at
all, their blood levels are one.
So what happened is, I had this one young girl, 21 years
old, came in and started on Coumadin because she had some
blood clots in her leg. Put her on the medication, the
doctor did, and I was counseling on how to take it and all
this. So I instructed her to, you know, make sure you
don’t take it with, you know, any green, leafy vegetables.
Make sure you don’t drink any alcohol. Make sure you take
it every day. It’s very important. And so a week later
she came in. A week later came and she came in, and we
checked her level, it was like 1.0 which is like there’s no
drug in your system.
So I asked her, did you take it every day? Oh yes, I took
it every day. Did you take any other drugs? No, I didn’t
take any other drugs. This is the only one I take. Okay,
well let’s increase the dose, and we’ll have you come back
next week.
Comes back next week, 1.0. I’m like did you take the drug?
Oh yes, just every day. I go really? You took it every
day? Did you take any other drugs at all? No, I didn’t
take any other drugs. Okay, so we increased it, brought
her back the next week. Next week, she’s 1.0 again. This
is three weeks now with 1.0. Did you take it? Took it
every day. And the green leafy vegetables, did you have a
lot of spinach because the spinach has a lot of Vitamin K
in it. Or in the case of--this is actually the antidote
for Coumadin, and it actually brings down the levels. No,
no, no I didn’t have any. Did you have any kale? Did you
have any watercress? Did you have anything green? No, no,
no. So, I said what do you have for breakfast? I have
cereal. And I said well, okay. What do you have for
lunch? Well, I had a sandwich and this and that. So this
number is stuck in your head. So I said what else did you
have for lunch? Well I did have these two big things of
green tea. There is more Vitamin K in a bottle of green
tea than there are any over-the-counter vitamins on the
market and actually some doctors, when have you overdose on
Coumadin, will give you a bottle of green tea to bring down
the levels.
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So by her having those two big bottles of green tea every
day, she was suppressing the Coumadin and not allowing it
to work. So once we figured that out, it made trying to
get her to a normal level very easy. But it almost took
three weeks for us to be able to figure out why is she
getting this drug every day and we’re seeing no different
change in the blood levels?
Side effects. Every drug has a side effect. Most of them
have multiple, multiple side effects. Don’t get scared by
pages of side effects with the itty-bitty print that the
pharmacist gives you. You know, they have to list every
side effect by the FDA, every side effect ever recorded.
So if it happens to one or two people or if it happens one
in 10 million people, it’s going to be on that sheet. So
don’t let the sheet intimidate you.
The other thing to know is that there’s a difference, and
every drug and every side effect is different. I may take
a drug and I might get an upset stomach or stomachache.
Somebody else might take your drug and they might get a
headache. Somebody else might take a drug and they might
get a cough.
There are a couple of drugs like ramparil, actually called
the ACE inhibitors. So ACE inhibitors, which are like
Captopril, Monopril, Fosinopril, it’s a blood pressure
drug. And we actually know, we’ve been able to gather
literature that people who are on these drugs will develop
a cough. It’s a dry, hacky cough, not too bad - - , but
it’s going to be annoying as all heck. And it’s going to
be something that most people--some people may not be able
to tolerate. About three out of 10 people will develop
that cough. Not a bad thing, but it’s going to get
annoying. So some people don’t want it so we change their
medication. Some people don’t mind it and we keep them on
the medication. Side effects don’t occur in everybody.
Somebody might get a side effect, the same person next to
them might not. Make sure you notify your doctor when you
do get a side effect.
Another thing that’s important is there’s a difference, and
the next slide I think it’s on allergies, but there’s a
difference between an allergy and a side effect. Okay, if
you get a side effect, we can give you something to treat
the side effect or sometimes the side effects may go away.
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So you may have something that may stay--you might have
something that may bother you for the first, say, some side
effects of the drugs are insomnia. So you may take the
drug and for the first couple of weeks you might have
insomnia, but over time it will go away.
When you have an allergy, that is not going to go away. If
you have an allergy to a drug, an allergy will be like
hives all over your body or be like you’re feeling
constricted in your throat, might be, like, bronchospasms.
Those will not go away and those actually may get worse.
Actually some drugs, and there’s a drug that was taken off
the market a while back that when the person took the first
dose nothing happened, but when they took the second pill,
they had a severe allergic reaction that required them to
go to the hospital. Zomax was the name of the drug and
they took it off the market because everybody was having
this second dose reactions to the drug.
So it’s important to notify your doctor of a side effect
versus an allergy. It used to be funny because when I
would work in a drugstore, you would ask people, are you
allergic to any medication? And so what happened is people
would say, oh yes, I can’t take that codeine, I’m allergic
to it. It’s a horrible drug. Oh what happens to you when
you would take that. Oh I get constipated.
Not an allergy to the drug. If you get constipated
give you another medication, a stool softener. You
have some Metamucil. You can drink lots of fluid.
clear up the constipation. So it’s always important
figure out if it’s a side effect or is it really an
allergy.
we can
can
You can
that we
Knowing your medications, each drug has two names. There’s
the brand name, the glitzy name that you see on the TV,
Zyrtec, Vytorin, Lipitor, all of those drugs have - - name,
but there’s also the chemical name. So the chemical name
for Lipitor is atorvastatin. The chemical name for Zocor
is simvastatin The chemical name for Diovan is valsartin.
Every drug has two names.
The chemical name is what the FDA goes by. That’s how they
determine what the - - is and so that’s very important.
The other name is just easy for the doctors to write.
There’s a lot of Z drugs, for some reason the drug
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companies love Z drugs because it’s easier for the doctors
to write Z’s. Only one J drug. I don’t know why J’s
aren’t popular, but Z’s are.
So it’s important to know the name. I used to work in a
drugstore and people would come in and say, “Hey I’m taking
this little white pill, can you tell me what it is?” Most
pills are little, round and white. It’s not easy for the
pharmacist to figure out which one it is unless we start
looking up the numbers on the drugs. So actually I had
somebody ask me yesterday at the awards luncheon, they
said, “Hey, can you tell me if this is Lipitor? I can’t
remember if this is my Lipitor or not.”
So every drug has a different strength. You should really-you should write a little index card and keep track in
your pocketbooks or in your wallet, the name, the strength
and how often you take the drug because if something
happens to you, if you’re traveling, you’re away and, you
know, you need to explain to some other doctor who’s not
your normal doctor, at least you have a list that you can
give them so that they can see what you’re on so that if
something happens because of the drug, they can say oh
yeah, you know what? This might be because of your taking
this medication. So it’s very important that you keep a
little list somewhere so that somebody when you’re
traveling can identify what medications you’re on and how
they might be affecting you.
So know the strength, know the shape, know the color. Even
the color is important because some drugs like Coumadin
come in multiple colors. So that way if you could say I’m
on the peach colored Coumadin, we could say oh yeah that’s
the 5 milligram strength. Or if you’re on the lime green
color Coumadin, that’s the 7-1/2 milligram strength.
Know what it’s used for. It’s amazing to me how many times
I go, when I was working in a drugstore, people would--I
would say, you know, why are you taking this medication?
Well, I don’t know, my doctor gave it to me. Is it for
your blood pressure? Well, I’m not sure. Is it for
headaches? I’m not sure. So always ask the question, why
am I taking this prescription? Is it for my blood
pressure? Is it because I have tingling in the fingers?
Is it because you have some kind of a pain? Is it to help
to open up the arteries or the blood vessels around your
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heart so it’s something like nitroglycerin?
afraid to ask the questions of your doctor.
taking this?
Don’t be
Why am I
Taking your - - medication is--the medications don’t work
if you don’t take them. Compliance is very important.
Some medications need to be--all medications most of the
time, you know, need to be taken every day. And there are
certain people who just think, oh you know I’ll stop,
they’re like asthmatics are really the most wonderful
people. People who have asthma have to take an inhaler
every day to maintain that their lungs function correctly.
But what happens is, people who have asthma sometimes will
feel better for two or three days so they’ll just stop,
take these little holidays. And so then three days later
when all of a sudden their chest tightens up and they can’t
breathe because they haven’t taken it for three days. You
need to come up with a system to remind yourself how to
take--what’s the best way to take that medication.
So nowadays they try to make it easy. They’ll do
automatic--some of the mail order people will send you a
prescription to your house so you don’t even have to go to
the pharmacy. Every 30 days or every 90 days they’ll ship
you something so that you’ll remember to take it.
Another thing is the little pill boxes. So they have,
like, a little pill box with a little piece of plastic and
it has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. My Uncle
Steve, God rest his soul, he was on like 27 different
pills. So my cousin had got him like a little fishing
tackle box and it had like one, two, three, four rows and
seven across. So it was 28 different little compartments
that you could put in his different pills because he’d have
something for his diabetes in the morning, something for
his congestive heart failure in the afternoon, something to
help him sleep, something for his osteoporosis. It was
just like--but somehow he made it You leave it by the
kitchen table, so every morning you go by the kitchen table
you remember to take it, or you leave it by your nightstand
at bed and so somehow you would remember, you know, you
kind of set up a system so that you remember every morning
at such-and-such a time, or every lunchtime at such-andsuch a time, I’m going to take that medication.
Does anybody have any questions?
Feel free to interrupt me
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because I’m used to talking, so I could just go on forever.
FEMALE VOICE 1: I don’t know, you might be covering it.
important is it when you take it?
How
DR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES: Very important when to take it.
Certain medications it doesn’t matter. So the question
was, how important is it when to take your pills? Certain
medications, very important. So we talked about the statin
drugs, very important for you to take them in the evening.
Blood pressure drugs, most of the time in the morning, but
some of them in the evening. But the best thing to do is
to ask the pharmacist and say, “Hey look, when should I
take it?” Some of them don’t matter, but some of them do,
so you kind of have to take each drug by drug to figure out
which time is the best time.
So compliance, make sure you take them every day, don’t run
out. Oh, and the other thing is--and I’ll move to the next
slide--plan ahead if you’re going to be going on vacations.
I’ve known many people who have, like, gone on vacation.
They’ve packed their drugs or medication in their luggage
that they check on board and their luggage ends up in
Hawaii and they were supposed to come to Florida, so now
they don’t have their pills for the week. Always bring it
on your carry-on and make sure you store it correctly.
Usually between some layers of clothes or if it’s like
insulin and stuff, insulin needs to be refrigerated. But
if you’re going on a plane, obviously you might not be able
to have--you know, you might have a little cold pack or
sometimes if you could just keep it between some layers of
clothes that will keep it cool enough so that the two hours
or four hours you’re on a plane ride, nothing will happen
to the medication.
Samples, I’ll talk a little bit about samples. Samples are
good and bad. The good part is they’re free. The bad part
is that drug companies love to get you to take their
samples because they sample only the newest drug which is
the most expensive drug. So they only sample them because
they want you to be on the most expensive drug that they
know that you’re going to get a prescription for over and
over and over and over again. And unless your doctor is
going to keep giving you samples every month, eventually
when you go to that pharmacy to fill that prescription,
it’s going to cost you in the long run.
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It’s funny, Lipitor now, because the patent on Lipitor
expires in November of this year, they’re starting to stop
the samples of Lipitor because they know that the drug is
not--they don’t even write prescriptions for it. It’s
going to be going generic. So Pfizer, they’ve made their
$16 billion a year on their Lipitor. They don’t need to
give out any more samples anymore.
MALE VOICE 1:
I’ve got a question for you John?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Yes.
MALE VOICE 1: Why do pharmaceutical companies advertise when
you cannot buy it without going to the doctor to get it?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Because they have learned that you the
consumer, you the patient will go to your doctor and ask
for it. And that many people will go, “I saw this
commercial on TV for this drug for cholesterol. Can you
write this for me?” And a lot of doctors are afraid to say
no. They will--if you ask them for a particular thing,
they want to keep you happy. They don’t want to lose your
business. They’re going to write that prescription for
you.
MALE VOICE 1: Yes, but my point is, why not give the money to
the senior citizens or those people instead of spending
money on TV?
DR GROSSOMANIDES: You know, I remember when they passed the
legislation in 1990 to allow it--because up until 1990 they
didn’t have commercials on TV for drugs.
MALE VOICE 1:
[Interposing] That’s right.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And in 1990 they passed into law in the
United States to allow it. And that really changed, and we
argued this because I remember the American Pharmacists
Association argued against it. They were - - and they
lobbied against it because they thought exactly what is
happening now is what would happen, that people were going
to start asking for those drugs. They’re the more
expensive drugs. They’re not the cheapest drugs and it’s
going to drive up the cost of health care. And that’s
exactly what happened. And now they’re trying to repeal
it, but I don’t know how that’s going to work because it
would be better if they don’t spend a lot of money on
commercials. But it’s not the money they spend on the
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153
commercials, it’s the influence that they have on the
consumer that costs more money.
MALE VOICE 1: I would think if they put all that they spent on
TV, they could lower the price for the drugs.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: If they lowered the price, it would only be
pennies. They don’t spend that much money on the
commercials. It’s more the downstream effect of the
advertising. Yes.
MALE VOICE 1:
[Interposing] All right thank you.
FEMALE VOICE 2: I want to go back to your samples thing. You
know several times my doctor has given me samples and I
have appreciated it because, of course, it is free. But
you know, she failed to tell me how to take it. And she
didn’t write anything down, and I got home and I thought
wait a minute, she didn’t say anything.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
FEMALE VOICE 2:
And there’s nothing on there.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
FEMALE VOICE 2:
And there’s no prescription on it.
There’s no labeling.
No.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Yes.
FEMALE VOICE 2: So I had to go back--call back and say wait a
minute you failed to tell me how to take this.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Yes, that’s a good point.
samples that are kind of good and bad.
FEMALE VOICE 2:
That’s why I see
[Interposing] Yes.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And I think to me personally they are
actually more bad than good. And a lot of doctors in some
states are stopping to take samples for those reasons
because technically they are supposed to keep track of the
lot and expiration date of that sample because if there’s
ever a drug recall, they’re supposed to be able to
identify, oh I gave lot number one, two, three, four to
Mrs. Smith. And that’s now it’s been a recall drug. I’d
need to be able to get that back from her. So that’s what
they should do, doesn’t always happen in real life.
MALE VOICE 2:
Do you have a…
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154
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Yes?
MALE VOICE 2: Do you have an effect from taking nonprescription drugs - - ?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Absolutely. The question was can you have
an effect by taking non-prescription drugs? The over-thecounter drugs, the herbal drugs can have just as big of an
influence on your other medication of prescription as the
prescription drugs. So there are those interactions with
over-the-counter drugs. So for example, let’s see,
tetracycline, antibiotic, there is a drug interaction
between tetracycline and calcium pills. O calcium pills
are over-the-counter. If you take a calcium pill or
magnesium pill with a tetracycline what happens is there is
a chelation binding effect that happens and it inactivates
the drug. There is no benefit to the drug whatsoever. So
to answer your point, yes, the over-the-counter drugs can
affect other prescription drugs.
MALE VOICE 2:
Can the pharmacist tell me that?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Your pharmacist would absolutely be able to
tell you that. And herbal drugs are the same way. There
are a lot of herbal drugs out between saw palmetto and
flaxseed and redFEMALE VOICE 2:
[Interposing] Red yeast.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: -yeast that can also have drug interactions
because those have components that will also influence
the - - . So you always need to ask your pharmacist not
only about the prescription stuff, but also about the overthe-counter stuff.
So anyway, this if you’re going on vacation make sure you
have your prescriptions with you because you wouldn’t want
to be walking down New York City and your drugs be back at
home someplace--or in Greece.
What do you do if you miss a dose, because a lot of times
you forget? You know what? I’m at a convention. I’m
busy, running around like that. I forget to take my blood
pressure pill. It’s very important that you take it as
soon as possible. So if you take a pill once a day at 9:00
and now it’s 3:00 in the afternoon, it’s okay to take it at
3:00 in the afternoon. Where it gets tricky is, now I take
a pill that’s twice a day medication. I’m supposed to take
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155
it at 9:00 in the morning and I’m supposed to take it at
5:00 at night. Now it’s 3:00 in the afternoon. I’m
supposed to take the next one at 5 o’clock. You want to
make sure that you keep the spacing the same.
So if it’s supposed to be eight hours between the first
pill and the second pill, it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon
and you take that first pill, you cannot take that second
pill at 5 o’clock because what happens is it’s going to be
an additive effect. It’s like taking two pills at once at
that time. So if you’re taking something for blood
pressure, it’s going to lower your blood pressure twice as
much. If you’re taking something for diabetes, it’s going
to lower your diabetes twice as much. So you need to make
sure that if you take it late that you take that second one
late. Or if you’re taking a pill that’s three times a day,
that you also maintain that same, you know, three, four,
five hours between each of the drugs. Otherwise you’re
going to have an additive effect and it may cause you to
have more side effects because you’ve taken too much too
fast.
And I always say never double up, so you never want to take
two at the same time. Take it as soon as possible after
you remember and if you have any doubts, make sure you call
your pharmacist and ask them what to do.
How to store things? I like to try to keep them in the
original containers because that way when someone comes up
to me and says what’s this little white pill at least I can
explain it. If you have it in a little napkin, it’s a
little bit harder for me to figure out what it is.
Although my mother likes to keep it in a little napkin in
her pocketbook, it does make it a little more of a
challenge. Keep them out of reach of children. Always
store your medications in a cool, dry place away from the
sunlight. And actually the worst invention known to
mankind is the medicine cabinet because everybody has the
medicine cabinets in the bathroom. What happens in the
bathroom? You take a shower, all of the steam, all of the
moisture, that can actually break down the composition of
the tablets because some of the tablets are just pressed
powder. And all of the moisture that gets into those pills
can actually cause them to disintegrate. Aspirin is
another one that disintegrates very easily.
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156
How do you know when you have a bad bottle of aspirin?
Does anybody know how you do that? When aspirin breaks
downFEMALE VOICE 3:
[Interposing] The odor and–
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: The odor. Ding, ding, ding. [Applause] You
win. Give that lady a prize. What happens is, when
aspirin breaks down, aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid.
Acetylsalicylic acid, when it breaks down, it breaks down
into acetic acid. Does anybody know what acetic acid is?
If I give you the regular name, the common name? Vinegar.
So when an aspirin smells like vinegar that’s when you know
it’s time for it to go in the garbage.
So destroy any old things. Get--you know there’s an
expiration date on those pills or the bottle for a reason,
you know? Say they’re - - January 1, 2013. What does that
mean? That means that the FDA has tested the medication
and that there is 95% potency of that medication up until
that date. So does at that stage mean it dropped down to
zero? Probably not. You probably have some life still to
it. But six months from now, now it’s next July, what does
that mean? Well, gee it was 95% in January. It could be
40%. It could be 30%. It could be 75%. We just don’t
know. So that’s why we usually recommend that after a
certain time, two, three, four months after the expiration
date, it’s probably a good idea to get rid of them because
we don’t know how much life they have, those pills will
have left in them.
And there’s some medications that actually will be toxic.
They’re actually liver toxins and so a drug like
Tetracycline will actually have toxic metabolites that form
when they get old. So it’s very important you dispose of
them. I used to say to take them and flush them down the
toilet. Makes sense, you know - - ?
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Well, I had a Greek friend from Columbia,
South Carolina, who worked for the Environmental Department
for the State of South Carolina. And so one day we’re
talking about - - . We’re talking about other things, and
he’s telling me how he’s doing these testings and
screenings of different lakes and stuff like that. And
he’s telling me about the PCBs and stuff like that. But
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then he’s telling me, he goes, “You know John, you’re a
pharmacist. You’d be interested in this.” He goes, “There
are higher levels of opiate derivatives in fishes, in
streams and in the lakes and stuff like that because so
many people are washing their OxyContins and codeine pills
down the toilet that they’re actually starting to see
increases in the parts per million of the opium level,
opium derivatives of the drugs.” So now I do not--say do
not use the toilet any more. Now, I say put it in, like, a
can, like a coffee can or old cereal box and wrap it up,
kind of hide it in the trash and throw it in the landfill.
Yes?
FEMALE VOICE 4:
We take it to our pharmacy.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 3:
now.
Yes, a lot of pharmacies now.
[Interposing] We’re going--we’re helping you - -
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: My two pharmacist friends, who are also
brother AHEPANs.
MALE VOICE 3: So most states have drug take back laws now
because they don’t want the medication to endanger the
environment. So some states require pharmacies to take
back any medication that is unused. Other states have
envelopes where you mail it in. And in every state, the
DEA will actually sponsor drug take back days which is the
same as household hazardous waste. Essentially it’s the
same type of idea. So John had a great idea, keep it in a
coffee can, keep it in a safe place, but usually there’ll
be very well advertised drug take back days where you can
turn the medication in to usually a pharmacy, pharmacy
school or a larger gathering place where people can collect
medication and dispose of it properly so it’s not getting
into the environment so our fish aren’t high on drugs and
whatever [phonetic].
MR. MATT LACROIX: Now, if you don’t want to do that, another
alternative is to take a plastic bag and put all the pills
that you want to get rid of in a plastic bag. You put that
on a cutting board and you use either a meat tenderizer or
a rolling pin and then crush the tablets. Okay? Because
what you’re trying to do is make it unusable. You don’t
want some kid to go through your trash or you don’t want
the trash guy when he gets to the dump to have this big bag
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of blue pills or whatever.
So once you crush them, you can add one of three things.
You can add used coffee grinds, kitty litter, sand or even
sawdust to the bag so that now it’s unusable. So you have
the powder from the pills and you have this coffee grinds
in it. If you have expired cough medicine, you can then
pour that into the kitty litter or whatever and then just
put it in your regular trash like the night before you’re
going to get picked up. So it’s not sitting there for days
and days so some raccoon doesn’t get into it or some kid
going through your trash. So that’s the cheapest and the
easiest way to do it. It’s not a perfect system, but at
least it’ll sit in the landfill and have a chance to break
down rather than go right into the water treatment plant,
which is not set up to take drugs out of the water. Just
like you’re not supposed to pour paint down the drain
anymore, my grandmother thought it was the sump–
MALE VOICE 5:
Or grease.
MALE VOICE 4:
Or grease, you know, what you do with that one.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Sharing. Sharing of medications, not a good
idea. I hear a lot of people, oh wait I think I have some
samples left over from something else that I had. Here,
please try these. Not a good idea because you don’t know
if they have allergies. You don’t know what other drugs
they might have for drug interactions. So sharing of
another medication is frowned upon. We don’t encourage it
because you just don’t know what the possible outcomes will
be.
They are a drug, we’ve talked about it, vitamins, herbal
drugs, over-the-counter drugs, not saying not to use them,
but as we say, - - [Greek audio], use in moderation. You
don’t want to over use the vitamins. You don’t want to
over use the herbal products because they do have side
effects as well.
Vitamin B and C are water soluble. You can take as much as
you want of those. Your body will normally eliminate it.
It gets eliminated through the kidneys. No way you could
ever overdose on vitamin B and C. Vitamins A, D and E
however, those are fat soluble vitamins. So those can
actually get stored in the adipose tissue in the body. You
can actually--will overdose if you take too much of those.
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Herbal products, this is just an example of some of the
different herbal products out, kava-kava, ginseng,
glucosamine, very popular. Glucosamine, a lot of people
with arthritis use to help with the pain in the joints.
Saw palmetto is an herbal product used for prostrate
problems. Melatonin is an old herbal product that is used
to help people with sleep. But it always something if
you’re going to take these, make sure you let the doctor
know and make sure you let the pharmacist know.
No, I’m going to go to generics. Generics. Generics are-and any doctor will debate this because doctors hate
generics. Pharmacists love generics. Generics is the cost
savings that anybody can help to get, you know, if you want
to reduce the spend of your medications and how much you
spend, getting on a generic medication will save you money.
Generics nowadays you go to Walmart or Walgreens and they
have, like, $4 generics. You can get a cholesterol pill for
$4 a month. You can get a blood pressure pill for $4 a
month. If you have reflux you can get a proton-pump
inhibitor so the Prilosec has gone generic. These drugs
are really where you have the best opportunity to save some
money.
A lot of people are nervous about generics, oh am I getting
the same thing with that genetics [sic] stuff? Those don’t
work. The FDA requires the generic companies to follow the
same production guidelines, the same manufacturing
guidelines as the original company once that patent has
expired. So once Lipitor’s patent expires, any company,
any generic company can go grab the recipe, let’s say, from
the FDA, follow that same recipe and make it the same way
that Pfizer made it for the last 20 years.
There’s a book called the orange book that the FDA puts
out. It’s what you can compare your generic to what the
brand name is. You could go in there and look up the
generic name of any drug and company and see if it’s AB
rated to the manufacturer’s original product. If it’s AB
rated to the original product, then the FDA has evaluated
it and found it to be bioequivalent. And you can always
ask your pharmacist, is this an AB rated drug. Brother
Pete?
PETE:
How long does it take for a drug to become eligible to be
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a generic?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Yes. Great question. The question is how
long does it take before it goes generic? It used to be 17
years from the time they invented the patent and filed it
with the FDA. Now, 17 years doesn’t mean on the market for
17 years. It means when they invented it in the lab and
filed the patent. So if it takes them seven years to get
the drug from the lab to market, they would have 10 years
on the market. Now it’s they’ve actually expanded it to 20
years. So if it takes five years to get from the lab to
the market, they have 15 years. If it takes them 15 years
to do the research, then they only have five years. So it
varies based on the time they file the patent until the
time that 20 years is up.
PETE:
How do you find that out?
it’s a-
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
PETE:
I mean how can you find if
[Interposing] A drug-
[Interposing]--drug has gone to a-
MALE VOICE 4: [Interposing] Drugs@FDA or FDA.org.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Usually you can go on the FDA Web site, but
there are some pharmaceutical news services that will, if
you type in patent expiration, it will tell you what
patents are expiring for that particular year.
PETE:
[Interposing] I’ve been trying to get Aciphex.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
PETE:
Aciphex doesn’t expire for a long time.
[Interposing] Yes, I know. The day after I die.
[Laughter]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
left.
Three more years left.
Three more years
FEMALE VOICE: I have found that even in between generic drugs
that if I take ibuprofen that has one numbering on it, it
does not work on me. But if it has the numbers one, three,
seven by a different manufacturer, it does work on me.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Yes, obviously there is bioavailability
differences. And that happens here with prescription
drugs.
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FEMALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Yes.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: When they manufacture the drugs, they have
to have potency range between 110% and 90%. It’s not
always 100% potent for every pill because when they make a
batch, it’s like making a batch of houlaka [phonetic].
Sometimes in fact this one has a little bit more flour,
this one a little bit more sugar so you don’t know, when
you’re making it how it’s going to disperse. So that’s why
when they get approved and they do the quality testing,
they have a range of which they allow. The same thing
happens for the generics. As long as it’s within that
range, it’s okay. So one day you may have one that’s got
105% potency. The next one you have one that’s 93%
potency. So there are fluctuations and that is deemed
appropriate through the FDA.
FEMALE VOICE: The pharmacist told me to keep track of who makes
it and then when I order it, ask for that manufacturer.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Brother Nick?
NICK:
Right, great idea. Yes,
On the patent, I thought that patent duration went from
the date of approval, from the date of issue–
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
NICK:
Right, great idea.
[Interposing] No.
–for 20 years contract-
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE 4: [Interposing] The day they file they get issued.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 4:
The date of filing with the FDA.
[Interposing] It’s the day-
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] So whatever they file-
MALE VOICE 4: [Interposing] The day that the entity is
patented.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: The date of the patent. So if I bring a
patent to the drug today that’s when they start the clock.
NICK:
[Interposing] I’ll be damned.
fifty - - .
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Four minutes.
We’ve got forty or
I don’t know.
Yes.
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July 22, 2011
162
NICK:
As far as I know the date of issue so-
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
FDA?
NICK:
When you say issue, you mean issued by the
No, issued by the patent office.
MALE VOICE 4:
[Interposing] No.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 4:
I’m not sure.
- - ?
[Interposing] No.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
[Interposing] I research [phonetic] drugs-
MALE VOICE 3: [Interposing] I mean there’s a couple different-there’s a couple of different kind of uses. There’s use
patents and then there’s the moiety. When they patent the
moiety, the drugDR. GROSSOMANIDES:
MALE VOICE 3:
That’s when the clock starts.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And then they may have additional patents.
This is where the drug companies love to get tricky because
not only did they file a patent on the actual chemical,
they actually file--if the drug has a coating on it, they
file a patent on the coating. If it’s a certain color and
they use a specific color, they’ll patent a color. So when
their drug expires, sometimes you see these long patent
expiration rights. Like, I’ll give you an example, and
I’ll get to you in one second. When Prilosec, the original
purple pill was patent expiring, they had a team of 20
lawyers fighting the patent because they didn’t want to
lose the patent on Prilosec.
And somebody from Astra-Zeneca, who makes Prilosec told me
for every day that they were able to stave off the patent,
they made another million dollars. And so they patent
everything, the color, the coating, the shape. That’s why
you notice some drugs have different shapes, they’re
octagons or pentagons. They patent everything because they
try to extend their patent life as much as they can.
MALE VOICE 7:
John, John, John, the patient - - .
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
NIKOS:
Okay.
Brother Nikos [phonetic]?
How can you say you work a drugstore right now, the
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July 22, 2011
163
pharmacist cannot - - prescription reaction to Retin-A
versus a generic or even an over-the-counter? How do you
say what kind of reaction?
[Crosstalk]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
NIKOS:
Well–
[Interposing] If it was Retin-A?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: –I think what you always have to do is let
the pharmacist know all of the medications you’re on,
because when they put those prescriptions in the computer,
they can check to see now, real time, what interacts with
what. So it’s important to go to one pharmacy, because if
you go to CVS one day and Walgreens the next day and
Walmart the third day, those computers do not talk to each
other.
So you need to go to one pharmacy and have all your
prescriptions at one pharmacy because that way that
pharmacist can look it up and say, oh gee, you’re on
Lipitor. You’re on atenolol. You’re on
hydrochlorothiazide. Are all those together? Yes, you can
take those pills you’ve got. So by going to one, people
get what we tell you.
FEMALE VOICE: I was just going to say how long before we get
drugs that match our metabolism rates, because I know they
found that tamoxifen and with Paxil that if you don’t have
the stuff to metabolize it, it just goes right out. How
long before theyDR. GROSSOMANIDES: [Interposing] Yes, they do a lot of
research. They’re doing a lot of lot of stuff now and
especially with genetic testing to see even if the drugs
work in certain people. So they’re getting better at it,
but it’s still in its infancy really as far as being able
to do biogenomics things and pharmacogenomics. It’s
coming, but probably five years away really the science
being - - .
Another thing that drug companies love to do and I’m going
to say one more last point. Drug companies love to play
with their drugs. So for example, people who are taking
Claritin they remember the Claritin and Clarinex. This is
how smart the drug companies are.
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July 22, 2011
164
So you have this big chemical structure and it was called-and it had this little tail on it, and that’s what Claritin
was. And when Schering was losing its patent on Claritin
they said oh gee, we’re going to lose a billion dollars a
year. So we need to do something to keep the money coming
in. What are we going to do? So they invented this drug
called Clarinex. And the difference between Clarinex and
Claritin was that, you know the little tail on Claritin?
Well Schering decided we’re going to cut off that little
methyl group at the end here and we’re going to call it
Clarinex. And it’s going to be a new drug and we’re going
to get a new patent on it, and we’re going to get another
20 years. And what they didn’t tell you was that if you
had taken the Claritin, the original one with the tail,
your body on its own, would have cut off that little tail.
So because they saved you a half an hour of time that your
body would have done something on its own, they have
another drug that they have another $500 million for
another 10 years.
MALE VOICE 8:
Two quick things–
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Two quick questions, and I know we have to
get back to general session, soMALE VOICE 3: Okay. Two quick things. There are two
pharmacists in the room that aren’t running for Supreme
President.
[Laughter]
MALE VOICE 3: So what we will do is Matt and I will wait
outside the room because we’re running up against other
things on the schedule. And we will stand around and
answer your questions until you guys--we could talk you
out.
MR. LACROIX:
If anybody has any specific questions feel free–
MALE VOICE 3: Yes, the other one is that what really scares
as pharmacists is the information that you guys get, so
you’re like my wife, you’re on the web all the time.
WebMD, drugs@whatever, Harvey’s drug information blog.
and start at the FDA website. So it’s www.fda.gov, and
it’s a really easy website, all your tax money--there’s
lot of Obamacare money going to that website, so start
there. Okay?
us
if
Go
a
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
165
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And one last slide, I want to show you since
we are in Florida, certain medications will make you more
susceptible to sunburn. So right here is a list of
medications because if you’re taking any of these
particular drugs, you might go outside in your home and you
might not have any problems. If you’re on any of these
medications and you’re walking around Florida, you do
become more susceptible to sunburn. Your sunburn time is
reduced if you’re taking any of these particular
medications. So some antibiotics like the quinolones,
sulfa drugs, amiodarone, quinidine will make you more
photo-sensitive.
So I want to at least thank you for your time today. I
want to thank everybody for coming. I hope it was
informational to everybody, and we’ll try to hopefully do
it again next year. Thank you.
[Applause]
MALE VOICE 3:
You got any buttons?
We’ll get them out, too.
[Crosstalk]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Kalimera [Greek audio].
How’s everybody?
MALE VOICE 10: Good morning. Oh, you’ve got your coffee.
You’ve got your water. You’ve got your koulourakia [Greek
audio]?
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
- - I have to - - and burn a cigarette?
Do whatever you’re - - .
- - in two minutes, Tom.
Don’t worry.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Take 20.
We’ve got--oh, no, no.
MALE VOICE: We’ve got the Chair holding down the fort.
should be okay.
We
[Crosstalk]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay, because want to get started. It’s in the
hallway there. Get it and then we’ll start moving the
program. I would like some of you to move over here to the
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
166
center of the room so we can see what your reactions are
when various programs and thoughts are transmitted to you.
[Crosstalk]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Put that microphone on the floor.
out there. No further out, back.
The microphone
[Crosstalk]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Ready for a big day, boss?
I’m ready.
Go.
[Gavel banging]
MR. CHAIRMAN: We will now open the Thursday morning session
here and proceed with the report of the Resolutions
Committee.
MR. KOCHEVAR:
MALE VOICE:
Gentlemen, here are copies of my reports.
Oh, my gosh.
MR. KOCHEVAR: There are five resolutions. There was some
grammatical errors that I noticed I didn’t fix. I will
remake the reports and make sure you have the right copies.
MALE VOICE:
- - .
Mr. KOCHEVAR:
Okay.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Well, - - .
We’re easy.
MR. KOCHEVAR: Okay. All right, good morning, gentlemen. My
name is Matthew Kochevar. I’m from Chapter 78, in
Merrillville, Indiana. I am the Chair of the Resolutions
Committee.
The Resolutions Committee had five separate resolutions for
your consideration. I’ll begin with Resolution Number One,
motion to buy a full color page ad in The New York Times
special commemorative supplement on September 11, 2011.
Whereas, on September 11, 2011, The New York Times will be
publishing a special commemorative supplement to remember
the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
And whereas, this special commemorative supplement will be
estimated to reach nearly 2 million readers and many
different organizations will be publishing advertisements
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167
in the supplement.
And whereas, it is of the utmost importance that the Order
of AHEPA remember those who lost their lives on September
11, and remember the only house of worship that was
destroyed as a result of the attacks, the St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Church.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Order of AHEPA purchase
a full color page ad in The New York Times special
commemorative supplement for September 11, 2011, at the
nonprofit organization price of $60,000.
Be it further resolved that in order to help defray the
cost of $60,000, the Supreme Lodge and the National
Headquarters approach any and all chapters and members for
monetary donation for the purchasing of this advertisement.
And I OWE [phonetic] you for questions.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
I move the question.
MR. KOCHEVAR: The question was moved and seconded by members of
the Resolutions Committee, and is presented to you for your
consideration.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
What are you pointing at?
Nothing.
Oh, okay.
Personal thing.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Is there any comment on this resolution as
presented to you? Come over here to the microphones.
That’s why they’re way over here, so we can see you.
MR. GERRY GARBIS: Gerry Garbis, Shoreline 380. Could you
clarify again the funding? I couldn’t quite hear it back
there. $60,000, but where’s the money going to come from?
MR. CHAIRMAN: It was stated in the resolution. I’ll read it
back to you. “In order to defray the cost of the $60,000,
the Supreme Lodge and the National Headquarters approach
any and all chapters and members for monetary donation for
the purchase of this advertisement.”
MR. GEORGE LOXAS:
George Loxas, Hammond, Indiana Chapter-
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
168
MR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Talk right into the mike, please.
MR. LOXAS: - Chapter 123. I have question.
The New York Times, what do they plan to do with the
proceeds? Are they planning--is this going to be a
commercial endeavor for them? I have a problem with
someone profiting from the 9/11 in this way, unless they
have already stated that they plan turn it over to the 9/11
families or some kind of a not-for-profit again.
MR. KOCHEVAR: The motion that was before you was brought by
Brother James Zafouris, if I’m pronouncing your last name
right? For the five-year anniversary The New York Times
did the exact same thing. I’m not sure what they’ve done
with the proceeds or if just a full color page ad for a
large edition of that sort does cost that amount to print.
But I will yield to him for a better answer.
MR. JIM ZAFOURIS: Yes. My name is Jim Zafouris. I am the
presenter of this resolution. The New York Times is
putting restrictive--is putting restrictions on all
advertising on that Sunday. The special supplement will be
institutional in nature.
Now what that means in the media business is that Macy’s
cannot take an ad out and sell furniture. A car dealer
cannot take an ad out and sell cars. However, they can
sell an institutional message in honor of those that have
passed away, so there are restrictions.
The newspapers don’t make grants to institutions in return
for their support. So in answer to your question, I don’t
believe there is a special grant or funding for the
families. So I really can’t answer your question, but I
don’t think they’re in that business. And if there are any
questions on any of this on this ad, I’d be happy to answer
them.
I’ve already met with The New York Times. And what he
didn’t say is that this is a huge opportunity for the Order
of AHEPA to show its colors. I have the list of
advertisers that supported the fifth anniversary, of which
the AHEPA was not in. It did not participate.
The list included the Knights of Columbus, corporations,
universities. So I look at this as not only an opportunity
to pay tribute to what I consider to be the Pearl Harbor of
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July 22, 2011
169
the 21st Century, but I look at this as an opportunity for
the Order of AHEPA to show its colors, by colors I’m
talking about its logo, to the nation.
This is not a newspaper that’s going to come out only in
New York. It’s going to come out nationwide. And what he
didn’t say is that the circulation of The New York Times on
the Monday through Friday basis today is about 950,000
nationwide. A normal supplement is about 1.4 million on an
average Sunday. However, because it is a Sunday,
The New York Times has an opportunity and will publish
somewhere between 2 and 3 million copies of that newspaper.
So just imagine AHEPA’s logo--and I have a sample of a
proposal copy--just picture AHEPA’s logo in that national
supplement throughout America.
Now, if any of the Brothers have any specific questions,
I’d be happy to answer them. So fire away, gentlemen.
MR. ANDREW ZACHARIADES: Through the Chair, I speak in favor of
this. And one of the main reasons I--Andrew Zachariades,
Supreme Governor of Region 3. One of the main reasons I am
speaking for this resolution is that day I was one of the
survivors of September 11. I was one of the individuals
who had no place to run that day. I was one of the
individuals who survived the towers coming down.
And I think, Brothers, we also have to remember that our
Brother AHEPANs and daughters who did lose family that day,
nephews, daughters. And I think that what we have to look
at this, is not from a $60,000 point of view, I think we
should consider that we need to honor all the people who
passed away that day.
Sometimes we look at these things in dollars and cents, but
sometimes we have to look above that and say to ourselves,
“What are we doing here?” And in reality, what we’re doing
is recognizing and honoring all the individuals who passed
away that day, including members of the AHEPA family,
including us who were there that day, who actually survived
the Twin Towers falling down. And I was there. I had no
place to run.
So I do speak in favor of this resolution.
MR. ART POLY:
P-O-L-Y.
Thank you.
Good morning, everybody. My name is Art Poly,
I’m with AHEPA 58, up in Hartford, Connecticut.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
170
And some of you may know me a little bit more by my role
with AHEPA Housing and AHEPA Management.
I’m not really opposed to the resolution as much as I’m
concerned about the budget aspects of it and/or an
alternative to what we’re trying to accomplish. One, I’m
an accountant by training. I looked at the budget that was
presented by the Supreme Lodge, and there doesn’t seem to
be any wiggle room in that budget, number one.
Number two, I think it’s easy to sit up here and say,
“Well, we’re going to go out to the chapters and collect X,
Y and Z.”
I guess my question to all of you is what if we don’t
collect X, Y and Z? What if we only collect $30,000,
$35,000? Is there an opportunity for us to buy something a
little less significant in terms of an overpowering ad, and
yet, still accomplish the same mission?
Again, I reiterate I’m not opposed to the concept. I’m
more concerned about our budgetary restraints and our
capability to raise the funds. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Any further comments on this advertising in
The New York Times?
MR. LARRY ODZAK:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. ODZAK:
Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a comment.
Okay.
Do I just do it through here or do you want–
MR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Wait.
Yes.
MR. ODZAK: My name is Larry Odzak, Chapter 277, Durham, North
Carolina. And I’d like to speak in favor of the motion.
It was for us to remember that the only Greek Orthodox
Church that was destroyed on that day, St. Nicholas, also
needs to be commemorated in addition to the AHEPA. And I
think this is a way for us to show and honor not just the
institution of the church, in addition to the people who
were killed at that time. And I’m sure we’ll collect the
60 grand. It’s not that much. So I speak in favor of the
motion, and I second it, in fact, if you don’t have a
second.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
171
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. ODZAK:
Okay.
Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. At this time, I would like to place
the conversation on this resolution on hold. We have an
elite person coming in, somebody from, I don’t know, from
outer space, I think, especially from Illinois. The Grand
President, Christine Constantine, would like to wish us all
well here, and give us her report.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Being she’s from my district, I had to make her
wait a little bit.
MS. CHRISTINE CONSTANTINE: Good morning, everybody. Thanks,
Dash [phonetic]. Yes, I am from District 13, but I’ll be
moving to District 6 in September as well. As many of you
know that I am engaged to Ted Malgarinos. And I don’t know
if he’s here yet, but he’s on his way. And I’ll be moving
to District 6 in September.
But anyway, I’d just like to say on behalf of the Daughters
of Penelope, this year has been great. We have increased
our membership. We have started new chapters, California
and Pueblo, Colorado. Also, there’s talk just now about
starting a chapter in Honolulu, Hawaii, so that’s really
good. We’re very, very pleased about that. We’ve also
increased membership in the Maids of Athena this year. So
we’re headed in the right direction. We want to get
younger gals involved with the Daughters of Penelope and
the Maids of Athena.
This year has been great for me. I have traveled to Boise,
Idaho and New York, Florida, Texas, and of course our
excursion to Europe and Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Turkey.
That was very, very memorable. It’s been a pleasure to
travel and work with Supreme President Nick Karacostas this
year. We’ve gotten along famously. We’ve tried to be true
to our Orders and develop programs together.
I’d also just like to wish you all good deliberations in
your nominations today. We already did our nominations
across the hall, and as I was telling the guys, “You know,
ours are just cut and dry. Yours are like, you have
excitement, you have spark.” So this is a good thing.
Anyway, I wish you good deliberations and I thank you. And
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
172
I’ll take any questions if anybody has any questions of me.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
lady?
You mean you have no questions of this beautiful
MS. CONSTANTINE:
That’s okay, Dash.
MR. CHAIRMAN: She’s represented a great Order, the Daughters of
Penelope. And I’ve got a hoarse voice. I don’t know, I
was out at the race track, I guess. So, anyway, thank you
very much, Grand President Christine Constantine.
MS. CONSTANTINE:
You’re welcome, Dash.
MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. To continue with the discussion that
we’ve been having, I would appreciate those who want to
speak for it or against it to come to the microphones.
Yes, sir?
MR. GEORGE LOUCAS: Mr. Chair, Brother George Loucas, George E.
Loucas, Chapter 480, North Royalton, Ohio. I would like to
speak in favor of the motion.
First and foremost, of course, it’s an issue of memory and
honor, and honoring those who sacrificed their lives that
day.
But secondly, on a grander scale, as we consider issues of
membership, and especially attracting the younger folk, I
think something like this is along the lines of what basic
marketing principles employ. And so I’m sure that the
Knights and the other organizations which did take out
those ads had that in mind as well.
And one of the first rules of business in America today is
that if you want to attract, whether it’s business or
membership, that you’re going to have to advertise.
And in a sense it’s a branding and advertisement in
branding, and something like that, I think, is critical to
get our name out and start catching the attention of
younger people who say, “Wow, they do things on a national
level.” And even if we gain, as a secondary measure,
members in that fashion, I think it’s worth it. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
Any further comments, pro or con?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Brother - - . Chairman, I’d like to stand
and rise in support of this resolution. I think the Order
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of AHEPA can greatly benefit from having as
and publicity as we can. This funding will
privately. We have individuals who want to
it. We’re not asking any particular--we’re
Order to do it. It will be either chapters
who will do it and benefactors who may want
much exposure
be raised
contribute to
not asking any
or individuals
to do it.
We don’t get enough publicity in the Order of AHEPA. The
Greeks know about us, but we’re severely lacking with the
rest of the world knowing about us. So we have an
opportunity here, and I think we should seize it, take
advantage of it, and show the rest of the world what the
Order of AHEPA is.
MALE VOICE:
Hear, hear.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
comments?
MALE VOICE:
Any further
What did - - say, Nick?
MR. PARIS KAROUNOS: Hello, everyone. I’m Paris Karounos. I’m
from the Bronx, Chapter 175. I’m in the New York District
Lodge.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
And your name, too.
MR. KAROUNOS:
I said Paris Karounos.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Oh.
MR. KAROUNOS: Rarely have we ever had a cause that speaks to us
as AHEPANs as a whole. When you look back when AHEPA was
created, what was it for? It was to protect Hellenism.
This is a cause that goes directly as a national cause, not
as a New York or an East Coast cause. There is--this
should become a year-long endeavor if we have to, to get
St. Nick’s built. We’re here to protect Hellenism and this
is--there is no other cause that could be higher than this.
So there is a grammatically wrong statement that’s become
very popular in the local vernacular, “It is what it is.”
And if we have to go behind the 8-ball to pay $60,000 to
The New York Times, I’d like to remind everyone that
The New York Times is the pre-eminent newspaper in the
world. There is no other newspaper that has such an
international following, not just nationally.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
174
So I’m going to recommend to everyone to send a letter to
their congressmen and put such force on the Port Authority
that the church, St. Nicholas church will be rebuilt.
So of course, I’d like to say I’m in favor of this, but I
beseech everyone to, if you are an AHEPAN, you will realize
that this is the cause. And The New York Times, there is
no other newspaper, we have to do what they are. They are
the pre-eminent and they are giving us the nonprofit cost.
That’s all I can say. It is what it is. Thank you very
much.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Any further comments? And I think
we’ve had enough. I’d like to move the question. All in
favor say aye.
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against?
The ayes have it unanimously.
[Applause]
MR. KOCHEVAR: Resolution Number 2, motion to all on all AHEPANs
to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and support it
financially.
Whereas, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church of Theology,
located in Brookline, Massachusetts, trains and teaches the
hierarchs, priests and theologians who are in the Greek
Orthodox churches in the Americas.
And whereas, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church of Theology
will be celebrating its 75th anniversary of its founding
and has formulated a fundraising campaign beginning October
of 2011 and lasting through May of 2013 that calls upon all
metropolises, parishes, faithful clergy, and laity of all
stations of the Archdiocese including all AHEPANs to
respond by lending financial support to the school.
And whereas, the Order of AHEPA has always shown fidelity
and support to the Greek Orthodox Church.
Therefore, be it resolved that all AHEPANs, Chapters,
Districts, the Supreme Lodge and the Board of Trustees show
their report [sic] for the Holy Cross 75th anniversary
fundraising drive through whatever financial donations they
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
175
can give.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Any positive reaction for this? Any negative
reaction for this? Who wants to move the question?
MALE VOICE:
Move it.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Move it.
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against.
Unanimously approved.
MR. KOCHEVAR: Motion Number 3, motion to establish a committee
concerning the restoration of the St. Nicholas Church.
Whereas, on September 11, 2001, the United States of
America was attacked by foreign terrorists that resulted in
a substantial loss of life.
And whereas, as a direct result of those terrorist attacks
upon the World Trade Center in New York City, the St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed.
And whereas, since that time, the Archdiocese and members
of the parish of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
have been working to rebuild the church at its original
location but have been hindered in its efforts.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Supreme President of the
Order of AHEPA appoint a committee of five members to
represent the AHEPA and support the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese during discussions with the New York/New Jersey
Port Authority concerning the restoration and
reconstruction of the St. Nicholas Church and remain as a
committee until the successful reconstruction and
consecration of the church.
Be it further resolved that the committee is charged with
the following responsibilities. One, inform the AHEPA
family on the status of the ongoing negotiations and
proceedings.
Two, organize demonstrations in the Greek American and
larger community to focus media attention on the issue and
influence the Port Authority to negotiate in good faith.
Three, keep the Supreme President and the Supreme Lodge
informed on the status of negotiations and involve the
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
176
AHEPA family as necessary to ensure the successful outcome
and resolution of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
that will enable the Greek Orthodox community to continue
to worship and offer divine liturgy as it has since 1922.
Four, ensure that the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
will continue to provide an ecumenical facility that truly
offers a place of respite for all faiths from the frantic
pace of the financial community, of which it’s located in.
And number five, conduct any other duties and
responsibilities that the St. Nicholas Restoration
Committee determines to be necessary to accomplish its
charter.
MR. CHAIRMAN: That is a wonderful resolution.
comments from anyone?
MR. ZACHARIADES: Mr.
clarify the part
committee? What
what you want to
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Do I hear any
Chair, would the Chairman of Resolutions
about--the first part about forming the
legal standing do we have? I understand
do-
[Interposing] Put your name and chapter.
MR. ZACHARIADES: Oh, sorry. My apologies.
Supreme Governor, Region 3.
Andrew Zachariades,
The first part is something about--in the resolution what
legal standing do we--and I understand what you want to do
and I support the concept--but what legal right do we have
to form a committee to help the Archdiocese or to get
involved in the negotiations? I don’t know if we have that
right or do we have that authority? I can understand us
supporting the concept, but I’m not sure how we could
really legally, really do that.
MR. KOCHEVAR: Yes. The basis of the motion on first the
committee itself, it will not be a standing committee.
That would have to be placed in the legislation, in our
Constitution.
What this motion is asking is that we, as the delegates,
authorize the President to create an ad hoc committee.
This committee is to help the St. Nicholas Restoration
Committee that is negotiatingMR. ZACHARIADES:
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
177
MR. KOCHEVAR: -with the Archdiocese to help them support--we’re
trying to get support out into the community. This is what
they’re supposed to do, to inform the AHEPA family what’s
going on, if we need to have demonstrations get the media
involvedMR. ZACHARIADES:
[Interposing] Yes, that would all-
MR. KOCHEVAR: [Interposing] That’s what the committee is
designed to do, based on my understanding.
MR. ZACHARIADES: But you said something earlier. Maybe I
misunderstood what you said about to help with the
negotiations or something. Or did I misunderstand what you
said?
MR. KOCHEVAR:
MALE VOICE:
- - .
Can we read it - - ?
MR. ZACHARIADES: Yes, just the beginning part ‘cause maybe I
misunderstood what you were trying to say.
MR. KOCHEVAR: Well, I’ll--the first resolve part was--and I’ll
read it again. “That the Supreme President of the Order of
AHEPA appoint a committee of five members to represent the
AHEPA and support the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese during
discussions with the New York/New Jersey Port Authority
concerning the restoration and reconstruction of the St.
Nicholas Church.”
MR. ZACHARIADES:
MR. KOCHEVAR:
MALE VOICE:
MR. KOCHEVAR:
Okay.
And so it’s just--it’s…
It’s for support - - .
Yes.
My understanding is it won’t be-
MR. ZACHARIADES: [Interposing] And I apologize because I
thought you said about something about help with the
negotiations. Maybe I misunderstood what you said, so I
apologize. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Any further comments? At this time, I know we’re
all in support of whatever we can do for St. Nicholas
Church in New York. All in favor, say aye.
ALL:
Aye.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
178
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against?
Passed unanimously.
MALE VOICE: Hey, Matt. Just a point of, I guess, information.
Is there a way you could in the future maybe hook up your
laptop to the laser, and therefore you could have the
resolutions up on the screen so we could all see them? I
know reading them is good, but some of us are visual
learners as opposed to auditory learners, so…
MR. KOCHEVAR: Ah, yes. I didn’t know that was available. In
future, convention in our future times, I’d be more than
happy to. Of course.
Okay. Resolution Number 4, and to--this is a motion to
have the Board of Trustees study, create a study of looking
into going to a shorter Supreme Convention.
Whereas, the Order of AHEPA currently has an annual
convention that lasts nearly seven days.
And whereas, some members of the Order of AHEPA are
reluctant to attend a convention of such length because of
their schedules, commitments and finances will not allow
them to.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Trustees
conduct a study on reducing the National AHEPA Convention
to a shorter format and report to both the delegates and
the Convention Legislative Committee of the 90th AHEPA
National Convention with their findings and recommendations
on which convention format would most benefit the Order of
AHEPA.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Any comments?
MR. MIKE PAPAPANOU: Good morning. Mike Papapanou [phonetic],
of Rochester, New York, past Supreme Treasurer.
The need for shorter convention has been for the past 10
years. Study it means put them on the shelf and forget it.
Immediate action needs starting yesterday, not tomorrow,
not day after. Thank you.
Four days I recommend. It’s plenty to do our business. We
can split them if people that want to come and have funMR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. PAPAPANOU:
[Interposing] Sir, I take your comments, okay?
Yes.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
179
MR. CHAIRMAN: All I can tell you is I’ve attended about 56
National Conventions, from seven days to five days, and
we’re back to seven days in essence. Actually, we’re in
five days, ‘cause you really start--I’m sorry, my voice is
going bad--you really start on Tuesday and you go through
Saturday. So if you go Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday’s your installation and election. So if
you’re looking to just avoid one day, I don’t know what
you’re gaining.
Those of us who have families and come with our families,
we make this a vacation program. And they all like to see
the camaraderie that we have in seeing each other once a
year. And that’s the loveliest part of being in AHEPA and
then coming to Supreme Conventions.
Any further comments?
MR. PHIL VOGIS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. VOGIS:
Mr. Chair?
Yes?
Phil Vogis, District Governor-
MR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Chapter.
Mr. VOGIS: -Chapter Number 5, District Number 5, Chapter 453.
In addition to that comment that Brother Mike made, in the
past we’ve had conflicts with the Clergy of Laity where our
national convention was too close with the Clergy of Laity
Conference, which is every second year.
Perhaps we ought to look at not having these dates in
conflict, and give us possibly, you know, three or four
weeks apart if there is a conflict as far as the timing
schedule. Thank you very much.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. It seems if I have to take the AHEPA
side, we set our dates and then the church comes in right
behind us, and that’s--we can’t govern that.
Now, as I understand, next year, we’re going to be after
Panaea [phonetic] in August. I think it’s the Sunday
through Friday after Panaea.
MR. VOGIS: Thank you, Brother Chairman.
tell the church.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
But perhaps we can
I don’t know if you can tell them what to do or
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
180
what not to do.
MR. VOGIS:
Or administer our request.
Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Any further comments on this?
move the question. All in favor say aye.
ALL:
I’d like to
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Those against?
unanimously.
The ayes have it.
Passed
MR. KOCHEVAR: And the fifth and final resolution is a motion
for AHEPA to recognize the Nemea Games.
Whereas, the games in Nemea are part of the great ancient
history of the Greek people.
And whereas, the games at Nemea being part of the cycle of
games that were held around Ancient Greece and is a direct
ancestor to today’s modern Olympic Games.
And whereas, one of the missions of the Order of the AHEPA
is to preserve the Greek traditions and histories of our
people.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Order of AHEPA recognize
the importance of the Games of Nemea and that its members
support the restoration of the Games, which will be held
next--which will be next held on June 2012.
MR. CHAIRMAN: A lot of you have seen the postcards that they’ve
been passing out, or brochures. So if there’s any comment
on it, let’s have it now or--so we can get on with the
convention.
MR. GEORGE KARATZIA:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Also in the Nemea Games-
[Interposing] Your name.
MR. KARATZIA: George Karatzia, Past District Governor, District
5, Chapter 517. And also, a point to be made, there is
also the place where Hercules killed the lion.
With the state of Greece today, it is important that we, as
AHEPA, to do whatever we can to promote Hellenist tourism
today in Greece. That is badly needed.
And the Nemea Games is something that is showing to be of
great interest to a tourist today. It is--was excavated by
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July 22, 2011
181
an architect and his name was Miller. And they excavated
the ground where they actually found the old track, the
dressing area, the tunnel. And today they have--tourists
go there, they put on their togas and they mock a race.
In 2012, they are going to have the Ancient Games. And it
would be nice that AHEPA puts their name in support of
those Games. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Tom?
MR. TOM GOVER: Tom Gover, Past Supreme Governor, District 12.
I’d like to support this resolution, one, because I’m 100%
Nemean. both my parents are from Nemea, and I’m very
familiar with the archaeological site. As he stated,
Professor Miller from Berkeley excavated it, and he fell in
love with Nemea. and he retired and he lives in Nemea.
These Games are held every two years, and it is--they’ve
done a great job excavating the tunnel, the stadium. We
have a beautiful museum there. I encourage everybody to go
if you’re in Greece, to visit Nemea.
MR. NICK PAPADOPOULOS: My name is Nick Papadopoulos. I’m the
District Governor in Greece, District 25. In our
convention in Chania that took place last month, we
unanimously--the only thing we agreed unanimously on was to
support the Nemean Games. The Ministry of Culture of
Greece is supporting the Nemean Games.
And the only thing we’re asking is THAT the Brothers in
AHEPA publicize this event. As was said before, it’s a
good tourist attraction. We’re not asking for money.
We’re not asking for AHEPA to donate any money. We want
your support because you are very important to us. This
will bring us a lot closer, and wholeheartedly hope that
you will see this to support the event. Thank you very
much.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. All I can state is a comment was made
about tourism to Greece. I attended the Olympic Games.
I’ve attended everything that’s going on in Greece except
for the marathon. I couldn’t go this year. But I think
we’re all in support of programs that give us the Hellenic
culture basis that we are all fond of.
MR. JAMES KARAMANOS: Mr. Chairman and fellow delegates, I want
to ask a questionAHEPA
July 22, 2011
182
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Name.
Name.
MR. KARAMANOS: Oh, yes. James W. Karamanos, Monroe Chapter
Number 75, New Brunswick, New Jersey--not Piscataway-District 5. I would like to ask the Chair, both Chairs,
about the resolution concerning the seminary?
MALE VOICE:
- - ?
That one is passed.
[Crosstalk]
MR. KARAMANOS: On behalf of everybody affiliated with the
seminary, I thank you, as a graduate of the seminary in
1968. Thank you very much.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
aye.
ALL:
All right.
Move the question.
All in favor, say
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against?
MR. KOCHEVAR: That concludes the reports of the Resolutions
Committee. I thank the Brothers for allowing me give this
report. I thank the Chairs for their excellent work in
this convention.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. KOCHEVAR:
Sure.
[Applause]
MR. KOCHEVAR: At this time, the Publication Chairman, Jim
Scofield. Are you ready? I’m ready for you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Maybe we could just say Hellenic Affairs is
next. Please don’t step out of the room, guys.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes. The Cyprus Hellenic Affairs Committee will
make a report immediately after the Publications, so please
stay in this room. We want to get concluded. We want to
get into the auditor’s report.
MR. JIM SCOFIELD: Brothers, my name is James S. Scofield. I’m
Demetrios Scoufakis [phonetic] for those of you who are
concerned. My father was from Arcadia and my mother from
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
183
Laconia.
The Publications Committee met, consisting of myself as
Chairman, Brother Chris Economides, Brother John Mesogitis
and Brother Tom Gover.
We looked over the entries. They were excellent, and we
wish there were more. The winner of the Best Chapter
Publication is Chapter 58, Nathan Hale Chapter, Hartford,
Connecticut. Give them a hand.
[Applause]
MR. SCOFIELD: Thank you. All the editors of these publications
are deserving. As a journalist of more than 50 years, I
can tell you I have marveled at the excellency of the
publications. They’ve really improved over the years, and
I think people should be proud of what they’re putting out.
Now as for the District publications, Third place was given
to the El Camino Real of El Camino Real District Number 20.
Second place went to the Yankee District News, Yankee
District Number 7, an excellent publication. Their use of
four-color photographs was excellent.
And the winning publication is the AHEPA Voice of John G.
Thevos’ Fifth District.
[Applause]
MR. SCOFIELD: I congratulate the Brothers from the Fifth
District because their publication is as good as the AHEPA
Magazine. It’s really excellent.
[Applause]
MR. VOGIS: Brother Chairman, Brother Chairman of the
Publications Committee, we want to thank you for all your
hard work you’ve put into this Publications Committee. And
we want to thank you for choosing District 5 as the best
publication, and perhaps all of you or those of you who are
interested in a copy, I’ll be more than happy to get one to
you. Phil Vogis, District 5. Thank you.
MR. SCOFIELD: Thank you. Yes, I agree with Brother Vogis. You
should get a copy of it to see what a district publication
can be. There’s a man out there who wants to talk.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Yes, sir?
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
184
MR. EMMANUEL MOSHOVOS: Hi. Emmanuel Moshovos, District
Governor of District 7. I’m here to say second place isn’t
so bad for publication. It really isn’t. And while I’m
here, I might as well brag about my Chapter 58 for winning
first place. Thank you very much.
MR. CHAIRMAN: At this time--thank you very much, Jim Scofield,
for the publication.
Is the District Governors Committee Chairman in? And
they’re going to make a report? Cyprus Hellenic America-Cyprus and Hellenic Affairs Committee Chairman. George?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Hollister.
MR. CARL HOLLISTER:
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
The report’s going to be given by Carl
Thank you.
The Vice Chair of the Committee.
MR. HOLLISTER:
Good morning, Brothers. Can everyone hear me?
This morning I’d like to deliver the report of the Cyprus
and Hellenic Affairs Committee for the 89th Annual AHEPA
Supreme Convention. After I go through the report, I will
ask for this report to be accepted, so I would appreciate
if someone would make a motion when we’ve completed.
At the General Session of the 89th Annual Supreme
Convention, the Order of AHEPA as we propose will continue
to work to strengthen the AHEPAN grass roots network,
developing direct contacts within each congressional
district across the country. Right now, we have 41
contacts across the country with congressional offices.
Obviously we’re--we need to grow that so that we can have a
greater impact on the Hellenic Caucus itself. We want to
see that grow.
Currently, the Hellenic Caucus stands at 138 members. Our
goal for 2011, 2012 is to grow that by 60 new members.
It’s important that we help grow the Caucus because AHEPA
is working with the Caucus on resolutions.
Many of you are familiar with H.R. 180, which urges Turkey
to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. We’re also working
with Senate Bill 196, which calls for the re-opening of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Theological School of Halki.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
185
The AHEPA calls for legislation for the removal of Turkish
occupation troops from Cyprus, the human rights of all
Cypriots and to preserve the religious and cultural
monuments of the occupied territories.
AHEPA will also continue to monitor the funding levels for
the Voice of America for Greece; want to maintain at the
$500,000 a year level.
The AHEPA will seek to strengthen relations with
appropriate Greek American organizations in order to more
effectively fulfill its mission as it relates to Greece,
Cyprus, the Patriarchate and issues involving the FYROM,
the minority in Albania and the Aegean Sea by revisiting
the unity forum concept.
The AHEPA will continue to monitor the various Turkish
lobbying groups that are popping up across the country. We
want to maintain an awareness of their deepening access and
influence in Washington. For those of you who that don’t
know, the Turkish Caucus is growing quite quickly, and the
Turkish government is helping fund many other organizations
inside of the United States.
The AHEPA expresses concern about the infiltration of
Turkish influence through the Gulen movement and its
establishment of charter schools throughout the country.
The AHEPA will monitor FYROM revisionist propaganda that
has made its way into our public school systems,
specifically into textbooks, and we will explore the matter
going forward.
The AHEPA will provide annual funding in the amount of
$20,000 a year for the Cyprus and Hellenic Affairs
Committee in order to strengthen its communications,
capabilities, and to permit holding educational symposiums,
and to permit printing of educational materials.
In addition, the Committee unanimously approved a
resolution on the Macedonian name issue, and let me read
the resolution, which is part of our report. This is not
in the Resolutions Committee. It’s the resolution on a
Macedonian name issue.
“The Order of AHEPA joins the Pan-Macedonian Association of
the United States of America in proclaiming that the name
Macedonia is an important and integral part of the long
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
186
history, heritage, and culture of Greece and its citizens.
That the country of FYROM shall not include the term
Macedonia or any derivative thereof in the name of the
country of FYROM, and that all individuals of Hellenic
heritage residing in FYROM be accorded the full protection
of law and full protection of their human rights.
Furthermore, the Committee recommends that AHEPA examine
the following, presenting the positions of the Greek
American Community to the Greek government as they relate
to Hellenic national issues, and taking the initiative to
organize visits of congressional staffers to Greece and
reviewing congressional ethics guidelines as they relate to
organizing such visits.
Also the Committee will request time to make a presentation
at the District Governors Conference in September,
regarding our effort to revitalize our grassroots network
and grow the Hellenic Caucus.
The AHEPA will review its contract with A.G. Kaffes and
Associates for his work for the AHEPA and the Cyprus and
Hellenic Affairs Committee, with the purpose of increasing
his remuneration to reflect his tireless efforts on behalf
of AHEPA and the Committee.
This report is respectfully submitted by Chairman Dr. Spiro
Macris, Colonel Nick Vamvakias, Philip Yamalis, Savos
Tsivikos, Tom Gover, Alex Christy, E. John Rumpakis, and
Alex Rigopoulos.
We had many additional members of the Committee this year,
and a few guests. Give me a moment to go through the
names. The Canadian President of AHEPA, Nick Aroutzidis;
John Christou; K. D. Charalampous; Vassos Chrysanthou,
Board of Trustees; Bill Gatzoulis; Nina Gatzoulis; Past
Supreme President Jack Georgalas; Kostas Hatzistefanidis.
He’s the President of the Pan American Association; Past
Supreme President Gus James; Socrates Kolitsos; Gus Lazarus
[phonetic]; George Loxas; Nick Loxas; Peter Loxas; Nick
Matthews; Dr. Ken Matziorinis; Anthony Mavromaras;
Michael T. Michael; Theo Nickolas [phonetic]; Fran Nickolas
[phonetic]; Dr. Pete Nickolas; Nicholas Nikas; Larry Odzak;
George Papageorgiou; Harry Postilides [phonetic]; John
Polydouris; George Rivolos [phonetic]; John Saraskanos
[phonetic]; Peter Stamos [phonetic]; Mario Staufanides
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
187
[phonetic]; John Stemus [phonetic]; Angelo Tsutzi
[phonetic]; Caro Vanvakios [phonetic]; and Mark Segouris
[phonetic].
This is the report that we would like the convention to
accept.
MALE VOICE:
Move to accept.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Do I hear any comments, negative or positive?
MR. JAMES KARAMANOS: James W. Karamanos, Monroe Chapter Number
75, New Brunswick, New Jersey, District 5. I move for its
adoption.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Second? Papageorgiou, get up and
second it properly. I’m going to make you move a little
bit.
MR. GEORGE PAPAGEORGIOU:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
I want to second the motion.
Put your name in to have the-
MR. PAPAGEORGIOU: George Papageorgiou, from Detroit, Michigan,
Chapter 40, Past Supreme Governor.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
favor, say aye.
ALL:
I’m moving the question.
All in
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Those against?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
You’re welcome.
Yes.
MR. HOLLISTER:
MALE VOICE:
Thank you.
Thank you.
MR. HOLLISTER:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Unanimously adopted.
Do I give this to you?
No, give it to the secretary, thank you.
Thank you.
what other committee chairman is here to report?
Nick Aroutzidis, Canadian Affairs.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Canadian Affairs, are you here? Oh, you’re right
here in front of me. Hello, Mr. Canadian President.
MR. NICK AROUTZIDIS:
everyone.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning,
Yesterday, we had our Canadian Affairs meeting and we went
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through the business. We had all the delegates from across
Canada, and the main focus of our business yesterday was to
discuss the future of AHEPA across Canada, and also elect
the new Canadian President that will take over after
tomorrow. So, after an hour and a half of deliberations,
I’d like to tell you that the Canadian delegation elected
George Vassilas to be the next Canadian President for the
Order of AHEPA.
[Applause]
MR. AROUTZIDIS: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank
every one of you for your support. And I’d like also to
mention to you that I have been blessed to serve this great
organization and represent AHEPA in Canada and
internationally. I thank you very much, and thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for the opportunity today.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much.
The name will be placed on the ballot as requested by the
Canadian Affairs Committee.
I’d a like a report--is the--Craig Clawson here? Remember
Brothers, we have to leave this room by 4:30, which means
we still have to nominate our candidates. So we have to
get the reports in.
Now, I need the following reports, auxiliaries, anyone
representing auxiliaries here? What?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: The Brother here wants to report on the
AHEPA Academy and it’s a - - .
MR. CHAIRMAN: Oh, all right, just let me get my committees
squared away. If anyone could give us some help to get
whoever’s representing auxiliaries, I can’t remember who we
appointed on it? Basically Legislative, I know, is still
meeting and Craig Clawson from the Board of Auditors.
Losadie [phonetic], can you find Craig Clawson?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: The Supreme President, Mr. Chair is going to
going to. He’s reviewing his work, and he’s going to
continue to work till the very end. He’s going to–
MR. CHAIRMAN: Yeah, of course. All right, sir.
where did he go? Where is he?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Where’s the--
Okay, is the AHEPAcademy ready to give its
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report?
Come forward.
If there’s a report from Athletics or Auxiliaries,
Auditors, obviously you know we have Legislation, please
see if we can get those people in the room.
MR. ARISTOTELIS CHRONIS: Good morning, Brothers. Aristotelis
Chronis, from Chapter 438, Falls Church, Virginia. I am
the Founder and Director of AHEPAcademy. This is a program
that we started in AHEPA. Actually the idea for it, we
started promoting it, ironically enough in 2006, the last
time we were all here in Florida, in Hollywood. Our first
class was in 2007, and it was designated as an AHEPA
national program in 2009 at the San Francisco convention.
So this is the report of AHEPAcademy.
AHEPAcademy, just for those of you that do not know, is a
leadership and professional development program that
identifies, educates, inspires, mentors, advances, and
networks exceptional Greek American high school students as
they progress through their high school, college, and
professional careers. It begins in the summer after a
student’s junior year of high school, and it continues
throughout their senior year of high school, their
application to and acceptance into college, their academic
and post-professional careers while in college and any
post-graduate schooling, and eventually their entry into
the professional careers.
AHEPAcademy promises a 10-year commitment to each student
in the program. There’s a goal of the program to produce
tomorrow’s young leaders of the Greek American community,
who will not only feel accountable to the Greek American
community as a whole, but will rise to positions in
American society to assist not only each other, but Greek
America.
Just to go over the program highlights, the program begins
in the summer after a student’s junior year of high school
with the AHEPAcademy on Campus session. Now, this is an
interactive leadership and networking seminar held on the
campus of George Mason University--this is right outside of
Washington, D.C., just minutes away--that brings together
exceptional Greek American students from all over the
country. This is both boys and girls, for a week of
interactive learning, which features team building and
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networking exercises, briefings by the Greek and Cyprian
Ambassadors, visits with prominent Greek American members
of Congress, and visits to the Washington area D.C.
monuments, museums and cultural attractions.
Now this year’s session took place from June 26, 2011 to
July 2, 2011, with 10 students in this year’s class. There
were six girls and four boys. Now, these students were
primarily from the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic, with one
lone student from California. We had two other students
accepted to the program who were not able to attend, due to
scheduling conflicts.
The majority of these students were funded by their local
AHEPA Chapters with $1,000 scholarship to cover the cost of
their tuition. As in past years, we were faced with
challenges of procuring scholarship donations from other
AHEPA Chapters and from private donations, with a few
students needing to have their families self-fund their
week at AHEPAcademy.
As the $1,000 tuition only covers the cost of the on Campus
session itself, students and their families are still faced
with funding their travel to and from Washington, D.C.,
which likely helps to explain our lack of applications over
the last two years from the West Coast and the Midwest,
from which traveling to D.C. can be prohibitively expensive
for those students coming from those areas.
Yet, despite the low number of students, the quality of
students remains steady and this class was able to fully
take advantage of our planned itinerary, which this year
featured John Metaxas, formerly of CNN and CNBC, as a guest
speaker on Campus, and also the--who presented to these
students on the effective public speaking and effective
communication, and also remained later that evening for our
formal dinner, which we have every year, which features
members of the Greek American leadership, Greek American
professionals, both from the D.C. area and other areas
throughout the country. And it’s also--which also serves
as a chance to sort of anchor our Hellenic and public
policy day, which is the day that we take the students to
the Greek Embassy, to the Cypriot Embassy, for these
briefings.
This dinner also provides a unique chance for our alumni of
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the program, those who are in D.C. that summer during the
summers, interning at different places in D.C. and in other
places, to come back for a chance for these students who
first came into the program to see where fellow alumni of
the program are, currently are in their development.
Our Capitol Hill tour, ironically enough this year, was
given to use by one of our alumni of the class of 2008, who
is currently interning this summer for a Senator from
Wyoming. And she actually was selected, given one of the
top 25 intern awards for this year’s congressional intern
class. So this is kind of the power of the type of
students and the type of things that we’re showing in this
program.
I want to transition now to the subject of our alumni,
because this is where the program has the greatest
potential for growth and where it needs the greatest amount
of resources from AHEPA to ensure that the time that we
invest in these students right before the start of their
senior year…
Brothers, we’ll pause one second.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Brothers, if we could have your attention,
please? We know that there’s something exciting going on
in a corner over there, but we a have a Brother that’s
giving a report on one of the most wonderful jewels that we
have in the Order of AHEPA, and we’re going to ask that, if
you can, either A, take the table out of the room, or
please sit down, and let’s give our undivided attention to,
again, one of our better programs.
[Applause]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Thank you, and with all due respect.
MR. CHRONIS: Thank you, Brother Vice Chairman. Again, I want
to transition now to the subject of our alumni because this
is--this is the part of the program where we see the
greatest potential for what can happen with these students
and what these students can ultimately become. But this is
also where we need the greatest amount of resources from
AHEPA to ensure that the time that we invest in these
students, right before the start of their senior year of
high school, doesn’t go to waste.
The unique part about the AHEPAcademy, which separates it
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from any other summer experience, both in and outside of
the Greek American community that these students may have,
is our planned commitment to assist these students
throughout their college and young professional careers
while they advance through these critical stages of both
their scholastic and professional development.
Graduates of the AHEPAcademy are eligible for further
mentoring, access to a nationwide network of internships,
participation in both online networking and other learning
opportunities throughout their academic careers, and most
importantly, and this is where the program really needs
help, is through the organization and the sponsoring of
reunions for each of these classes.
And I want to give you a little bit of perspective about
these alumni classes, just so you have a background as to
who these students are and where these students are going.
We began this class in AHEPAcademy back in 2007. Our first
class of 16 students, 12 girls, four boys. States that
they were representing at the time, Florida, Iowa,
Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New
Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Virginia. This was for
our first class of a good spread of students mostly up and
down the East Coast.
The colleges that these students went on to attend,
Columbia, Boston College, Drexel, Duke, Elon, some of the
State schools, Maryland, Florida State, Georgia,
Vanderbilt, University of Charleston. These students who
went--some of these students who went to these state
schools actually were there on full academic scholarships.
So, you know, don’t let some of these state school names
fool you. The reason that these students were there and
not at Ivy Leagues was for the fact that they did get a
full academic scholarship to some of these places.
Two of our members of the class of 2007 are actually
attending this convention, both as Maids of Athena,
ironically enough. So you’ll see some of our alumni are
actually here this weekend. I’ll point it out when I get a
chance.
The class of 2008, our second year, eight girls, four boys.
We had a little bit more diversity in our class in terms of
where these students were coming from. We had states--
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California was represented, Connecticut, Illinois,
Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Virginia and West Virginia.
Where these students went on to attend, University of
Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, that was
on a full academic scholarship, University of Virginia,
Colgate University, American, George Mason just to name a
few. Two of those students are actually at this convention
as well.
Class of 2009, this was, by far, our largest class and most
diverse class. We had actually eight girls and eight boys
at this class. States represented there were Arizona, I
think the Chandler Chapter actually ended up sponsoring a
student from Arizona that year, California as well,
Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. District 7 has
actually been very good about sending us students. The
colleges they ended up attending, this was probably the
class, I think that ended up achieving the most,
surprisingly, in terms of some of the schools they
attended. We have students there at Duke, NYU, University
of North Carolina on scholarships, University of Maryland
on scholarship, Syracuse, University of Pittsburgh, and
Haverford. Two of those students are also at this
convention.
Finally, last year’s class, class of 2010, this was our
first class that we had a little bit of a drop-off. We
only had 10 students there. And again, I’d like to say
that a lot of that has to do with our economy because
you’ll notice that we didn’t really have students coming
from anywhere, really but the East Coast and maybe a little
bit of the Midwest. But those states we represented were
Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey,
Virginia and Wisconsin. So we did get some Midwest
diversity there. The colleges that these students are
attending, RPI, Southern Methodist, University of Delaware,
Boston University, University of Minnesota, University of
Virginia, the College of Charleston and the University of
Maryland.
So Brothers, what you’re hearing here is we have students
now who have come through an AHEPA program who are at some
of the best colleges and universities throughout this
country, regardless of where they may have started in terms
of them being either on the East Coast or Midwest, you’re
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starting to see some of these students are branching out to
different parts of the country, and have an opportunity to
spread, you know, Hellenism, spread the AHEPA message in
different parts of the country where, quite frankly, we
might not even have established bases.
So as far as what these students have done during their
summers, these students have gone on to take internships on
Capitol Hill, both for Greek and non-Greek members of the
House and Senate. They’ve worked at the American Hellenic
Institute. They’ve worked with lobbying firms such as
Manatos & Manatos. They’re currently studying abroad.
They’re taking internships both here and in Europe in
different areas. And I know we like to highlight a lot of
the political things, but these students are diverse.
They’re doing research. You know, the few students from
the class of 2007, I wish we had more of them here. The
reason they’re not here is that they’re currently studying
for LSATs. They’re currently studying for their MCATs.
They are going on to do graduate work next year, either law
school, medical school or some of the professions. So just
this is really in better serving the needs of our alumni
classes, where AHEPAcademy is ultimately going to need
money.
Reunions of these classes, and this is really an important
part, reunion of these classes is going to be a necessary
component of this program. Our hope was to try to use,
naturally, something like the AHEPA convention as a way of
having these reunions occur for the fact that we do have
all these great AHEPA programs going on here this week. It
would be a really great chance to have these students come
back and learn more about AHEPA and be more exposed to the
AHEPA family. Unfortunately, as you all know, these
conventions are expensive, and particularly would be so
for, you know, these college age students. So where we
need the money is to try to subsidize their travel, lodging
and other expenses of these students regardless if we start
having these reunions at the convention or somewhere else
at different parts, different times of the year if the
convention ultimately turns out to be too expensive of a
place to do these reunions. But regardless, these reunions
are going to need money.
We also need funds to set up the necessary infrastructure
to start setting up our network of mentors, our network of
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internships, because our first few classes now, our first
class is going to be going into their senior year of
college at this point. One of our students actually has
already graduated college. She graduated in three years
and she’s currently applying to medical school. But these
are the years right now where these students are going to
need access to internship opportunities, a network of Greek
Americans that AHEPA can naturally provide. But to
establish these networks in different fields, in different
cities, we need the infrastructure to do that, and that’s
going to take money to do that.
Finally, we need the money just to make sure that no
student has to self-fund their first experience into
AHEPAcademy. Our AHEPAcademy on Campus program, as I said,
is a $1,000 cost basically, that we’re trying to get the
local AHEPA Chapters that sponsor these students, to be the
ones to actually provide this scholarship. And Brothers,
unfortunately, and this is the important part, these
students, the ones that greatly benefit from this program
the most are these students who are coming from smaller
communities where there isn’t a natural large enough Greek
community where they have other peers, other students of
their age, particularly some in the Midwest, other places.
And unfortunately sometimes it’s where these chapters
themselves are the smaller chapters who either don’t have
the funds or don’t have the willingness to be able to
provide that $1,000 scholarship.
So what we need to do is start building up a corpus to take
care of these situations because, we ask some of these
students, particularly from the Midwest and West Coast to
spend a great amount of time and distance traveling to
D.C., which is expensive, to add having to put their
families to take tuition as well, is a burden. So that’s
what we’re trying to do is raise money for that.
Any chapters or anyone who’s interested in learning more
and possibly making a donation, please see me either after
this report or any time throughout the end of the
convention. I will be, again, at Governors Conference in
the fall, speaking to the District Governors on this, but
we need all the support we can get because this is a
program right now, it’s five years in, that I think that
the next five years of this program are going to be
critical to see where this program can go, particularly
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with our alumni who are poised to do great things at this
point.
So with that, brothers, unless there’s any questions, if
there’s any questions I will field those, but otherwise,
that is my report.
MR. JOE KEANE: The AHEPAcademy is a terrific program and I
would encourage everybody to sponsor a student. I’m Joe
Keane, the Ev-Zone Chapter 405, District 6. And here’s my
fan club over here. We’ve sent two students to it. And
they come back and we have them present to the community.
And because of their enthusiastic support down there that
Ari put together with the AHEPAcademy, we’re going to
sponsor a career day. A career day which is sort of a
minicosm of what they’re doing down there at George Mason
University.
And it’s a terrific program for getting the word around on
what AHEPA can do. Because when you look at your
membership, you will see that you have all the
professionals that you can talk to to help these students
and to give them insight on a chapter level, and what he’s
doing on a national level is just outstanding. So
congratulations, Ari.
[Applause]
MR. MOSHOVOS:
Again, this is--my name is Emmanuel Moshovos,
Governor of District 7. I’m not comfortable standing here
to say these few words, but my passion is driven to share
this with you. I really am championing this program here
back in my district and looking forward to getting some
applications, even more so next year. But Brothers, I
didn’t come all the way from Connecticut not to learn
anything. And when I don’t learn something, it’s because
I’m distracted. And more than not, I’m distracted by
myself because I start drifting off about recipes for
koulourakia and other things.
But when I sit amongst my brothers, and I think of us as a
family unit in terms of fraternal, I’m disappointed that
what continues to be consistent with our Greek heritage is
our enthusiasm is spontaneous to the moment that we’re in.
And it could be our cell phones. It could be getting tshirts. It could be promoting politics. It could be
whatever interests you at the very moment. And I was here
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to hear every single word of what was being said because it
was a learning experience for me to take back. And I want
to say I was distracted enough times to come up here and
take my clothes off and be naked to you. I did my best
just to say thank you for your presentation, and dear
Brothers, please, when you come here, at least give our
speakers that moment. Take in what they’re saying, and
then decide what you’re going to do after when we
socialize. Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. ROB STEPP:
Point well-taken.
Brothers, good morning.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Yes, state your name.
MR. STEPP: Rob Stepp, Hopewell Chapter 155, District 3
Lieutenant Governor. This is a program that we in Hopewell
felt very positive about and we wanted to get involved, and
we wanted to know more about it. That was a great
presentation, Ari. I appreciate it. And if you’d just
allow me, we brought a check with us today, and we’d like
to make a donation to the AHEPAcademy.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Do you have a camera, Mr. Chair?
He’s got one.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
No, you guys do it.
MALE VOICE:
Sure.
How does this work?
MALE VOICE:
How much is the check?
You guys do it up here.
MR. STEPP: Brothers, the check is for $1,000 which would fully
cover a student.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
We have another comment.
Yes?
MR. JOHN TANIONOS: I’m John Tanionos, I’m from Cape Cod Chapter
483 and the District Governor of Bay State District 8. I
just wanted to comment, Brother--comment and compliment
Brother Ari on his work with this program. A student on
Cape Cod was one of the first in your first class, and I’m
proud to say that one of the recipients yesterday, Sophia
Surlis [phonetic] was a member of the AHEPAcademy was it
last year, or the year before? She’s a pre-med student at
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Duke, one of the athletic recipients as a graduate.
commend you on your work.
I
MR. CHRONIS: Thank you, Brother John, and you actually, just to
comment on that, the one thing I actually failed to mention
is the last, I believe the last three years, I believe the
top scholar athlete award has been given at the athletic
lunch, has been one of our students for three years running
now. So not only are these students brilliant
academically, but you can tell they’re very well-rounded
otherwise in everything that they do. So I did fail to
mention that. Thank you for reminding me of that, Brother
John.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. Seeing no other comments, is there a
motion of the floor to accept the report?
MALE VOICE:
I so move.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All in favor?
Aye.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Any objections? Report passes unanimously.
Congratulations. Okay. Is the Vice President, is Mr.
Grossomanides in the house? Is he here? Is he out in the
hallway? He’s supposed to give a growth and expansion
report. Please, Asthedis [phonetic], go get him. We also
have, is the educational foundation, are they going to be
presenting a report? Auditors? Okay. Auditors are here,
but we’ll take the Supreme Vice President to please come
forward and give his report on growth and expansion.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Thank you, Brothers. Growth and Expansion
Committee met yesterday and we actually kind of rolled it
in with the Membership Symposium. Really, growth and
expansion is really encompassing all of our membership
programs, starting with the first program that we held on
Tuesday morning, which was the Membership Awards Program,
which recognized the chapters and the districts who really
had outstanding and successful years in growing the order
of AHEPA. The growth and expansion committee felt and
feels like it’s important to continue recognizing chapters
that have outstanding successes and not only chapters but
also districts.
For example, just to give you some information on some of
our chapters and districts that had highly successful
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programs in recruiting new members, last year, in the small
division, what we did was we defined divisions because we
didn’t feel like the large chapters and the small chapters
should kind of be competing in the same area because there
were differences. So we outlined three different
divisions. The large division being chapter sizes of 100
and more, medium being 51 to 99, and small being 10 to 50.
In the large division, the Boston, Massachusetts Chapter
Number 24 had 52 new initiates in the calendar year 2010.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: In the medium division, the Chicago,
Illinois Chapter Number 93 had 15 new initiates.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And in the small division, the Brooklyn, New
York, Coney Island Chapter Number 200 had 24 new initiates.
We also felt it was important to recognize chapters by
size. So the top three chapters in the order of AHEPA in
the entire international organization, the largest chapter
with 324 members, the Denver Chapter Number 145. Second
went to second place with 216 members, the Houston Chapter
Number 29 and third place with 201 members, the Warren,
Ohio Chapter Number 88.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: We also decided to come up with a new award
this year, and that was for a new chapter that brings in
the most new initiates. So it may be a new chapter that
never existed before, or it may be a chapter that was
completely inactive and brought in several new members.
And this year, the new chapter award went to the McAnlis
[phonetic] Chapter Number 512 who brought in 41 new people.
Most reinstatements, the chapter with the most
reinstatements in the order of AHEPA this year was the
Reading Chapter Number 61. The District with the most
reinstatements was District Number 4 which had 72. The
largest district this year in the order of the AHEPA,
District Number 11, 1,430 members. District Number 3 was
second with 1,375, and District Number 6 third with 1,313.
To put that in perspective, what I’d like to do is give you
the districts and how they fared as in a positive or a
negative balance because it is important that when we talk
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growth and expansion, we have to have a benchmark. Where
did we stand the previous year so we know how successful or
how, maybe we just didn’t quite meet our objective if we
didn’t get enough members to even meet what we had the
previous year.
So just to read down quickly by district. District 1 had
690 members, but the previous year they had 694, so they
actually lost four members from 2010 to 2009. Going down
the list, District 2 actually lost 20 members. District 3
lost 41 members. District 4 gained 67 members. District 5
gained 67 members. District 6 gained 33 members. District
7 gained 57 members. District 8 gained 81 members.
District 9 lost three members. District 10 gained three.
District 11 lost 17. District 12, plus six. District 13
lost 73 from the previous year. District 14, minus 13.
District 15, minus five. District 16, minus two. District
17, plus one. District 19, plus five. District 20, minus
117.
MALE VOICE:
DR.
Wow.
GROSSOMANIDES: District 21, plus four. District 22, plus
one. District 23, even at 283, and they had 283 in ‘09 and
283 in 2010. District 24, minus two. District 25, plus
three, and District 26, plus 19.
Growth and expansion is incumbent upon all of us and
especially upon the District Governors. The District
Governors who make the visitations, the District Governors
who help at the end of the year to get their chapters to
send in per capita. That is one of the greatest reasons
that we see losses in some of these districts is because
the per capita was not mailed in on time. We,
unfortunately measure membership based on the per capita
sent into headquarters on December 31st of that year.
That’s how membership is recorded and that’s how we count
it. Maybe that’s not the best way to do it, but that,
currently is the only way to do it.
So if somebody sends in their dues on January 2nd for per
capita headquarters, that does not get counted, and it’s
very unfortunate because this year we had about 500
members’ per capita that came in after the January 1st
deadline. Just like we have a problem with June 1st for
reporting of delegates, we have a problem with December
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31st for recording per capita.
So I ask all of the members who are in this room, and this
is probably the largest group that’s been assembled this
week in this room, make sure that when the per capita gets
in, do not wait until that last day because so often, you
put it in the mail December 31st thinking that it’s going
to get to headquarters and postmarked that day, and it
actually does not happen. Because it’s a holiday, and the
Post Office may close, it gets postmarked after the first
of the year, and therefore it doesn’t get to count.
I want to thank brother Spiro Siaggas and Nick Nikas for
all the statistics that they have given me over the last
two years and helping to identify growth and consistencies
and trends. They’re masters at Excel spreadsheets and so
they can cut and slice data any which way, so if you want
to know if you’re growing, shrinking, who’s number one,
who’s number two, number three, they’re experts at this.
I’ve done it by district. They are also willing--they
could probably also do it by Chapter. So if your District
Governor would like to know by chapter, which chapters are
up and down, we can re-run this and send this out to each
group.
Just for growth consistency in recent years, and I have
just two more points that I’m going to hit in just, and
just for the top five, District Number 7 has had a 29%
growth. In 2007, they had 637 members. In 2010, they
closed with 822. Second was District 5 who went from 995
in 2007 to 1,192 this past year. District 6 was third from
1,139 to closing in December of 1,313, and District 10 who
went from 453 to 471.
The districts that, and I make my pledge to do whatever I
can to help these districts, but District 22, District 15
and District 20 had the greatest losses of 16%, 17.3% and
19.6%. We have a Membership Committee, Growth and
Expansion Committee and we have put together some
PowerPoint presentations that we’re willing to share that
will talk about the order of AHEPA, the history, the
programs, the historical programs, the Tuberculosis
Sanatorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the World War II
Bonds where the Order of the AHEPA was an official agent of
the Treasury Department. Many people don’t know this when
we’re talking to try to recruit people, so it’s important
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to not only give them that information, but even some of
the people were past AHEPANs. When you’re talking to a 30
and a 40-year-old, they may not know that John Glenn was a
member of the Order of AHEPA or Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
or Harry Truman, or Nick Markakis, or Kosta Koufos. These
are all public figures that we need to explain to people
that are members of the Order of the AHEPA.
The last thing I’m going to leave you with is retention,
and retention is the most important part of keeping the
members that we have. So if you have 100 members in your
chapter, we would hope that all of those 100 members pay
their per capita by the end of the year, and therefore that
would be 100% retention. Unfortunately, in some chapters,
due to brothers losing interest or not having time, we do
see that there is some population that don’t bother to
renew their membership. But some districts have done an
outstanding job of keeping that number as close to 100 as
possible.
And I do want to recognize the top three. Those are
District Number 7 that had a 97.3% retention. That means
that 822 out of a possible 845 members paid their percapita. District Number 5, which had 1,192 out of a
possible 1,233, and District Number 10, that had 471 out of
a possible 504. Those districts had outstanding years in
keeping those members.
So with that, I would like to advocate and propose that the
new Vice President, because you’ll have a new Vice
President continue three programs that were started under
the previous administration. One is to continue the
Membership Symposium, which was conducted yesterday. There
was a lot of great discussion, a lot of good ideas that
came out of that. We had four panelists from what we
consider chapters that have done outstanding jobs and I
want to recognize those four chapters here today. The New
Rochelle Chapter, Ev-Zone Chapter 405, the Stanford,
Connecticut Chapter Number 99. They went from 10 members
five years ago to 85 members currently and are on pace to
hit 100. Also, the Merrillville Chapter Number 78 which
won the Chapter of the Year Award last year and our third
chapter was--or the fourth Chapter was the Palmetto Chapter
Number 284, Columbia, South Carolina.
They all came up.
They all explained what their chapters
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did so well to bring in people, explained some of the
programs, how they do their meetings and so we’d like to
see that program continue. We also would like to see the
awards, membership awards program continue along with the
retention awards and recognizing the chapters that have had
the most new initiates and the districts that have had the
most new initiates. And so those are our proposals. Those
are our requests that continue because we feel they’ve been
very successful to the two-year growth nationally in the
Order of AHEPA. Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: The Vice Chair’s going to ask, and through
the Chair, that if we want those proposals memorialized in
the minutes that you kindly write them out for us?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
Sure.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: And we’ll stick them in the minutes. Thank
you. Motion to accept the report of the Vice President on
Growth and Expansion?
MALE VOICE:
So moved.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All in favor?
Aye.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Who is that, Mr. Keane? Is there a Hellenic
culture report? Hellenic Cultural Commission, please come
forward Mr. Keane. Board of Auditors will be next.
MR. KEANE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman, and good
morning Brothers. My name is Joseph Keane. I’m the
Chairman of the Hellenic Cultural Commission and the
President of the Ev-Zone Chapter 405 in New Rochelle.
We had a beautiful convention and I hope you all did. We
changed our format this year, and we had multiple
presentations rather than a single focus presentation. We
had Dr. Haralnopou [phonetic] who did a lecture on “Greece,
Drachma or Euro?” It was a terrific forum for everybody to
ask questions on what’s happening in Greece. Many of you
have investments and homes and properties in Greece. It
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was a very spirited hour that we spent with him. He’s
available for regional presentations. He’s very
enthusiastic and knowledgeable on international affairs and
the economies and specifically in Greece.
It was an excellent session. When we asked him what’s the
future, is it going to be the drachma or the euro, you
know, the crystal ball’s not quite that specific. But it
was very informative and for those who attended I’m sure,
you know, they had some insights that they didn’t have from
just reading The New York Times.
The other one we had George Blytas [phonetic] present “The
First Victory, Greece in the Second World War.” If Anthony
Kouzounis is around we have about 20 or 30 books still
available for $40. It’s the greatest history I’ve ever
read. I reviewed it for the AHEPA Magazine in terms of
Greece’s participation and the history and coverage of
World War II as seen through the prism of Greece. It’s a
tremendous book.
He is not a historian by trade. It’s an avocation for him.
He did a terrific job. He spent an hour presenting it and
talking about highlights of it. It was very spirited as
well and very much enjoyable and informative. And I would
recommend you, if you don’t have a copy for your Chapter
you should have one, and put it in the church library or
the AHEPA library because it’s something that it’s not well
covered, the role of Greece in World War II.
But everybody knows that Barbarossa if it happened on time
Russia would have been conquered by Nazi Germany. But the
Greece resistance delayed that and changed the outcome of
the war. And it’s not just the delay but it’s the heroic
stance that they took when they defeated armies of
Bulgaria, Greece, Italy--I’m sorry--Germany and Italy. It
was a fabulous story and he tells it extremely well.
We also had Professor George Kourvetaris, who talked about
the “Future of Hellenism in the 21st Century.” He’s
dedicated his whole life to Hellenism. I think he might
still be here. He’s developed a series of seven DVDs. Let
me read you just some of the titles. We would strongly
recommend that you buy a set of these and do a Hellenism
night, maybe every month, showing--it’s about a 45-minute
to one hour DVD. “The Introduction and Birthplace of
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Democracy,” “On Freedom,” “The Greek Influence on the
American Founding Fathers.” That’s a dynamite
presentation, to really show to the students and your
community what Greece’s contribution to the United States
and what we are today and all of its contributions. “The
Music of Ancient Greece,” which I’m sure will be
interesting and of course, “Mythology of Ancient Greece.”
So it’s a series. You should really--one of the
recommendations we would like to carry forward to the
chapters and districts is that you do at least once or
twice a year a Hellenism presentation. Hellenism is the
secret for growing the AHEPA. People, and we do a great
job within our chapters and having meetings and keeping
everybody happy, breaking bread together, having a good
time, feeding on the fellowship that is the AHEPA, but the
people in the community who don’t know about the AHEPA we
need to have events so that they’ll ask the question, well,
this is what the--I didn’t understand this. And Hellenism
is the way to do that. I’ll get to how we’re going to help
you do that.
But so those were the presentations. That’s a format we’re
going to use more frequently where we’ll have multiple
presentations that will appeal to different areas within
the AHEPA family rather than have a single, you know,
presentation that addresses one specific topic.
You know, what our objective is, we had a very successful
session for--we had about a dozen members who focused on
it--and one of the things we want to do is we’re launching
a website that will be under the AHEPA.org banner, that’ll
have content to help you do these Hellenism sessions.
We’ll develop the website. We will link you to modern and
classical study programs, chairs within your regional area
that you can talk to to get content and topics that you
could use in your programs.
There’s a number of summer and online Hellenism study
programs, not only the AHEPAcademy that Ari talked about,
you know, recently, but other programs that are available
if you have students that want to spend the summer in
Greece and learn their Greek heritage. Then there’s books
and articles that we’ll make available through the website
that you can, again, make available in your community and
to build a library.
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And probably most important we’ll be developing a series of
speaker profiles. Those of you who were in Montreal, you
probably remember Andre Gerolymatos who was the professor
from Simon Fraser University. He talked on terrorism. He
talked on the Middle East. He talked about Iran and
Turkey, and he talked about what was happening with Greece
in the Aegean. He’s very knowledgeable. He’s available as
a speaker. We’re going to try to organize something with
the Onassis Foundation to bring him to the New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut area in the fall to address those same
topics for that area. He’s available as a speaker. He’s
an outstanding speaker, and his format is terrific. He’ll
field questions on all those topics we just talked about
and it’s very spirited and it’s just--you almost have to
pull him off the stage because there’s so much interest
that is generated from his topics.
So in conclusion, what I would like to say is we would
encourage twofold, two things for each chapter and district
to do. One is to have multiple Hellenism topics, and we’re
going to help you do that. We’ll get you the content.
We’ll get you the speakers. We’ll give you a how-to
blueprint and how you can go about executing that. How you
contact the people and launch it.
And the second thing that’s very important, and by the way,
that’s the forum for getting new members. If people see
what we do on the outside of the actual chapter, they will
realize what we can offer and they’ll want to contribute.
And that leads into the scholarships and the growth of the
chapter.
And the final point I’d like to encourage you is there’s a
Hellenic History Tournament that Nick Nikas--I think Nick’s
here in the audience. He’s a former District Governor. He
organized it. We’re in our third year with it. We
participated last year and we’re participating this year.
It’s the best use--the AHEPA spends probably about $1
million in scholarships and awards between the national,
the districts and the chapters every year. But this--where
are we directing our funds? We gave out $8,000 in our
chapter in scholarships this year. But we’re redirecting
it. We supported a team last year. We’re going to support
two teams this year in the Hellenic History Tournament.
It’s a very simple format.
In May you give the students
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who are going to participate, it’s a team of three, it’s a
Jeopardy-like format, and it’s sudden death elimination.
The teams compete against each other. They study a book
which was written by Peter Limber who was a professor who
felt his children didn’t understand their heritage, their
Greek heritage. So he wrote Hellenika, Heritage and
History. It goes from the Golden Age of Greece through
Byzantium and to modern Greece. And then the questions
were developed by professor and they have four choices. If
they’ve read the book they can recall the choices and pick
the best one that’s most probable. And if they don’t get
it right it turns to the other team and it’s--if you’re
familiar with Jeopardy it’s a terrific format.
The beauty of it is the winning team gets a $1,000
scholarship each for each member of the three members. The
second team gets $500 each, but everyone wins because they
come away from it--even if you get eliminated in the first
round, if you’ve read the book you now know your heritage.
And these students come back and the winners come back
every year and so all through their high school career they
can be winning a $1,000 scholarship. That’s the best use
of our scholarship dollars because they’re coming away and
they really understand their heritage. They know where
they’ve been, where we’ve all been, and we’ve imparted to
them the knowledge of their heritage. And it’s a great
format. So we will keep you posted, right, Nick?
MR. NICK NIKAS:
yes.
MR. KEANE: On how the progress is working and we will try to
encourage you--Nick has done a terrific job--so that you
could roll it out in your district.
[Applause]
MR. KEANE:
Thank you very much for your attention.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. KEANE:
Yes, he has a question.
Oh, you’ve got a question.
MR. MACRIS: Question. Spiro Macris, Chapter 408, Wilmington,
North Carolina, I want to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman,
and the Cultural Commission for the wonderful work you’ve
been doing the last few years in expanding this program.
I do have a minor complaint.
I understand that yesterday
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Professor Kourvetaris’ presentation there were only 12
people present. This was going on at the same time that
other things were happening, for example, the Cyprus and
Hellenic Affairs Committee was meeting. I had 36 Brothers
in there. If there’s any way, and I know there’s so much
going on you can’t possibly give everything its own slot
without anything else happening, but when we invite
professionals here to give programs, professors, we should
at least give them the respect so they have the opportunity
to speak to a larger number of our brothers and sisters.
And so it may be you have nothing to do with the
scheduling, and I–
MR. KEANE: [Interposing] It has a lot to do with the
scheduling, and that’s an excellent point. Once you’ve
made a mistake you won’t make that mistake again.
MR. MACRIS:
Right.
MR. KEANE: We normally schedule the presentations when we only
have one when there’s nothing else happening, like at lunch
time or–
MR. MACRIS:
[Interposing] Right, right, yes.
MR. KEANE: –something else where people can come and there’s
nothing happening or after the sessions break at 4 or 5
o’clock. When we had four this year and it was a problem,
Basil, and he wouldn’t let me schedule on Tuesday because
he had so much happening on Tuesday. But we will be very
careful. It’s an excellent point, and we will react to
that.
MR. MACRIS:
Thank you.
MR. KEANE: One last point, one of the outcomes of our committee
meeting was that we need to develop a strategic plan for
Hellenism. It is really the secret for growing AHEPA
because we’re no longer being persecuted, God bless, but we
are--we have something to contribute to society. And with
these multicultural pressures that are on society, they’ve
ignored the contribution of Greece to Western civilization.
We have to bring that to the forefront. So we’re going to
develop a business plan that ties into our strategic plan.
That’s our charter for this year. Next year at the
convention in Las Vegas we’ll present to you the strategic
plan and hopefully it will not only be a plan but it will
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209
have been implemented along the way.
MR. KOUZOUNIS: Anthony Kouzounis, Supreme Secretary. Brother
Joe, one other thing, Joseph Keane, is the book that you
mentioned is available and it’s in the headquarters there.
It’s $40 and we did negotiate--you were able to negotiate
30% of that goes to the scholarship foundation. So that’s
a great deal, and they’re saving about $5 or $6 in shipping
cost if they order it online. So it’s–
MR. KEANE: [Interposing] And it’s something to read on the
plane going home.
MR. KOUZOUNIS:
MR. KEANE:
VICE CHAIR:
MR. KEANE:
If it’s a long flight.
You won’t get through the whole thing.
MR. JIM ZAFOURIS:
Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Chairman?
MR. PETER SOURIS:
Peter Souris, oh, you go ahead.
MR. ZAFOURIS: My name is Jim Zafouris. I’m a brother colleague
of the New Rochelle Chapter 405. I rise to compliment and
I know firsthand that this distinguished Chairman and
Philhellene, who has been a President of our Chapter for
more than 20 years, and I know firsthand of his efforts and
our chapter has adopted the programs that he and Nick Nikas
have jointly put together. So I wanted to take this
opportunity as a brother colleague to congratulate my
Chairman on an extraordinary job well done.
[Applause]
MR. KEANE: Jim is also the President of my fan club.
terrific guy.
He’s a
MR. SOURIS: I’m Peter Souris, District 20, Chapter 454,
Chandler, Arizona. I’d like to know if this, the materials
you’re talking about and the lectures you’re talking about
are they available? I mean can we get them by going on the
website? Can our chapter get any sort of information on
how to receive some of this, some of these lectures and so
forth?
MR. KEANE:
Yeah, Peter, if you’ll give me--if you give me your
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email address I’ll send you the material. Professor
Kourvetaris has the series of seven DVDs that are available
for $200. The book, as Anthony said, if you see Anthony,
it’s available for $40. If you contact headquarters they
will be able to place an order for you and to fulfill it.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. KEANE:
I thank you again.
MR. TED VITTAS: I have one comment, please? Ted Vittas, Ramapo
453 District, Sons Adviser, so I want to just point out to
everyone this is going to be an auxiliaries committee
report, but we adopted the Hellenic History Tournament as a
project to establish Sons chapters in our district. We had
a Sons-sponsored team at the Hellenic History Tournament.
None of the four that participated were Sons of Pericles.
We signed up three out of the four.
But I encourage you chapters, AHEPA chapters where you
don’t have a Sons chapter, to fund a team to go to that
tournament in Orange, Connecticut. It’s going to be
October 29th, and as a way of getting young people involved
in an AHEPA program. It was a great education for them.
They learned a lot and it was a great day for Hellenism up
there in Orange, Connecticut. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Well, thank you very much.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. I vote for the adoption of the report
of the Hellenic Cultural Commission. Oh.
MR. JOHN GALANIS: Mr. Chairman, John Galanis, Supreme Trustee,
Board of Trustees, I just--sort of related to this report
is something that our Chairman did in Illinois, which I
think is worthy of just a comment. He was--he spent--our
Chairman spent five years devoted to developing a Hellenic
American Veterans memorial at the Elmwood Cemetery at
Chicago. I have pictures of it, but he raised over
$100,000. They dedicated it about a month ago and they had
400 people at the dedication.
And what it is it’s not a takeoff, but it represent--it’s a
bunch of concrete and marble slabs upright with all the
various names of the veterans. Those veterans that were
decorated with Distinguished Service Crosses or the
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Congressional Medal and so forth, primarily of Illinois
people. But the point is it was a--I consider it a
cultural project indirectly, but this was on behalf of the
Hellenic American Legion. But it’s maybe something others
may want to do, and Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to mention
it unless you want to add something. That’s all I wanted
to say. Congratulations.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: The Chair wanted to sit down while you were
giving that report, and he says thank you very much. The
Chair has showed all of us those pictures throughout the
course of the weekend and I think we should all give a
round of applause for our Chair on what a wonderful project
they had in Illinois.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Brother John. It was a quarter of a
million dollar project. It was $250,000 that I raised. At
this time–
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Mr. Chair?
Yes, sir?
MALE VOICE: I’m sorry. Mr. Chair, I also want to take this
opportunity to thank Brother Joe for that report. I
believe that his report at this moment might be the
exclamation point of this convention. I believe that he
defined where AHEPA should be today. In 1922 it was all
about the Americanization of the Hellene.
And today where is AHEPA? I believe, and I believe Brother
Joe does, too, that it should be about the Hellenization of
the Greek American. And I think it’s encouraging that we
all have a Hellenic program. So you’re all invited in
Holmdel, New Jersey on March 23rd, where we have, for the
past two years, have had a free Hellenic program with
fasoulada [Greek audio]. And it was about promoting our
Hellenism and passing this wonderful gift given to us by
our grandparents to the next generation. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Again, I’d like a consensus of
opinion. All in favor of the report rendered by the
Hellenic Cultural Commission, all in favor say aye.
ALL:
Aye.
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212
MR. CHAIRMAN: Those negative? The ayes have it. Thank you.
Right now I’d like to move to the Board of Auditors, Craig
Clawson are you in the room? Yes, here he is. Brothers,
we’ve got a lot of work to finish. We’ve got the
Legislative Committee after this one and then a few of the
other subcommittees. And we have to leave this room, again
I’m reminding you, by 4:30. So we have to move on. Thank
you.
MR. CRAIG CLAWSON: Do you have an extra small glass of water I
could have to--no, I don’t need that. Just a glass is
fine. That’s fine. I don’t want to take your good stuff.
Good morning, brothers. You’ll find our report on page 52
of the yearbook, and I’d like to ask Brother Bill Albanos,
who’s right here, and Brother Chris Gallis, who’s also
right here, to stand. Those are my--the three of us are
your auditors, okay? So I’m looking for them to help me
answer any questions, right? Okay.
I’ll go through the whole report with you and then I’ll
take questions. Our first meeting convened following the
Montreal Supreme Convention. The three members were in
attendance. I was elected Chairman and Brother Albanos as
Secretary, and we accepted the resignation of Nick Dixie as
he was elected to Supreme Governor at the Montreal
Convention. And then we generally meet just twice. Our
final meeting took place June 30th to July 2nd of this year
in Washington, D.C. at AHEPA headquarters and was attended
by myself, Brother Albanos and our newly appointed third
member, Chris Gallis.
During the course of our deliberations we met with Patrice
Farish, the CPA Controller of AHEPA, Bill Robinson, CPA of
Johnson Robinson PLC and Basil Mossaidis, our Executive
Director.
During our meeting with Johnson Robinson we reviewed the
audit reports for the Order of AHEPA and its affiliates and
such work papers, meeting minutes and other information as
we considered necessary. We are pleased to report that the
audits were performed in a very professional and detailed
manner. The auditor’s report follows this report and shows
the financial details for each activity of AHEPA, as well
as the combined activities.
We approved for payment the March 31, 2011 audit billing in
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the amount of $37,000, and I was instructed to sign the
2012 engagement letter engaging Johnson Robinson for
another year to audit our March 31, 2012 financials.
We followed a set of guidelines and procedures in
fulfilling our duties and responsibilities as the Board of
Auditors. And we want to remind you again that our
function is not to really create and implement policy, but
rather to report, comment and suggest. And that’s what we
do.
So first, the Board of Trustees and Supreme Lodge, since
the Board and the Supreme Lodge both now participate in the
financial and contractual approval process, we are
requesting again advance notification of meetings of each
body along with their proposed agendas. Additionally, we
request that each of us be provided with timely copies of
all meeting minutes, executed contracts and interim
financial statements so that we can keep abreast of the
financial status and obligations of the AHEPA throughout
the year rather than trying to take it all into play on our
meeting with the year-end auditor.
Without timely information it’s impossible to anticipate
any problems and to offer advice in advance of
transactions. The trustees are charged with the obligation
of the national trust to oversee and monitor the
investments of the trust. Our review of the national trust
investments indicates that all acquisitions during the year
conformed to the investment guidelines of the trust
agreement as amended in 1994 or 2004--I don’t know. I’ve
got it down there. As stated by our outside auditor, the
investments are in compliance with the trust restrictions
at year-end as well.
Administrative fees, we recommend that the Board of
Trustees adopt a written policy on adjusting administrative
fees annually. And we suggest that they use the Consumer
Price Index as their measure of change.
Conflict of interest, and this paragraph is to be read by
itself, and I’ll explain the next section. “Conflict of
interest constitutional Article 17 contains a provision
relative to conflict of interest. It calls for full
disclosure of any direct or indirect financial or indirect-or personal conflict. We encourage the establishment of a
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214
more detailed officers, directors and employees of conduct
which specifically outlines behavior. In this way,
individuals can sign the conflict of interest clause and be
required to acknowledge the reading of the more detailed
version which specifically prescribes the actions of
behavior with respect to their fiduciary responsibilities,
their Board responsibilities, and/or their dealings with
outside entities. And the Board has a draft copy of that
under consideration. We’re hopeful that they’ll adopt that
with this next year.
Now, this next paragraph there’s a typo here in that the
next sentence should be in bold because this is another
section here. And it’s transactions not according to GAAP,
which are generally accepted accounting principles, ethical
standards and common sense. Our comments on this issue as
members of the Board of Auditors are most difficult,
delicate, but necessary. It is best to set forth the facts
first and then our opinion.
In April of 2010 the National Golf Tournament held in
Innsbruck was held under the direction of our Supreme
Athletic Director. It has happened each year for as long
as most of our brothers can remember. Recent years have
seen this tournament renamed in honor of the late Monthe N.
Kofos, AHEPA Supreme Athletic Director extraordinaire.
Undisclosed to the AHEPA Board of Trustees and to our
Supreme President and Lodge and apparently with the
unilateral decision only of the current Supreme Athletic
Director, the 2010 tournament was operated as a joint
venture with a new organization, the self-named National
Athletic Foundation of AHEPA and herein referred to as
NAFA. Funds from this event were deposited in the personal
account of the Supreme Athletic Director. Of these
deposits, AHEPA received $17,131.75 and NAFA received
$7,083. Our outside auditor had great difficulty obtaining
auditable records for this activity and was denied records
such as material receipts, disbursements and contract
copies.
All right, what’s wrong with this picture? That’s what we
asked. A, an AHEPA athletic activity that’s produced
income solely for the direct support of AHEPA athletics has
had an almost 30% reduction of funds that would have been
going directly to the AHEPA athletic program. And I’d like
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215
to correct that. Actually it’s even more than that because
the $17,000 and the $7,000 split actually give the AHEPA a
net of $4,021 after the direct expenditures on this golf
tournament, and NAFA $7,083. So it’s actually more than
that as we got the more pieces of the puzzle after the
meeting.
In anyway, anyway, a significant reduction of funds that
would have been going directly to the AHEPA athletics
program. The AHEPA Athletic Director owes his first duty
of loyalty to the AHEPA. To decide by himself to share
revenues with another organization would appear to be a
violation of this duty and an indication of divided
loyalty.
The part B, deposit of funds into a personal checking
account is most irregular. Checks from the hotel should be
deposited in the appropriate AHEPA account in full. When
provided the necessary documents, AHEPA headquarters will
draw the funds by check and reimbursements of expenses.
C, the inaccessibility of the records for this tournament
is really unbelievable. Despite numerous attempts, AHEPA
and our outside auditor were denied access to copies of the
contract, the hotel’s calculations regarding gross receipts
and the amount and receipts for which the hotel deducted
before issuing a check to the Supreme Athletic Director.
This lack of cooperation came very close to causing our
audit report to be qualified by our outside auditor.
This would have been our first qualified report issued as
such since the major troubles of 1995.
D, other officers and employees are required to provide
receipts for reimbursement and auditable records for the
records. We believe the athletic director is no different.
Our late athletic director Dr. Monthe N. Kofos had always
responded promptly and accurately to audit requests. It is
our hope that this is the last time that--the last that
this need be said about the need for timely, accurate and
complete records.
E, on another note, this new partner we had in the April
2010 national golf tournament appears to split a group of
athletes, mainly golfers, away from the AHEPA. A group
formed a new 501(c )(3) organization, the National Athletic
Foundation of AHEPA herein NAFA, purportedly to obtain
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grants and additional corporate sponsorship for AHEPA.
Incorporated on February 4, 2010 in South Carolina, the new
organization capitalized on the AHEPA name in golf
tournament collections of $7,000 plus in its 2010--from in
2010, and all funds from the 2011 golf tournament as it
promoted the former AHEPA national golf tournament without
AHEPA participation.
F, strangely our Supreme Athletic Director turned in to
AHEPA a request for reimbursement to travel to phoenix to
attend and coordinate a national golf tournament. It would
appear from the above that the new organization has
absolutely severed itself from AHEPA. It would also appear
that while AHEPA cannot have the national golf tournament
anymore, AHEPA monies are requested to send our athletic
director to attend the tournament that has been co-opted.
Now, fortunately, as the time is right and steps have been
taken by the parties to put a halt to this division, the
AHEPA Board of Trustees has agreed to create a corporation
and applied for a 501(c)(3) so its charitable deductions
may be clearly directed for all aspects of the Order of
AHEPA. Note, however, that AHEPA status itself as a
501(c)(10) can, and has, accepted receipted contributions
that are directed for--specifically for charitable and
educational contribution purposes. And I think that those
of you that attended our presentation at the last Governors
Conference are aware of the necessities of how to do that.
And we did have a presentation last year at Montreal that I
must say the presenters outnumbered the participants. So
we tried to give you this information and nobody came.
Anyway, the leadership of this new NAFA has indicated that
they will dissolve their organization and transfer their
funds to the AHEPA 501(c)(3) organization upon its approval
as such by the Internal Revenue Service. If this
commitment is followed it would appear that peace would
prevail where AHEPA could and should exist with a single
unified athletic department with all activities being
accountable money-wise by headquarters and subject to the
audit process.
Outside accounts relative to the operations of the AHEPA
bone marrow donor registry, a bank account. We have in the
past recommended that this be in-house under the
supervision of headquarters control. So our recommendation
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has not yet been implemented, we propose as an interim step
or intermediate step that they report their activities and
send the bank statements from the Chicago bank to
headquarters on a quarterly basis for a review and
documentation. Additionally, we suggest that the dual
signatures be required for any checks over $1,000. And
those people have separate records, but they provide all
their records and receipts and everything so that they are
available to be audited.
Contracts, all contracts with financial implications should
be submitted to the Board of Trustees for their analysis
and input regarding the financial implications. Prior to
submission the controller should prepare a preliminary
financial analysis for use by the Board of Trustees. And
we believe the minutes of the Board should document the
Board of Trustees’ consideration and deliberations in these
situations.
Check signing authority. Our constitution Article 16,
Section D defines both the duties of the Supreme Treasurer
and the method by which funds may be withdrawn from AHEPA
accounts. Our Executive Director is authorized under this
section to sign checks under $2,500 and to issue the same
with only one signature. But the section also requires
that all other checks be drawn with two signatures, one of
which is the Supreme Treasurer and the other one is either
the Supreme President, Vice President or Secretary.
Now, that’s the way it reads today. On two occasions a
check over $2,500 has been released with only one
signature. These few checks were reviewed and appear
appropriate and appropriately documents. Some checks over
$2,500 have been issued with the signatures of the Supreme
Treasurer and the Executive Director. A direct reading of
only the first sentence of the constitutional section would
appear to allow this procedure; however, the phrase except
as provided below could be interpreted that the executive
director is limited in his signing authority to checks
under $2,500.
We believe this section should be--should clearly state
which signatures are allowed. In the interim the Supreme
Counselor should interpret the correct reading of the
section. The Board of Trustees and the Supreme Lodge
should consider issuing some guidance to the various
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signers and the controller relative to possible electronic
options for a second signature requirement.
Future Supreme Conventions, we note that the 2012, 2013 and
2014 Supreme conventions are scheduled to begin on the
third Sunday in August in Las Vegas, Orlando and New
Orleans, respectively. While we congratulate our Board of
Trustees and the Supreme Lodge for their efforts at
obtaining favorable room rates for our delegates, we fear
that the dates will have a major impact on our attendance.
These dates will conflict directly with the currently
scheduled fall opening of many schools. And as both--most
of the ones that we surveyed were university or higher, but
even many high schools, etc.
We are attempting to attract younger members, and we
believe that these dates to guarantee that a great many of
our students will not be able to attend. This also will
eliminate many educators as they will be expected by their
employers to be in the classroom and particularly in cases
where that’s the first week of school. Parents of students
may also be absent as they prepare their children for
classes. All four orders will be affected adversely. We
strongly recommend negotiations promptly be attempted to
move these dates to July. If the dates cannot be moved,
the attrition portion of the contracts be carefully
reviewed and that any room guarantee reductions be made
when available.
And the next section is a recap of the membership paid and
life members at the end of each year are Supreme Vice
President as the President has already gone over the
results, but I’ll add our two cents in that we applaud the
current efforts of the Supreme Lodge to increase
membership. We encourage future officers of the Supreme
Lodge to continue to devote emphasis on this effort as well
as to target younger members.
Disclaimer, in accordance with long-established policy,
your Board of Auditors disclaims any responsibility
relative to the financial statements of autonomous
organizations such as Districts, Chapters, the AHEPA
Housing Corporation, the AHEPA Affordable Housing
Management Company, Inc., and the Daughters of Penelope
Foundation, Inc. And we wish to disclose that the CPA firm
of Clawson Associates, PC, modestly named after myself, has
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July 22, 2011
219
performed audit and tax services for the Daughters of
Penelope Foundation, Inc. This entity is autonomous from
AHEPA and their financial information is not now nor has it
ever been included in the combined financial statements of
AHEPA and its affiliates.
Responses are requested. In addition to publishing this
report in the yearbook we have provided copies to the
Supreme President, Chairman of the Trustees, each
continuing trustee, Executive Director, the controller and
each known candidate for Supreme President. Request of
them the return comments on the issues raised by us and to
offer where appropriate their thoughts and plans for
implementation.
In closing, we would like to recognize the courtesies and
cooperation extended to us all during the course of our
activities over the past year. Particular thanks go to our
controller Patrice Farish for her dedicated work. We
appreciate the opportunity to serve the Order of AHEPA and
all various boards, funds, auxiliaries and the Daughters of
Penelope. Thank you.
[Applause]
VICE CHAIR:
MR. CLAWSON:
VICE CHAIR:
Please ask for questions.
Questions?
Okay, sir?
MR. SOURIS: Peter Souris, District 20, Chapter 454 Chandler,
Arizona. I’d like to know the recommendations and
everything else that you have done in the report, how do we
know what is implemented and if it’s not implemented what
the reason is? How--where do we get that information?
MR. CLAWSON: Well, we will comment again next year. You’ll
find out. You know, one of the jobs of the auditors is we
come in after the battle and band up the wounded. So we
don’t really get the current stuff. Now, hopefully this
next Board of Trustees and headquarters and Supreme Lodge
will make an extra effort. We get them sporadically, the
notices of meetings and their minutes, and that gives us,
our body an opportunity to monitor, if you will, if they’ve
been adopted.
The amendment clarifying the signatures has been presented
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to the Legislative Committee. They read this probably too
late to add it this year, but they have assured me that
they’ll address the issues next year and will ask our
Supreme Counselor to clarify that so that we make sure that
we give direction to headquarters.
And you know, we hope to get some responses, yes, so-MR. SOURIS:
[Interposing] Well, I think–
MR. CLAWSON: [Interposing] So the body itself, you won’t know
here whether we get responses or they get implemented.
Next year we’ll put a little checklist in our report that
says “Done” or “Accepted” or “Rejected.” Okay?
MR. SOURIS: Yes. Thank you. Our church has the same problem.
Our auditors come in and they recommend and we don’t get
any information.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, the information actually isn’t available
for the simple reason they’re implementing it at this
convention so it has to take place within the various
committees.
MR. SERIS: I commend you on the work you guys have done. It
takes a lot of time and effort. You’ve done a good job.
[Applause]
MR. ZAFOURIS:
Mr. Chairman?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Yes?
MR. ZAFOURIS: Jim Zafouris, New Rochelle Ev-Zone, Chapter 405.
Mr. Chairman of the Auditors, what was the rationale, if
you’re free to disclose it, what was the rationale for
selecting the convention dates so close to school openings
for the next three conventions?
MR. CLAWSON: I think that’s best addressed by our--the Supreme
President or the Executive Director. My understanding was
it was in the--in seeking the most advantageous room rates
available to us while missing, and this is just what I’ve
been told so this is hearsay, but it’s to--obviously we
want to avoid the first or the 15th of August because of
the Lenten period. Most of us don’t want to be at a
convention and being, having being served lentils, you
know?
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July 22, 2011
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And then secondly on even number years we want to be away
from the clergy laity congress. 2012 the clergy laity is
the first week of July so we’re away from them in the third
week of August. Now, from there it’s primarily a rates,
I’ve been told, but I’d let our Supreme President or
Executive Director or Frank? Do you want to respond to
that?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Where is he?
MR. FRANKLIN MANIOS:
- - .
MR. CHAIRMAN: No, can’t hear you. Come on, Brothers, get to
the mike. We’re running out of time.
MR. MANIOS:
The Supreme Lodge and the Board-
MR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Your name?
MR. MANIOS: My name is Franklin Manios, Chairman of the Board
of Trustees. Okay. Let me--the Supreme Lodge and the
Executive Director look around for the best possible deals
for conventions. And then they present them. They present
them to the Board for ratification. They found these four
dates and it has to do a lot with August 15th. You’re
exactly correct about the August 15th situation. We don’t-we’re in July and there’s some difficulties so the
rationale was that they found great rates, and the rates
are really fantastic for these next four years. And
avoided August 15th.
There was concern--there was concern about your question,
but they felt it could be overcome and that’s the best I
can tell you. Unless-MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay, thank you. Any further comments on the
dates? After all, okay, well, get to the microphone.
Don’t wave at me. Okay.
MR. KARACOSTAS:
Chairman, personal privilege?
MR. CHAIRMAN: Nick Karacostas, Supreme President. Although I
understand the concerns of the brothers, obviously we’ve
already signed a contract. The reason we went to August
was because the delegates were complaining that July dates
were too expensive at the hotels. The only way we could
have gotten--get the rate down was to go to an August date.
So unfortunately for better or for worse we have to live
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with it.
The financial risk would be too great to cancel or move the
dates now for next year. So, you know, we’ve heard a
number of complaints from some of the delegates and
everybody’s entitled to their opinion. The Daughters,
we’ve heard some complaints from the Daughters and, you
know, the Board I guess will take that into consideration
with the Supreme Lodge. But we cannot change contracts
that have been signed because it’s just not financially
viable for the Order of AHEPA to change these contracts
now. So, you know, I apologize for the inconvenience for
those that, you know, don’t feel that August is a good
time, but next year we’ll be looking at $100 a night
instead of $200 a night. And that’s the big difference.
[Applause]
MR. KARACOSTAS: And that’s the big difference, so we can’t
please everybody. We do the best we can as volunteers.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. CHAIRMAN: And I may add for you, Mr. President, that we’ve
fallen back to the original dates of the Supreme
Conventions that we had in the past before we got into
July.
MR. CHARLES STAMITOLES: My name is Charles Stamitoles, Daphne
Chapter 296, Pensacola, Florida. We’ve all heard of the
good works that have been done with the Sons of Pericles,
and I think we all need to tip our hat to increasing their
membership three times. And I know there’s a lot of costs
that are associated with making decisions, and I’m not
trying to be disrespectful to all the hard work that’s been
put forth to get this great rate.
But, I think if we go with our hat in hand to these groups
and tell them our problem and see if possibly sticking with
the same people with making some adjustments and there’s
going to be a lot of hard work done by people in this room
and people that maybe are not in this room, I don’t think
would want to hold us to something. I realize I’m not in
the legal world, but there needs to be an effort made or
you are going to demise all the hard work that’s been done
to make the threefold increase in the Sons of Pericles.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Sir?
In response to your remarks, I’ll give you
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July 22, 2011
223
some remarks. I happened to be Chairman of the Board of
Directors back in 2002 when we changed for 9/11. And it
cost us dearly. There was no way of getting out.
Monetarily we didn’t cost, but we had to give years to
hotels to get out of one hotel. So the--it’s too
complicated to try to revise it now if they’ve signed the
contracts.
MR. STAMITOLES: Well, in response to what you said, if it’s
going to cost us so dearly to the point that it’s going to
hurt our organization, maybe there’s another opportunity
for that year for the--I mean I don’t know how you’d have
two conventions, but something needs to happen to maintain
the youth. And maybe this one convention maybe a
representative from the AHEPA, maybe the officers and a
core group of people that show an interest to maybe attend
two conventions, but have a convention for these kids so we
don’t lose them and let them know how important they are to
us.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. ZAFOURIS: Jim Zafouris again, 405 New Rochelle Ev-Zone.
Yesterday my brothers, was a truly remarkable day at the
sports luncheon. When you looked out at the room you saw
the youth of America there. The Sons of Pericles this year
had a terrific year. The scholar athletes we had I believe
more than 35 extraordinary applications for scholar
athletes. My concern is not to revise the contract. My
concern, the thought process, not necessarily in the
interest of a dollar bill, but I want that room filled with
the youth of America. And the only way to do that, as we
saw yesterday, when you looked at the hundreds of young
people there, scholar athletes, I want them there and I
think you want them there. And that’s why I questioned
what the rationale was.
I understand the financial implications here, which appear
to be contrary to the interest of the growth and expansion
of the Sons of Pericles and the scholar athletes. Thank
you.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Any further comments positive or negative?
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July 22, 2011
224
MALE VOICE:
I move the acceptance - - .
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Pardon?
MALE VOICE:
The acceptance of the audit report.
MALE VOICE:
- - .
MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. It has been moved for the acceptance
of the Auditors’ report as given. State your name on the–
MR. MOSHOVOS: Emmanuel Moshovos, District 7 Governor, move that
the audit report be accepted by our assembly.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Is there a second here?
MR. TED VITTAS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Ted Vittas, Chapter 453.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Those against?
MR. CLAWSON:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
I’m surprised nobody - - .
MR. CLAWSON: I thought somebody--I got questions about
something I didn’t expect.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Is--no, let me get the legal one.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: It’s the next one, the next one.
last one before we go on.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
It’s the
Where is this?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Sandy J. Papadopoulos, do we have an
auxiliaries report? This is, I think, I believe Mr. Chair,
the last report before we get to the nitty-grittys.
MR. SANDY PAPADOPOULOS: Sandy Papadopoulos, Mother Lodge,
Chapter Number 1. I hope everybody can see me over the
podium.
MALE VOICE:
Stand up, Sandy.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
As usual.
Brothers, please.
Brothers, please.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
225
MR. PAPADOPOULOS: Unfortunately, the Chair didn’t give me the
phone book that I was supposed to stand on so everybody
could see me, but that being said I have to actually bring
up the point again because it was brought up and discussed
many different times about the dates of the convention and
how much it could potentially hurt the Sons and Maids
delegation, and how much it could potentially hurt the
attendance of the convention itself.
The third weekend of August was brought up a lot on the
Sons floor and the Maids floor. And they were really
concerned about how they would get their delegation there.
And this year it actually did triple in membership. I
remember when I was Sons of Pericles’ Supreme President, we
didn’t have as many delegates as they had this year, and
Mr. Eakin [phonetic] can probably vouch for that. And Nick
can, too. And to see 40 delegates in the Sons meeting that
myself and Supreme President Brother Karacosta, past
Supreme President Sons of Pericles and AHEPA James
Scofield, Tasos Konstantin, George Vassilas, past Supreme
Presidents of the Sons of Pericles as well attended. And
we were so in awe to see all those young men involved
again.
And I really feel, and I have to echo the sentiments of Mr.
Zafouris, Brother Zafouris that it will be an issue for the
future. It will be an issue. You will not have youth
attend as much as you did this past year. And it will be
an issue and it has to be addressed, and it is a concern
and it should be a concern. And I really feel like we have
to get that on the record and make that known.
That being said, we did discuss about--I told you guys that
the Sons and Maids both had really, really big delegations
this year. It was--it’s been thriving. We have a lot of
youth here this year, which is really good. Their maximum
involvement, which is really extraordinary to see the Sons
and Maids turn around so much they have the past three
years under the leadership directly for the Sons of
Pericles under the National Advisor Brother Economides from
Charlotte and Spiro Nicolopoulos who is the Supreme
President of the Sons of Pericles currently from Atlanta
via New Orleans.
We also discussed about some other things, maybe
considering bringing up at the local AHEPA chapters and the
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districts about attending and/or supporting the Hellenic
History Tournament, which is something that is not
necessarily athletics, but it’s something that kind of
feeds our minds a little bit. Ted Vittas and I were
talking about it, Brother Vittas from New Jersey. We were
just talking about how it is important for us to actually
promote our youth in pushing them to do other stuff other
than just partying and doing athletics. We are AHEPA and
we are about the progressive education of our leadership
and of our future. And we feel like it’s important for us
to actually cover all aspects of Hellenism.
And one of them is this Hellenic History Tournament. And
it’s in Orange, Connecticut, October 29th, and hopefully we
can bring it up at the District Governors’ meeting and the
District Supreme Governors meeting and whatnot in September
and we can discuss potentially getting a good group of
young men and women to participate in this particular event
that’s going on in Orange, Connecticut. It’s a worthwhile
activity and that’s what we’re all about anyway, education
and progressing of our youth.
I don’t think there’s anything else that I could probably
report on other than maybe establishing--we’ve talked also
about establishing potentially something that we’ve always
discussed on the Sons and Maids level about establishing
college chapters or academic chapters. Hopefully we can
kind of work it into somehow and see if we can actually
make it a reality one day. But again, it will be discussed
probably in more length over the course of this next year.
That’s all I have to report and if you have any questions?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Any questions?
MR. JOHN POLYDOURIS: John Polydouris, Albany, New York, Chapter
Number 140, past District Governor Empire District Number
6. I enjoyed the athletic banquet yesterday as well.
Brother Zafouris made an excellent point. I want to
compliment my fellow New Yorker. Youth should be there. I
have a question. Is the athletic banquet in the delegate
package of the Sons of Pericles and the Maids of Athena?
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
No, it’s not.
MR. POLYDOURIS: No? Well, I think, I mean this is just--this
is not a brilliant idea, but I think we should put the
athletic banquet, the athletic luncheon in the delegate
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227
package of the Sons of Pericles delegates and the Maids of
Athena delegates. In that way we’ll have all the youth
there. They won’t be out in the pool. They’ll be there
where they should be. They can go to the pool some other
time, but for that two-hour span, 2-1/2 hours, they should
be with us with the senior organizations, learning about
the athletic accomplishments of our community.
So I think, I don’t know whether a motion is in order? I’m
willing to make a motion at this time from the floor
because this is the highest deliberative body now in AHEPA,
in the AHEPA realm. We have the power to change anything
we want. We are the change, as Obama said.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. Well, here’s what we’re going to do
with that idea. We’re going to accept it as a
recommendation and the Vice Chair’s going to unfortunately
rule it out of order solely because they are auxiliary
groups and they should be brought to their attention.
And you will consider that, Mr. Chair?
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
I will.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
I will - - .
The recommendation.
I would like to–
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Yes.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS: The one thing that people don’t factor into
it is that the Sons and Maids already have issues when it
comes to how they can actually afford to come to the
convention. It would be a cost increase and that is
something that we really have to consider when it comes
down to the Sons and the Maids. Believe me, as a past son,
I would absolutely want all the kids to be there, but it
would be--we’ll take it under consideration. There’s
something that we need to discuss.
MR. POLYDOURIS:
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
Thank you.
It is something we need to discuss.
MR. POLYDOURIS: And perhaps if we could subsidize it partly
from the headquarters it would be worth it I believe.
Thank you.
[Applause]
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July 22, 2011
228
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
Very good - - .
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
-yes?
We’ll accept that as a recommendation.
MR. GALANIS:
John Galanis, Order of Supreme Board--
Yes.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
All-
Supreme something.
MR. GALANIS: –Board of Trustees. Anyway, I can tell you that
the Board really didn’t focus on the Sons and the
daughters, I mean the Maids, maybe, at least I didn’t hear
it deliberated. But I think, and subject to everyone here,
but I think we’re going to make an effort to change the
dates to satisfy the young people and provided it works.
Now, it’s not a promise, but I mean this is just me
talking. I talked to some other people on the Trustees, so
my point is that we’ll make an effort because that is
important because it is during the college time and all the
rest of it. So I thought it’s worthy of seeing.
[Applause]
MR. PAPADOPOULOS: Well, I want to make one comment to that. If
anybody has been around the pool or during any of the
afterhours activities and you see how many young people are
actually coming this year specifically, and you think about
next year being in Las Vegas? If you think that no young
kids would want to come and participate I think we’re all
crazy to think that they wouldn’t want to come there, or
Orlando for that matter.
And let’s not--also take into consideration the fact that
if you’re going to go to Orlando in late August you’re
going to actually want to have families go. That’s a
family friendly place. But families are going to have kids
in school. I mean that’s going to be a bit problem for
everybody.
MR. GALANIS: And I’m hopeful that because of the economy and
the hotels in question, I get--I doubt if it’s going to be
that big a problem, but we’ll see.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
We’ll see.
All right.
We’ll take one more.
MR. LOUIS ATSAVES: Brother Louis Atsaves, North Shore 94
Supreme Governor. I’m a little confused. Attendance is up
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July 22, 2011
229
with our junior orders this year at a convention where the
room rates are $200 a night. And if we move to a
convention where the room rates are $100 a night and back
it up where there may be a conflict in their schedule, they
won’t be able to appear.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
Yes.
MR. ATSAVES: But all I hear is complaints about how high the
room rates are and that’s one of the reasons why the number
of delegates at conventions has declined. So which is it?
You know, do you want to wrestle with the tiger or the
panther? Give us an answer, you know, standing up and
complaining about it is one thing.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS:
Yes.
MR. ATSAVES: But I haven’t heard any ideas. Do you want lower
room costs? Do you want to make conventions more
affordable for delegates of the AHEPA, the Daughters, the
Sons and the Maids? Or do you want to concentrate on the
date which makes it more expensive for them? Either way,
someone’s going to use it as an excuse for not appearing.
So give us a solution that’s positive as opposed to this
double negative I’ve been hearing for the last five
minutes.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS: Well, I’m going to say this. It’s not
necessarily a complaint as much as it is a concern. It is
a concern on both sides. Everybody is financially
strapped. We all know most people are at this point in
time with the economy being the way it is. But we also
have to take into consideration that moving the dates is a
concern for another contingent of our order. Whether it’s
the auxiliaries or the Daughters or whatever it may be, it
is a concern. It’s not necessarily, Louis, it’s not
necessarily a complaint. It’s just a concern. If we don’t
have a solution in place it’s a Catch-22.
MR. ATSAVES:
Yes, it’s a double negative.
MR. PAPADOPOULOS: So two negatives make a positive, right? Is
that what it is?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Yes, Soc?
MR. SOCRATES KOLITSOS: Socrates Kolitsos, Chapter 480. This is
not as big a problem as people are imagining it to be. It
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July 22, 2011
230
may affect some freshmen and possibly football players.
Most schools start the last week of August or into
September, most colleges that I’ve been involved with.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
MR. KOLITSOS: So you’re going to--you may lose a few. If they
really want to come they’ll find a way to be there. I ran
freshman orientation at our college, and it’s always after
September, but some colleges do start a little earlier, but
it’s that last week that’s predominantly hit. So it’s a
smaller problem than we’re making it sound.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: All right. At this point in time we’re
going to make a motion to accept the committee’s report.
MR. KOLITSOS:
So moved.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Okay.
So would all in favor say aye?
Aye.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
And the committee is discharged, thank you.
[Applause]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
report.
Okay, Dimitri Kourkoulis, the marathon
MR. DIMITRI KOURKOULIS: Thank you very much. Brothers, I will
be brief. This year we saw the initiation of our inaugural
marathon team. This was just a start. But I wish to say
this. We raised net over $100,000 for AHEPA charities.
This is AHEPA for AHEPA
[Applause]
MR. KOURKOULIS: We need--thank you. We need to do more of
this. We’re going back. This year we initiated that every
district, every single district that sends a successful
marathon runner who does the fundraising and goes to Greece
and starts--doesn’t have to finish--just start, the
district will get $300. If you send 10 runners, if you
send 10 runners to run on the AHEPA marathon team, your
district will get $3,000. That’s nothing to sneeze at when
we’re saying our chapters don’t pay the per capitas,
whatever.
I urge you to read page 43 of the annual yearbook.
It has
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231
the breakdown of all the money that went into the AHEPA
charities. And this was controlled and supervised by the
Board of Auditors. So I urge you--we’re going to do this
every year. We’re going to strive to continue and create a
team in the--excuse me--a race in the United States that
will be an AHEPA race, but thank you very much. Please
help us get runners and if you have runners please, please
support them. We’re helping ourselves. Thank you. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Committee
to Greece
Who? Get
him.
At this time before call the Legislative
forward, I’d like a short report from The Journey
program. Is anyone here to espouse on that?
him up. I can’t see who you’re pointing at. Get
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Gentlemen - - .
MR. CHAIRMAN: Is the Journey to Greece person going to report
or are we going to drop it? Well, Brother Selimos, you
weren’t listening for me. You weren’t. Come on, get a
report up here. Short.
MR. JAMES SELIMOS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
What is it you want?
About the Journey to Greece.
MR. J. SELIMOS: Brothers, I am James Selimos from District 20,
Chapter Number 318. I am the past Chairman of the
Education Foundation, and I’d like to say a few words of
what’s taking place today on the Journey to Greece. Dr.
Jim Dimitrou has done a phenomenal job in the past six
years, and we have a continuous Journey to Greece for the
kids. This year we don’t have as big a number, but at the
University of Indianapolis they’re having a fantastic time.
They have been on a cruise for five days studying the roots
of Greece and - - .
I wish there were somebody here from the Education
Foundation. Apparently I don’t recognize anyone and I make
the report on their behalf. It’s been a successful
project. We consider it to be number two project after the
National Housing. I’m proud. Joe Keane, you made a
partial report on the same subject and thank you for
detailing some of the things.
Okay. Next year we will have a better year because this
year we had some financial problems and we hope to raise
AHEPA
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232
more money and send more kids attending the Journey to
Greece program. Thank you very much.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much, Brother Selimos. All right,
at this time we invite the Chairman of the Legislative
Committee to come forth, Dean Selimos, and I wanted to
advise you as of this. Once we finish with the legislative
report and it’s accepted we will break for lunch and
immediately, depending on the timing of course, right now
for the Legislative Committee, it’s around noon. So if we
take an hour for the legislative or less–
MR. DEAN SELIMOS:
[Interposing] It will be less, Mr. Chairman.
MR. CHAIRMAN: –we will break for an hour and a half and let’s
assume that around 2 o’clock, 2:30 we’ll start the
nominations for office of the Supreme Lodge officers. So
let’s assume that we’re going to be on time and we should
be--nominations should start around 2:00 p.m. Thank you.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning,
brothers. We’re close to the noon hour. The Legislative
Committee has had some challenges this year as it does on
most of the conventions. We had a very comprehensive,
knowledgeable, vigorous and enthusiastic membership in the
actual committee itself. The debate was inspiring and
knowledgeable. Many ideas have been exchanged and the
standing legislative process has facilitated the actual
results of the Legislative Committee.
We had approximately 24, 25 proposals, of which 16 have
survived to the point of vote through the Legislative
Committee, and I will go through them now. Some are
simple. Others were the result of a good amount of
contemplation, debate, study, and we’ll get to those.
Now, I have our secretary Matthew Kochevar, who has a
screen to the other side of the convention hall, and those
that would like to follow with the screen it may make
things a little easier. I’m going to try to paraphrase and
hit the highlights of the proposed legislation for the
interest of time and brevity. I also wanted to thank
Brother Kirkiles who was also very effective in helping
organize the committee and allowing debate to continue and
of course assisting in the overall process.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
233
The first proposal is a constitutional change. This
relates to the AHEPA Board of Trustees taking on two new
seats that are for fulfillment by the outgoing past Supreme
President of Canada and the outgoing past Supreme President
of the Order of AHEPA. There are other details and
provisions that are in subparagraphs A through E, of which
the--they really can be summarized in themselves of dealing
with contingencies or events that may take place. The gist
of this legislation is that the experience of the outgoing
Presidents was for use by the Board of Trustees in order to
help them with the resources, raise money and establish
further contacts for the overall interests of the Order of
AHEPA.
The second proposal relates to the registration process.
We know every year there’s a controversy that comes either
through grievance or on the floor regarding registration of
the delegates by June 1. What we’ve done here, is stated
if June 1 is a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or a holiday, by
midnight of the next business day of Eastern Time--in
effect the period has been extended. So if June 1st is a
Friday the extension is to the next business day, midnight
Eastern Time. Hopefully this is going to facilitate the
providing of the delegates by June 1. We know this area is
a continuing controversy but we’re trying to do something
to assist.
Yes, Brother Chairman?
MR. CHAIRMAN: Are you going to take each one of your
resolutions - - ?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Yes, you have to.
MR. D. SELIMOS: You want to--do you want to do that
individually? Okay, instead of in summary? All right.
Brother Chairman has advised me we’ll take the propositions
in order. You want any questions on that before we take
the–
MR. CHAIRMAN: [Interposing] Well, if anybody has any, if
anybody has any questions.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Brothers, on the first proposition relative to
expanding the Board of Trustees to two additional seats
that will include the outgoing Supreme President of AHEPA
and the outgoing Supreme President of Canada?
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
234
MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. It’s been presented that adding two
seats, any positive or negative remarks on this? Brothers,
when you feel that you have something to say get near the
microphone please.
MR. STEVE TRIPODES: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is
Steve Tripodes. I’m a past District Governor, Supreme
Governor, past member of the Board of Directors and past
member of the Board of Trustees, and I rise in favor of
defeating this motion. I’m a no vote against this and for
these reasons.
All the members, Brothers, who are on the Board of
Trustees--excuse me--can you hear me?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Closer to the mike.
MR. TRIPODES:
That’ll solve it, thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
That solves it.
MR. TRIPODES: All of the members on the Board of Trustees are
there only by the virtue of your vote. You have sole
control over who is on the Board of Trustees. This measure
would circumvent that by permitting an appointive process
which in my judgment undermines the authority granted to
the delegates. Therefore, I urge a no vote against
proposal one. Thank you very much, Brothers for - - .
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Brothers, before you proceed, I’m going to allow
the maximum of 10 minutes for and 10 minutes against and so
if--so we are all apprised of that.
MR. CLAWSON: Brother Chairman, Craig Clawson, Cornhusker
Chapter Number 147, Omaha, Nebraska, Member Board of
Auditors. I rise to speak against this proposed amendment,
primarily based upon cost. We now send six members of the
Board of Trustees to various meetings and conferences
throughout the year. Most of the--I’ve got to say that
many of their meetings are telephonic so that we don’t
incur costs, but we still have the various, primarily the
Supreme Convention and the Governor’s Conference for
expense for these individuals. And adding two individuals
to a six-member board is an equivalent of increasing the
expense of that board by 33-1/3%. So I urge the defeat of
this motion. Thank you very much.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
235
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Brothers, the issue pertaining to the automatic
provision or inclusion on the Board and that versus voting
that position was very much discussed in the committee.
I’d like our Vice Chair Demetrios Kirkiles to comment on
that.
MR. DEMETRIOS KIRKILES: Brothers, before this gets too out of
hand, there’s two classes that are created through this
process. The first is the elected positions. They are
capped at a total of six years. This appointed position is
capped until the next outgoing Supreme President exists or
they serve two years. After two years they’re
automatically off.
Second, as far as costs, we checked with headquarters. Our
understanding is that these people would still receive the
exact same amount of money. They would just have to divide
it by two additional people. My understanding is if you
look at what the stipends are these days, it’s really NOT
that much. You do this because you love AHEPA. So that’s
it.
I’d like to just briefly go through the subparagraphs. A
is that is shall not exceed two years. No person who is
through this appointment process may serve as an officer on
the Board of Directors. So in other words, they have to
actually serve as a member only and only for a year, which
is most likely what will happen. And if somebody’s unable
to fulfill this position you just keep going back until you
find a past Supreme who’s willing to take it. And if they
want a three-year term instead of a mere one-year mere
appointed term, they have to run for office. And if they
win then they automatically resign their appointed
position. And they have to go through the same vetting
process.
The goal here is to keep the talent and the contacts. We
don’t want people who are just going to be looking at the
numbers. We need people who are going to see the big
picture. And as many of the past Supreme Presidents came
and commented on this. So these gentlemen have a different
view of what the big picture is in AHEPA. Okay, thank you.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
236
MR. ATSAVES: Yes, Brother Louis Atsaves, North Shore 94. I
speak--I rise to speak in favor of this provision, and let
me tell you why. It’s not an appointive position. The
position comes about due to the nature of the position
that’s already held. One example would be all of our
Parish Councils of all of our churches. We don’t elect a
priest to serve on a parish council. By nature of his
position he’s automatically on. Right?
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE:
- - papa.
MR. ATSAVES: Thank you for the catcalls, but in any event, I do
have the floor. I do have the right to speak. One of the
things I do want to bring out is–
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] George.
- - .
MR. ATSAVES: –I belong to many associations. My bar
association, the immediate past President of the Illinois
State Bar Association serves on our Executive Commitment
for a year after he steps down from office automatically.
It is for continuity purposes. It’s a good business
practice. Other organizations do it. I see no harm in
AHEPA doing it, and that’s why I’m speaking in favor of
this motion.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
All right, in favor or against?
MR. LEE MILLAS: Lee Millas, Trenton, Chapter 72, Member of the
Board of Trustees. Brothers, several years ago, many years
ago as a matter of fact, the Board of Trustees numbered 11,
12, 13. The number of those trustees involved everything.
They controlled the Order of AHEPA. As you well know, Mr.
Chairman, you were part of that. As a matter of fact you
did such a great job that they reduced the Board of
Trustees down to six in Boston. They did a great job.
Over the last several years with six member of the Board of
Trustees, with the bad economic times that we’ve had, our
job is to run the finances of the Order of AHEPA, and the
finances of the Order of AHEPA have never been in better
shape. And all these years, these last several years with
six members on that Board, there has been no politics.
There has been no inter-party fighting on that Board. We
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
237
have done the right thing for the good of the Order. And
it should be maintained. Don’t change things that aren’t
broken. Vote no on this issue.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
How much time have they got?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Seven minutes left.
I’ve got seven minutes left.
MR. JOHN MESOGITIS:
Mesogitis–
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. MESOGITIS:
Thank you, Brother Chairman, John
[Interposing] Wait, wait, wait.
Okay.
He was first.
I’m sorry.
MR. POLYDOURIS: John Polydouris, Chapter Number 140, Past
District Governor new York State, Empire District. I also
am against it. In our chapters, Brothers, we have Board of
Governors. We elect our Board of Governors. The Board of
Governors serve as checks and balances on the executive
branch. Likewise in the AHEPA, the greater AHEPA, the
trustees serve as checks and balances on the Supreme
President, Supreme Vice President. I think as Brother Lee
Millas so eloquently said, and he’s on the trustees, we
should defeat this motion for many reasons.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay, thank you.
MR. MESOGITIS: Thank you, Brother Chairman, John Mesogitis,
Past District Governor, Past Supreme Governor Power
District 4. I speak in favor of the motion. There’s a
couple elements germane to the motion. A is that we do
seek continuity with the personnel that we do have. We
have a Supreme President that will be finishing up an
extraordinary two-year term. We have a Canadian President
that will be winding up a tremendous two-year term as well.
And the intent behind the motion is also to have gentlemen
on the Board of Trustees, not just to be overseers of our
finances but to actually raise funds for the Order of the
AHEPA.
These two gentlemen that have served in this capacity have
done a tremendous job of raising monies for the Order of
the AHEPA. And I think we have to keep that in mind that
it is the job of the trustees, yes, to be the checks and
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
238
balances and to be the overseers of the finances of the
Order, but we also need to generate new funds so that we
can go into new business ventures, to fund organizations
like the Sons of Pericles, the Journey to Greece program,
whatever the case may be, but the most important thing is
that they will get on--continue the contacts that they’ve
made and to bring their fresh, brand new experience that
they have of being in the heat of battle and bringing that
to the Board of Trustees. I speak in favor and I urge all
of you fervently to support this motion. Thank you,
Brothers.
[Applause]
MR. DEMOSTHENES KIRIAZIDES: Demosthenes Kiriazides, call me
Dennis, AHEPA 67, Rochester, New York. I heard if you love
AHEPA. How many people love AHEPA here?
[Applause]
MR. KIRIAZIDES: Everyone does. If you love AHEPA vote for
this. That’s B.S. Second thing I heard, let’s compare
this to a priest. I forgot. We have problems with
priests. How many priests do we have are really in our
corner? AHEPA spends half its time fighting the local
priests. So we don’t need a priest on the Executive Board.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Let’s get to the point.
MR. KIRIAZIDES: The third thing I want to--the third thing is
we have too many czars. It’s time for us to be lean and
mean. We don’t need extra baggage. And as far as a
Supreme President, we love him. We respect him. We think
he’s a great guy and so are all the Supreme Presidents
before them. But they went through a grueling year to put
them into a role where you give them an unofficial position
is insane. I love AHEPA. I’ve been with it 50 years, and
I’m not going to sit here and tell you–
MR. CHAIRMAN: [Interposing] Brother, you’re eating up the time
for a couple more members.
MR. KIRIAZIDES:
this down.
All right.
Let’s not have another czar.
Vote
[Applause]
MR. KOSTAS HAZIFOTIS:
Kostas Hazifotis, Chapter 251 District
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
239
21MR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Talk–
MR. HAZIFOTIS: –District 21, also known as Citizen AHEPAN
[phonetic]. I stand here before you to say that, you know,
the leadership of AHEPA that we’ve had this year and last
year has been great. No question about it. Nobody’s
challenging or saying that. If the Board of Trustees need
to be increased then maybe that should be the
consideration, but to automatically put the two Supreme
Presidents into–
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] We’ve got three minutes.
MR. HAZIFOTIS: –the Board of Trustees, it just doesn’t make any
sense at all. I also feel that let’s give other people a
chance by putting those people there. It’s almost like
taking the President of the United States and now making
him Speaker of the House, you know?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Your position, please?
MR. HAZIFOTIS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
My position is against.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
All right–
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: –one over here, one over there and then that’s
the end of the comments because we’re out of time.
MR. SAVAS TSIVICOS:
Savas Tsivicos–
MALE VOICE:
- - point of order.
MALE VOICE:
- - time.
We’ve got so many - - .
Some time.
MR. TSIVICOS: Yes, Savas Tsivicos, Governor of District 5. I
rise to express my concern because I believe the argument
that was put forth is based on a flawed logic. Basically
you’re telling us that you want to capitalize on the
expertise of someone that has risen to the position of
Supreme President. Is that correct?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Well, that’s–
MR. D. SELIMOS: [Interposing] Well, that was the thinking
[phonetic].
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
240
MR. TSIVICOS:
Yes or no?
MR. D. SELIMOS:
Canada.
That is correct.
And also the other from
MR. TSIVICOS: Okay. If you want to capitalize on the expertise
of those that have risen to the position, you can invite
them to come and serve on different positions even as a
member of the Board of Trustees. But as ex officio members
you have a process that works.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
MR. TSIVICOS: You have the Board of Trustees that have been
there and they have been elected by the Board of--by the
General Assembly. And yet you are creating, please, Mr.
Chairman, this is very important. This has to do about the
future of AHEPA and we should not take it lightly. And it
has nothing to do about the personalities that are in this
position right now. We must think long term.
We want to be the example of an organization. And I can
speak from experience. I have served the biggest
organizations in the country. I’m serving on the highest
levels of the church, and I’m telling you, we are creating
a bad precedent. Yes, let’s capitalize on the expertise of
Brother Karacostas and any other Karacostas. Bring them in
as ex officio members. Use them on special projects like
the presidents of the United States are used as when they
go. But do not create a process where you appoint
individuals and then you lose the balance and you are
creating a monster which in the future years we will
regret. Please reconsider it. Withdraw the proposals so
we don’t create a division amongst us. This proposal is no
good for the good of the Order. Please vote it down.
[Applause]
[gavel banging]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
One moment, please.
MR. NICK MAROPIS: Nick Maropis, Chapter 400, Cambridge,
Pennsylvania. I rise to speak against this. I recall as
many of you do the conditions–
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. MAROPIS:
[Interposing] Closer to the mike, please.
It is not on.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
241
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. MAROPIS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
No, the mike is on, just speak into it.
Hello?
Yes, you’re there.
MR. MAROPIS: Okay, thank you. I said I speak--I rise to speak
against this motion and I refer back to as some of you
recall when we had a Board of Directors who you served some
of the tasks and goals of the elected officials. We have
gotten away from that with this Board of Trustees, and they
have done an outstanding job. And our administration has
done an outstanding job. What is in place now works.
Let’s leave it there. Thank you.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
Right now I’ve heard from about five–
[Interposing] Oh, point of order.
–against.
- - .
Just one moment please.
- - the mike.
I’ve heard from–
MALE VOICE:
- - over here now we’re–
MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Point of information.
MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Point of order.
MALE VOICE: [Interposing] You said two speakers, one here and
one there.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Right.
MALE VOICE: I would like to make a motion to table this agenda
right now.
MALE VOICE:
Right.
MALE VOICE:
Second.
MALE VOICE:
Second.
MALE VOICE:
Point of personal privilege, Mr. Chairman–
MALE VOICE:
I yield to you not to him.
MALE VOICE:
- - the motion.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
242
MR. CHAIRMAN:
it?
MALE VOICE:
- - .
No, it’s got to be tabled when you give
- - point of order raised.
MR. CHAIRMAN: It can’t be tabled. They’re parliamentary rules.
You know that if you want to table something when the
motion is presented you table it at that time, not after a
half hour of discussion.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Are you kidding me or what?
Are you serious?
No, I’m not kidding anybody.
MALE VOICE:
Are you kidding?
MALE VOICE:
Can I have the floor-
MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Where did you come up with that?
MALE VOICE:
-Mr. Chairman?
MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, people, I tell you what, we can keep this
up--I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll let you keep on
talking and we’ll have nominations at midnight tonight.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
So what, that’s okay.
Goliss [phonetic].
MR. GOLISS: Mr. Chairman, I’m way over here, not over there on
the mike. I’m the nextMR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. GOLISS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. GOLISS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. GOLISS:
[Interposing] You were not next.
Yes, ask the body.
I did not recognize you.
Ask the body.
Are you for or against?
I’m against.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Let somebody speak for. We’ve had five
against already. Let’s hear one on the other side.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
And a - -.
Yeah, yeah.
I’m going to wait.
I’m going to wait until you
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
243
gentlemen listen.
AHEPA.
If you’ll listen, those of you that love
MALE VOICE: Wait a minute, there’s a motion at the table, hold
on, I think we’re going to get this.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Yes, yeah.
MALE VOICE:
Point of information.
MALE VOICE:
I made a motion to table.
MALE VOICE:
Yeah, I did the point of remission.
MALE VOICE:
over.
He says you don’t have to do it until the debate is
MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. We’ll discuss it. We’re discussing, go
ahead. It’s been ruled by the parliamentarian that after
discussion it could be tabled.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
I so move, Mr. Chairman.
All right.
Second.
All right.
MALE VOICE: Oh, brothers, let’s respect the Chair. We’ve got
so much conversation going on here. Respect the Chair,
just to clarify and assist our Chairman, we’ve had a
parliamentary inquiry. The result is that during
discussion, that’s out of order. The discussion has to
take place, soMR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Well after.
MALE VOICE: Well, yeah, but after--let the discussion take
place and then after it can be considered, so let’s respect
the Chair.
MALE VOICE:
youMR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
That’s not what he ruled, Mr. Chairman, what do
[Interposing] What did you rule - - ?
There’s a-
MR. CHAIRMAN: [Interposing] Wait. No, no, no, just read it.
Listen, and already can table at any time. All right, it’s
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
244
been moved.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Read it.
No, I’m accepting your motion to table.
All in favor of tabling say aye.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
A motion to table is on the floor.
All those against.
No.
MALE VOICE:
- - votes.
MR. CHAIRMAN: You know what? You know what I’m going to do?
I’m going to make you all get a little exercise. Those
against, gather on this side of the room, and those for on
this side of the room; division of the house. For tabling,
against tabling. Against tabling on the right of the
Mathias [phonetic]…
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE: Mr. Chairman? Mr. Chairman?
clarify which side you wantMR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Can you just please
[Interposing] Okay.
-the brothers on because it’s a little confusing?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: There’s a motion to table pending and the
Chair has ruled all in favor of the table should be on the
left side of the room. All against the table should be on
the right side of the room.
MALE VOICE: Can you do it the other way because we already know
where people are standing? Can you switch it?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Can you switch it?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
He’s did it on purpose.
No, no.
The brothers all need some exercise.
Say it again.
Say it again.
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July 22, 2011
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MALE VOICE:
You go that way.
You guys go that way.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. All those in favor of the table, of
the motion to table, should go towards that exit sign over
there on this side of the podium. All thoseMALE VOICE:
[Interposing] You guys are savages I love it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Brothers, please.
Brothers, please.
Put hands up.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: All those against the motion to table should
go towards the projection screen on this side of the
podium.
MALE VOICE: Well, once there’s a motion to table, you have to
entertain it.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE:
Well, if it’s tabled, it’s tabled.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Right. Okay. Mr. Chair?
continue or do you want to take over?
I don’t care.
Do you want me to
MR. CHAIRMAN: No, I’ll take over. Are we ready to be counted?
All right, the division--brothers on this side, either get
on this side of this wall or that side. You’re against
you’re on this side--if you’re against, move over. Over.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE:
It’s tabled.
[Crosstalk]
MR. CHAIRMAN:
All right, go ahead.
I’m losing my voice.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Motion to table carries. All right.
Brothers, brothers, we’re all here for the benefit of
AHEPA, and it’s going to be a long day, so let’s save the
applause for later.
[Crosstalk]
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
We’re going to ask that the projector be
turned back on, Matt. Okay, and, Brothers, Brothers,
Brothers, Brothers.
[Crosstalk]
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
246
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Gentlemen, your attention please.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Please sit down. We appreciate spirited
discussion, but let’s leave it there. Brothers, please sit
down. All right, let’s continue with the report, proposal
number two.
[Crosstalk]
MR. D. SELIMOS: So we can’t read it? All right, proposal
number two relates to the timing of submitting the delegate
information to national headquarters. The proposal is if
June 1st is a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or holiday, that by
midnight of the next business day, Eastern Time. So in
effect, that’ll give a little bit more time for the
submitting of the delegate registration forms. Mr.
Chairman, we move it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Is there any discussion?
entertain a motion. Yes, Tony?
MR. ANTHONY DRAKOS:
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
If not, we’ll
I would like to discuss it.
Okay.
MR. DRAKOS: What’s the purpose of bringing this up?
follow the rules. We don’t follow the rules.
We don’t
MR. D. SELIMOS: Brother Drakos, we know this is a continuing
controversy. This is an effort to bring some kind of
stability to this.
MR. DRAKOS: We had a stability. We did it in Denver. We had
it all set. We have a date, and they come on the floor,
and they turn around and then return it just for this
convention.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
Well this is-
MR. DRAKOS: [Interposing] You think it’s easy to sit over there
for two days?
MR. D. SELIMOS:
No, we respect your-
MR. DRAKOS: [Interposing] That the grievance committee is able
to sit for three days?
MR. D. SELIMOS: Brother Dracus, we respect your participation,
what the grievance committee does, that’s part of this
organization’s process. We’re trying to allow some more
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
247
time in the regular rules and procedures to have this done.
It’s a simple proposal, and I think it’s effective, and
we’re trying.
MALE VOICE:
Recognize Lou.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Brother Lou?
MR. ATSAVES: I think we’re going to need a ruling by the
parliamentarianMR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] On?
MR. ATSAVES: On--because I was here yesterday and rather than a
motion to suspend the rules briefly so that we could throw
the June 1st date out and seat everybody, we just proceeded
with a motion just to seat everybody and to completely
ignore the constitution and the bylaws of the order of
AHEPA. Now we’re here with a request to amend something
this body has completely ignored and that, to me, is beyond
ridiculous.
If we’re operating without a constitution and bylaws, then
we should operate without a constitution and bylaws. If
you want a constitution and bylaws, then you should respect
the rule of order of the Order of AHEPA, I don’t see that.
So why are we changing a provision that is going to be
blatantly ignored next year, and in the years to come, by
this convention and future conventions?
MR. D. SELIMOS: Brother Lou, your point is well-taken. As I
said, this has been a continuing controversy for the
organization. We want to abide by the rules. We’re trying
to do so, what this is doing is allowing some additional
time, and maybe we can remedy those problems of brothers
coming in late, and having other issues, by expanding the
time period. That’s what we’re trying to do.
Now, what the
convention is
This proposal
okay, Brother
consequence of this is going to be during the
different than what this proposal is saying.
is simple, we urge a positive for it, but,
Clawson.
MR. CLAWSON: Brothers, yesterday this body chose, by majority
vote, to ignore the constitutional provisions that we
already have relative to the seating of the delegates. We
had basically said that you can bring your credentials to
the convention and present them. Therefore, I move that
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248
the June 30 date be strickenMR. D. SELIMOS:
[Interposing] June 1st date.
MR. CLAWSON: The June 1st date, rather, be stricken from the-to amend your amendment.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
All right.
MR. CLAWSON: To strike the June 1st date from the constitution
and provide that anyone that arrives at the convention with
credentials from their chapter may be seated, just as we
already did yesterday, and as you wanted yesterday, so I so
move, Brother.
MALE VOICE:
Second.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MALE VOICE:
Wait, there’s a–
[Interposing] There’s an amendment.
MR. D. SELIMOS: -well I’ll let the Vice Chair handle the
procedural issues, but he’s got to handle the procedural
question at this time.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. At this point in time, although
everybody has their good ideas, we’re going to rule that
out of order, okay? But--hold on, hold on, we’re in the
middle of a convention committee report, and we just kind
of dovetailed it into legislation. If they wish to draft
that kind of a report, come on up and you guys draft
another change, but these guys took the time, as Brothers,
to put it down on paper, to put it on a screen--yes?
MR. CLAWSON:
MALE VOICE:
Brother Vice Chairman, so your ruling is that[Interposing] Microphone.
MR. CLAWSON: Thank you very much. And by the way, I forgot to
identify myself for the Brothers, Craig Clawson, Cornhusker
Chapter 147, Omaha, Nebraska. And I made the motion that
the Chair has just ruled inadmissible. I would like to ask
you, Brother Chair, to quote me the section indemnitors
that rules that you cannot amend a committee report?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
proposal?
Is this an amendment to the motion?
To the
MR. CLAWSON: This is an amendment to the brothers motion to
eliminate the date entirely and restate it to the fact that
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if you show up at the convention with a letter from your
chapter, just as Brothers did yesterday, that you can be
seated. So that at least when we’re at a convention and we
decide to let those brothers be seated, we can be
constitutional. I so move.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Well yes, brother Clawson, with all due respect
to you and your experience in the parliamentary field, your
motion is probably in order. You did seek to amend the
motion that is going on. I believe that if your amendment
is seconded, and debated, and voted on by majority vote, it
could proceed as an amendment to the main motion. And then
assuming that it survives, then that would be potentially
before the body.
So if the Vice Chairman wants to reconsider his view on it,
we can, in all due respect to you and this problem, but it
is a continuing problem. I mean--okay, go ahead.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
amend?
MR. DEAN KALIANSUS:
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Is there second to the motion to
Second.
Okay.
Identify yourselves for - - .
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. KALIANSUS:
Chapter.
Yes.
Who seconded the motion?
I did, Dean Kaliansus [phonetic], Boston
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. MANIOS:
Okay.
Okay.
Mr. Chairman.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Yes, Mr. Manios?
MR. MANIOS: This timed condition has been a boondoggle forever.
You could change this thing to the night before the
convention and then somebody will come in at the time of
voting and fight it. This is not going to work, this
particular motion that we have here.
What we need to do is we need to go back and review the
time situation and maybe we should--when we send in our
package, our money, send in our own registration with it,
and we’re responsible, individually, for our own timely
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250
mailing of our own money, and our own timely mailing of our
own registration.
I don’t know, it’s just a thought, just off the top of my
head, I did hear it yesterday, but what I’m trying to say
is, I think we should table all this. The Board of
Trustees should review the time part of it and go forward,
but I move to table everything.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. Frank, please stay near the
microphone just so we’re very clear about what you said.
Good thoughts, okay, but did you make an amendment to the
amendment, or did you speak against it, is it a motion to
table? Okay.
MR. MANIOS:
I move to table it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
It’s a move to table.
MALE VOICE:
Can I comment on that, Mr. Vice Chairman?
MR. DRAKOS:
Tony Drakos, I second that.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Excuse me, it’s a motion.
a motion to table the amendment.
MALE VOICE:
I’ll second it.
MALE VOICE:
Is there a second?
MALE VOICE:
I second it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Sorry, Tony, it’s
There’s a second.
MR. DRAKOS: Tony Drakos. I’m Beaver Valley, Chapter 400 past
Supreme Governor, table it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. Just so everybody’s keeping score,
okay, the original motion was to include weekends and just
make sure the June 1st date went to a business date, that’s
proposal number two. Then there was a motion to amend to
say, “Hey, let’s not worry about that because we really
didn’t follow it this year.” Then there was a motion to
table the amendment.
MALE VOICE:
Mr. Vice Chairman, may I?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Yes. And, Charles, we’ll allow you to speak
and then the Vice Chair of the Committee wants to speak.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
251
MR. KIRKILES:
speak.
If there’s a motion to table I’m not going to
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. KIRKILES:
Okay.
I can’t do that.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Well there is a motion to table so all
speaking does cease, and that is correct. Yes. Correct,
all in favor of the motion to table the amendment to the
resolution--I mean to the constitutional change. All in
favor of the motion to table the amendment, say aye.
ALL:
Aye.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All opposed.
Nay.
MALE VOICE:
The ayes have it.
MALE VOICE:
The ayes have it.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
The ayes have it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. D. SELIMOS:
The Chair rules the ayes have it.
Okay.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
May I speak?
Yes.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Just as a point of information, brothers.
Because of what happened here, we’ve received a number of
proposals which we have referred to the standing
legislative committee. This is a problem. It has to be
fixed, whether it’s eliminating the ability of appeal from
the grievance committee, or requiring 100 people to be
present in order to be seated, or requiring that every
person has to individually argue their case, just please be
aware this is not going to end here today, and the standing
committee has been tasked, in this report, to work on it.
MR. MANIOS: Yes, Mr. Chairman, with all due, can I comment on
that? If we had a motion to table the amendment to the
main motion, then are we interpreting it that the whole
motion fails?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: No, the motion does not fail. The motion is
still on the floor for discussion. We’ll accept two more
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252
MR. MANIOS:
On the original motion.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
name.
–on the original motion.
Yes, state your
MR. KALIANSUS: Constantine Kaliansus, member of the Board of
Trustees, AHEPA Chapter 24, Boston. This has been an issue
in front of us for years. Yes, I’m sure the Legislative
Committee worked very hard on this, but I believe we’re
taking a Band-Aid approach and it’s time to put those to
rest.
I don’t know how many have read the Executive Director’s
report, but I think it should be reviewed, specifically in
this area. I think he makes a great recommendation. It’s
a good beginning. Let’s take a look at something like
that. At this time I’d like to make a motion to table the
original.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
original.
MR. MANIOS:
Is there a second to the motion to table the
Frank Manios second.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHARLES R.:
was - - .
They jumped in front of me, though, because I
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
supersedeMR. CHARLES R.:
Charles R., my apologies to you, sir.
They did, but a motion to table does
[Interposing] Okay.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: -so with all due respect, we know you’re
holding that microphone.
MR. CHARLES R.: But we’re not getting to the root of the
problem here.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: I understand, I understand, and they’re not
trying to get rid of it. They have some other solutions.
So Mr. Manios, Frank Manios, is a second, and all in favor
of the motion to table the original proposal, which is if
June 1st is a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday or a holiday, the
next business day will be the day where you can register,
the next business day. All in favor of the motion?
MR. DRAKOS:
[Interposing] That’s automatic with the Post
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Office.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. DRAKOS:
Okay.
If it’s on a Friday, the next delivery day, Monday.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
And again, I understand-
MR. MANIOS: [Interposing] Brother Chairman, you’re not going to
the root of the problem.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: -Mr. Drakos did have a conversation, but we
thank you. All in favor of the motion to table, say aye.
ALL:
Aye.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Nay.
All against?
No.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Mr. Chair?
Ayes have it.
Keep going.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Ayes have it. Okay. Well, I just--all right,
what happened as a result of this, what exists in the AHEPA
constitution now will stay. As we know, Brother Drakos,
that doesn’t really solve the problem, but that’s what it
is.
Okay. The third proposition is to amend Article 16,
Section G, Paragraph 2 relating to adjudication. The
prescription to prescribe the punishment for
insubordination defined as rebellious conduct and/or
failure to obey authority. This is really just a
clarifying matter to place a definition in there that has
been absent for a long time.
MR. KIRKILES: This is strictly an administrative amendment.
There’s nothing special. it’s pretty much the way it is.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Any questions?
favor say Aye.
ALL:
I move the question.
all in
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Against?
Ayes have it.
MR. KIRKILES:
We got one.
MR. D. SELIMOS: We got it. The fourth amendment relates to
amending Article 16, Section G, Paragraph 3, eliminating
the words method or methods and substituting and replacing
AHEPA
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254
them with ways and means.
improves the explanation.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Any questions?
It’s just better phraseology and
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Against?
MR. CHRONIS: That’s okay. Point of information for the Chair.
I believe some of these rulings that we’re going through
right now would be better explained if we actually knew the
context of what we were doing, and my apologies Aristotelis
Chronis, Chapter 438, Falls Church, Virginia.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Brothers, these are revisions for clarification
in the constitution and bylaws. They are being presented
to you up on the screen. If you have a question, please
note the screen or listen to this because we got to keep
moving. Thank you.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Thank you, Brother Chairman. The fifth
proposal relates to - it’s a bylaw change, amending Article
1, Section A, paragraph 2 in the AHEPA Supreme bylaws to
include a new sentence, the application is to include a
statement of a belief in the existence of God and in the
divinity of Jesus Christ. The purpose is to maintain
consistency in the applications form process. Right now
there’s some incontinency between the national form process
and the regular AHEPA form process. That’s the reason for
this proposed change.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Is that understood?
Move to accept.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Pardon?
Motion to accept the proposal.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
MR. NICK SMYRNIS:
that again?
MR. D. SELIMOS:
Mr. Chairman, Nick Smyrnis, would you repeat
Okay.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. D. SELIMOS:
Read it.
Okay.
The Vice Chair will read it.
It is-
Right, right, right.
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July 22, 2011
255
MR. KIRKILES:
And the context is in national membership.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. And the context is national
membership in the AHEPA Supreme bylaws. The new sentence
will read “the application is to include a statement of a
belief in the existence of God and in the divinity of Jesus
Christ”MR. SMYRNIS:
that?
Stop there a minute, what does it read prior to
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Well it doesn’t read anything prior to that.
MR. SMYRNIS:
Is this a new paragraph?
paragraph?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. SMYRNIS:
Is this a new
It is.
All right, would you repeat it again?
MR. D. SELIMOS: The purpose here is to maintain consistency
with the types of applications for membership. The
national membership application is absent this language.
The general application for membership has this language in
it. It’s to bring consistency to both. That’s the purpose
of this proposal.
MR. SMYRNIS:
All right, I understand it.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
All right, you second it?
MR. CAVALARIS: Harry Cavalaris, Marathon Chapter Number 2, I
have a question. How is it that the issue of when we
initiate Senators and Congressman who are Jewish is
handled?
MR. D. SELIMOS: Well the existing--yes, well we are a nonsectarian organization and pretty much it’s a subjective
type of interpretation. There is no objective test. It’s
a subjective one. That’s the response to Brother
Cavalaris.
GEORGE: A point of information, sir? to that question, what’s
referred here is we take their donation as friends of
AHEPA. They cannot be initiated, but they are friends of
AHEPA.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Yes, George, we had discussed this in
previous conventions, including even last year, and it was
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July 22, 2011
256
recognizing our Supreme President had indicated that these
are honorary memberships. They have no voting rights and
that’s where they were. And Brother Tsivicos also spoke at
that time, from Hellenic and Cyprus Affairs, when they
induct these Congressman that some of them may not be
Christian, okay, but if they’re willing to--and they can’t
take the oath because you have to believe in the divinity
of Jesus Christ.
So with that being said, it’s just an administrative, let’s
make it all the same and make it consistent, but you still
have that honorary membership.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
All those in favor, aye--I’m sorry.
MALE VOICE: Hey wait, you didn’t ask for the nos.
ask for the nos.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Oh, wait a minute, the microphone went off.
It’s the nays, nays.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
You said ask for the ayes.
I see, okay.
Say ask for the
Those in favor say aye please.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Ask for the nays again.
What?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
nays.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
You did not
Those against say nay.
Nay.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
The ayes have it.
MR. D. SELIMOS: The next is proposal number six. It’s to amend
Article 1, Section A, Paragraph 1 and 2 in the AHEPA
Supreme bylaws, and that’s replacing the wording any person
with any male person. This is to show eligibility for male
applicants only. There was some discussion or potential
ambiguity as to the applicants to the organization. This
would establish some kind of clarity that it would be a
male person.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
say aye.
Any further clarification?
All those in favor
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
257
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against, nay.
The ayes have it.
MR. D. SELIMOS: The next proposal is number seven, this relates
to creating a codification of the Supreme Counselor rulings
and the creation of a codification, or organizing
committee, in order to do so. The language reads,
“starting at the 2011 AHEPA National Convention, a standing
committee shall be created to codify all Supreme Counselor
rulings from inception of the organization to date.
Four members are to serve on this committee, appointed by
the AHEPA National Convention Chair, to serve a one-year
term each, and to report during the year at the district
level and the national convention. This committee is to
have access to all records, equipment at the national
headquarters.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
May I ask for a parliamentary ruling?
Oh, okay.
Go ahead.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Okay. I’m going to ask for a parliamentary
ruling on that. The issue is a standing committee to be
appointed by the convention Chair as opposed to being
appointed by the Supreme President and to report at the
next year’s convention. I ask for a ruling.
MR. CLAWSON:
The purpose of the committee?
MALE VOICE: You have several committees that do get appointed
by the Convention Chair. Most of them are by the Supreme
President, but - - .
MR. CLAWSON:
MALE VOICE:
We can do that.
You can do it either way.
MR. CLAWSON: No, it’s in order.
this was an order-
I believe it’s in order.
So
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: [Interposing] Yes, okay. Your ruling is
that it is in order. This proposal does allow our present
existing Convention Chair to make the appointment of four
members to carry out this purpose. Then take it to a vote.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
258
MR. ATSAVES:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Mr. Chair?
Oh, sorry.
MR. ATSAVES: Discussion, could we have a clarification?
Shouldn’t this really fall under jurisdiction of the
Supreme Lodge and the Board of Trustees? I don’t think
this should fall underneath the jurisdiction of the
Chairman because the Supreme Counselor is a member of the
Supreme Lodge. So I would respectfully request that, if
it’s in order, that would you consider, Mr. ChairMR. D. SELIMOS: [Interposing] Okay. I understand what you’re
saying. We thought about that. This is really an
administrative process. The Lodge and the Board doesn’t
have to get involved. They have enough time doing other
things. This is really to help them and then the
organization in general, to codify the Supreme counselor
rulings, which are not codified at this point. We need a
volume. We need something that the Supreme Counselor now,
and in the future, can reference as to the prior rulings.
That’s really what this is trying to do.
MR. ATSAVES: I respect that, and I think it’s a good idea, but
every year you have a new national Chairman for the
convention, and then there’s no continuity there, soMR. D. SELIMOS: [Interposing] It’s a one-year term.
one-year term.
It’s a
MR. ATSAVES: So you’re back to the same thing again, and things
that you keep on rolling over. I would respectfully
request if you’ll consider that maybe it should fall under
the jurisdiction, like I said, of the Supreme Lodge and/or
the Board of Trustees. That way you’re going to take care
of what you’re requesting, not by the national Chairman of
the convention.
MR. KIRKILES: Well, if I may address that? We’re talking about
grunt work here. Right now there is no reference,
anything, for past Supreme Counselor opinions, unless you
go through every yearbook back to 1922.
MR. ATSAVES:
I understand that.
I understand that.
MR. KIRKILES: All right, if I may? I understand that. The
goal here is to create a numbering system, by year, so that
if you type in membership dues, all the past Supreme
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July 22, 2011
259
Counselor opinions that are addressing that, will pop-up,
either on a screen or it can be indexed in a book. We are
not writing new opinions. We are not doing anything other
than mere secretarial work.
MR. KIRKILES: I understand that. I just--my own personal
opinion is that this type of administrative item should
fall either under the jurisdiction of the Supreme and/or
Board of Trustees because your national Chairman of the
convention changes every year. So who is going to make
sure it’s being taken care of? It’s a simple question.
MR. KIRKILES: Well, every year--it’s a standing committee so
every year the standing committee would have to file a
report. I mean, think about it. We’ve got to go back 89
years now. Some of these opinions aren’t going to matter.
The first task is to get all the opinions into--get started
and work our way backwards, and forwards, from this year
forward.
MR. ATSAVES:
I yield to our Supreme President.
MR. KARACOSTAS: Thank you. Nick Karacostas, Supreme President.
Having served as a Supreme Counselor, I really don’t see
the logic behind this initiative, especially that you want
it to be legislated. The constitution has changed an
inordinate amount of times between 1922 and today, and I
think we have more bigger programs and better things to
worry about, than have people sit at headquarters, or
wherever, to look at rulings going back 89 years, and try
to figure out an indexing or a codification. I think it’s
a little off the wall, to be honest with you, and I move to
table.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
I second.
Is there a second?
Second.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All in favor of tabling say aye.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Get to the mike.
Nay.
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July 22, 2011
260
MR. D. SELIMOS: Okay, tabled. Okay. The next proposal is
number eight, constitutional change amendment, Article 6,
Section F, Paragraph 2, a candidate for the office of
Supreme Governor must be domiciled in the region they seek
to represent. This is in order to have a firm location
showing the context of the Supreme Governor in their
region.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Any question for, against, negative?
MALE VOICE:
Any questions?
MALE VOICE:
Move the question.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against, nay.
Unanimous.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Bylaw change, amend Article 28, Section A of
the AHEPA Supreme bylaws, merging District 18 into District
19. That’s–
MR. KIRKILES:
This is from the redistricting - - .
MR. D. SELIMOS: Yes. These next several propositions are from
the Redistricting Committee, yes.
MR. CHAIRMAN: I think the Redistricting Committee has done its
job, so I appeal to you to accept the rulings by those
committees. All those in favor of this proposal say–
MALE VOICE: Sir, there’s too much talking going on in here, we
could not even hear it back there. I wish the gentlemen in
this room would please keep your voices down so we can
hear. Let’s respect this gentleman at the Chair so we can
understand what he is talking about.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Okay. We’ll repeat it. This is to amend
Article 28, Section A of the AHEPA Supreme bylaws. This is
from the Redistricting Committee, merge District 18 into
District 19, that’s, in essence, what we’re doing. Did you
want to talk in favor?
MR. KIRKILES:
No, I’ll wait until - - .
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MALE VOICE:
Okay.
Move the question.
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July 22, 2011
261
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All right, all those in favor say aye.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against, nay.
Unanimous ayes.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Proposal 10, bylaw amend Article 28, Section A
of the AHEPA Supreme bylaws. Remove the states of Idaho
and Montana out of Region 8 and place them into Region 7.
This originates from the Redistricting Committee. This is
to consolidate regions for population concerns.
MALE VOICE:
Please repeat.
MALE VOICE:
Please repeat.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Repeat.
Repeat.
It’s move.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MALE VOICE:
Repeat again?
This is proposal number 10.
It’s a move.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Amend article 28, section A of the AHEPA
Supreme bylaws. Remove the states of Idaho and Montana out
of Region 8 and place them into Region 7. This is for
population reasons and consolidating regions.
MR. KIRKILES: Yeah, actually it’s a typographical. actually
the way that it’s worded it should say move the states of
Idaho, Montana, and Utah from Region 8 to Region 7.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. KIRKILES:
145.
Of Idaho, Montana, and Utah?
And Utah is excluding Salt Lake City, Beehive
MR. D. SELIMOS:
getting.
All right, so that’s an amendment we’re
[Crosstalk]
MR. D. SELIMOS:
But he’s adding in another state.
MR. KIRKILES:
It’s already spelled out in - - .
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Is that a typo?
MALE VOICE:
It’s a typo.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
All right.
Okay.
so it’s not an amendment.
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262
It’s to correct the typographical error.
MR. KIRKILES:
Correct.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Move the states of Idaho, Montana, and Utah out
of Region 8 and place them into Region 7, is that correct?
MR. KIRKILES:
That’s correct.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
Okay.
MALE VOICE: Except for the one exception that Salt Lake City
stays in Region 8.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
That’s a part of the - - .
MR. KIRKILES: And we don’t need to have it in the motion,
that’s already covered because they’re part of District 20,
so that is already addressed.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Thank you.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Nay?
Nay.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Ayes have it of course.
MALE VOICE: Mr. Chairman? A point of clarification. Do the
brothers in the Chapters in Idaho want to go to Region 7?
Because they’ve been very close with the Salt Lake City.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
here-
According to the report yes, but brother - - is
MR. GALANIS: [Interposing] We met with the brothers in October
and they were consistent with moving to Region Number 7.
Actually, the past Supreme Governor, Peter Triantafyllos
recommended that they be in Region 7 because he felt that
the geography of Region 8 was already so enormous, that for
him to cover from California all the way up to Seattle was
big enough and he actually made the recommendation that it
be moved from 8 to 7.
MALE VOICE:
So brother John, those brothers liked that?
MR. GALANIS: The brothers, when we met with them, were fine
with that.
AHEPA
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263
MALE VOICE:
I’m fine.
If they like it, that’s good, thank you.
MR. D. SELIMOS: All right, let’s go on to the next. Proposal
11, Amend article 28, Section A of the AHEPA Supreme
bylaws. Remove the state of West Virginia out of Region 2
and place into Region 5.
MR. KIRKILES: This was brought to the Redistricting Committee
because there was an inconsistency in our bylaws. If you
look at the bylaws of the Order of AHEPA, when the regions
were defined, regions were defined with the composition of
certain districts in those regions.
For example, District 2 is composed--Region 2 is composed
of the Districts 3 and 4. Region 5 is composed of
Districts 10 and 11. West Virginia is part of District 11,
but for some reason, and I don’t know if it was a
typographical error or if the maker of thatMALE VOICE:
[Interposing] - - the size of the Chapters.
MR. KIRKILES: Because of that, we’re inconsistent in our bylaws
because 10 and 11 really--and West Virginia, should be part
of Region Number 5, not Region 2. So it’s an
inconsistency.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
All right, let’s vote.
All those in favor of the–
MR. DEMETRIUS GOVOTSOS: District Governor 3. We do--District 3
does have one Chapter in West Virginia, Bluefield, belongs
to District 3.
MR. PETE NICHOLAS: It’s Pete Nicholas, Supreme past District
Governor, District Number 3, Supreme Governor Region 2, as
far as I know, West Virginia has always been in District 3.
MR. KIRKILES:
MALE VOICE:
It is not.
Yes, Bluefield-
MR. D. SELIMOS:
There’s a Bluefield–
MR. KIRKILES: Bluefield is, but the Chapters in Weirton, West
Virginia; Wheeling, West Virginia; Huntington, West
Virginia, and Charleston, West Virginia are part of the
Buckeye District and have been for a very, very long time.
MR. NICHOLAS:
Okay.
Thank you for clarification because we
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264
always had Bluefield, which had been active for a long
time. Thank you.
MR. STEVE MAVRONIS: Steve Mavronis, past District Governor,
District 3. The tradition of Bluefield is something that
we feel very fond of. We’ve worked extremely hard trying
to reactivate the Bluefield Chapter, which would be a
surprise this year. I think--and there are some people in
Bluefield that feel very confident about staying where they
are. Bluefield’s considerably away from those other places
and it’s always been on our travels to Asheville to help
engage the brothers there and bring them back. That
Bluefield Chapter has remainedMR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Speak into your microphone please.
MR. MAVRONIS: -has always been District 3 in the tradition of
BluefieldMR. KIRKILES: [Interposing] There are four other chapters that
then aren’t in that group.
MR. MAVRONIS: Okay. But the Bluefield Chapter was always part
of District 3 and it’s always been part of our District 3
family.
MR. KIRKILES:
bylaws.
existing
Weirton,
District
We’re only trying to clarify the constitution and
If Bluefield is included in the purview of the
language, then that’s fine. But right now,
Wheeling, Charleston, and Huntington are part of
11 and should be part of that Region.
MR. MAVRONIS: Right, well, I’m concerned about Bluefield
because as a District Governor for two terms, we worked
very hard with the Bluefield and the existing--the
ancestors that helped, the people that help put that
chapter together and their offspring, in trying to bring
that chapter. That chapter, I just want everyone to know,
that Bluefield Chapter, in the history of District 3, is a
big tradition in this country with the city with one of the
largest loss of servicemen than any city in all of District
3.
And there’s a monument there that we erected years agoMR. CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] Are you asking to amend?
MR. MAVRONIS:
Oh, yes, we would like to keep our Bluefield
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265
Chapter.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Bluefield?
MR. MAVRONIS:
So you have to ask to amend and exclude
Oh, yes.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Why don’t you make an amendment to exclude
Bluefield if that’s the case?
MR. MAVRONIS: I’d like to make the amendment to exclude
Bluefield.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CLAWSON:
MR. MAVRONIS:
MR. CLAWSON:
I second that.
What state is Bluefield in?
West Virginia.
West Virginia, okay.
Hold on let me note that.
[Applause]
MR. CLAWSON: Your motion is to exclude Bluefield, West Virginia
from this motion.
MR. MANIOS: Frank Manios, I was born in Weirton, West Virginia,
and I’m a Buckeye and have been a Buckeye all my life,
regardless of Tony Drakos says, but I do accept the
Bluefield belonging to District 3. I think that,
historically, going way back, even though West Virginia was
a part of the Buckeye, Bluefield was not. So we’re just
doing something that has been in effect for many, many
years. So let’s just keep Bluefield in District 3, but be
sure that the rest of the state of West Virginia goes back
to the Buckeye District 11.
MR. CLAWSON:
only.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Right now it’s to exclude Bluefield, West Virginia
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Those against, nay.
Nay.
MALE VOICE: There was an amendment on the floor, you have to
get a second in order to do that.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
266
MR. CHAIRMAN:
It was corrected here with the amendment.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Proposal 12, bylaw change, amend Article 28,
Section A of the AHEPA Supreme bylaws by adding the
following, beginning June 1, 2013, District 19 shall merge
into District 17. Again, that merger’s for population
density reasons and if there’s any explanation needed, we
have the Chairman of the Regional Committee here, that’s
the motion.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against, nay.
The ayes have it.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Okay. That’s number 19. Proposal 13, bylaw
change, amend Article 28 of the AHEPA Supreme bylaws. This
is really a clerical matter. It would state everything
after AHEPA laws, acts, traditions past established and
enforced under the AHEPA bylaws will be a new Article 29,
because in review, Article 29 was missing. Article 29 will
be stated for the heading AHEPA laws, etc.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Nay, against.
Unanimous ayes.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Okay. Proposal 14, constitutional change,
amend Article 13, Section B, Paragraph 2 in the
constitution by adding, after the semicolon, “all past
Presidents of Canada.” You want to explain this Vice
Chairman, what this means? So let him explain that.
MR. KIRKILES:
MR. D. SELIMOS:
This is the sovereign vote?
This is the sovereign vote.
MR. KIRKILES: Okay. This is to give the past Supreme
Presidents of Canada a sovereign vote as the Supreme
President of AHEPA; that’s it.
MR. D. SELIMOS: So in other words, all the past Supreme
Presidents of AHEPA have a sovereign vote. It’s to include
all the past Supreme Presidents of Canada to have a
sovereign vote.
MR. KIRKILES:
Since they’ve had a Supreme President.
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July 22, 2011
267
MR. D. SELIMOS:
President.
Since they’ve had the office of the Supreme
Brother Phil?
MR. VOGIS: Brother Chairman, I’d like some more clarification
because there was--Brother Phil Vogis, District 5, Chapter
453. I’m not sure if we all understand that a sovereign
vote means you can come in to this convention, on the
election day and vote. Is that what it means? I’d like
some clarificationMR. KIRKILES:
MR. VOGIS:
[Interposing] Yes, yes, that is exactly-
[Interposing] And is this constitutionally correct?
MR. KIRKILES: This would require a 2/3 vote to change the
constitution to have that. And you are correct, Brother
Vogis, that - this exists already with the Supreme
President.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Of the AHEPA, the amendment is to include the
same provision for the past Supreme Presidents of Canada,
it’s going to require 2/3 vote.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE: No doubt there have been some wonderful brothers
who have been President of Canada. My only thought is
that, I don’t really know which way I want to go on this
because if Canada has 500 members, and that somebody’s been
head of that 500 member group, but then for life, they
always have a vote here, where we have people who have been
District Governors of Districts that have 1,100 people, or
1,700 people, and they don’t have a perpetual vote.
I mean, I think Canada’s great, and those Presidents are
great, but somehow, to me, it seems kind of--it doesn’t
sound right that being head of 500 people would give you a
vote for life in our conventions. And I have that
question. It bothers me, and I just want to make that
statement.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Did you want to respond to that Mr.
Chairman, brother Dean?
MR. D. SELIMOS: That consideration was discussed, however, the
overriding concern was to give the past Supreme Presidents
of Canada, who’ve also worked hard, some kind of parity
with the past Supreme Presidents of the AHEPA. So in terms
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July 22, 2011
268
of the numbers, that may be a factual matter, but the
overriding concern is parity and equal treatment. We
anticipate Canada will increase their membership, but
membership alone isn’t the criteria. It’s to give them the
same equal footing as the past Supreme Presidents of the
AHEPA. That’s, in essence, what we’re doing here. And
that’s a constitutional change, 2/3 vote.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
Thank you.
Are you for or against?
MR. PETER DURESS: Speaking for, Peter Duress, past Vice
Chairman of the Board, I came to the microphone before the
Chairman said what he had to say, and he said it far better
than I could have, so I’ll let that pass.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
MR. DURESS: But I have heard a comment or two in the room that
people are saying the Supreme President does not have that
right. And I think, just to clarify that, I believe the
Supreme President does have that right. I guess point of
information.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
This is past Supreme President.
MR. DURESS: Past Supreme Presidents do have that right at this
moment, for the past many years.
MR. KIRKILES:
But not of Canada.
MR. DURESS:
Well that’s not - -.
MALE VOICE:
We voted it down last year.
MR. DURESS:
That’s not correct.
MR. CLAWSON:
MR. DURESS:
No.
Okay.
It was a different motion - - .
Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you. All right any further
questions? All in favor say aye.
ALL:
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
Those against, nay.
Nay.
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July 22, 2011
269
MR. CHAIRMAN:
The ayes have it.
MR. D. SELIMOS: The next is proposal 15, constitutional change,
amend Article 18, Section B, Paragraph 1 by adding in the
following, “the Board of Trustees shall make two reports in
writing on how they will raise money for AHEPA, and will
report once at the District Governors Conference on what
the plan will be, and once at the AHEPA National Convention
on the results of the plan, and whether implemented.”
MR. CHAIRMAN:
aye.
ALL:
That’s a working item.
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
ALL:
All those in favor say
Nay.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Ayes have it.
MR. KIRKILES:
Okay, and the next one’s very important.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. KIRKILES:
This one’s 16.
Okay.
This is neither a constitutional or–
MR. D. SELIMOS: This proposal 16, Brothers, it needs a little
bit of preface. We’re dealing, now, with the document that
governs the AHEPA national trust fund. This is outside of
the AHEPA constitution, outside of the bylaws, but the
document itself allows amendment by a 2/3 vote. And the
proposal that came from the Board, I believe brother--well
he’s not in the room, proposed the amendment. The
amendment’s--yes, is he here? Oh, Brother Galanis. Okay,
Brother Galanis brought this to us from the Board of
Trustees, in essence, it says “to amend the declaration of
trust of the Order of AHEPA national trust fund, Page 4,
Paragraph B by adding the word after Standard and Poor’s
Corporation or Value Line.
What that means is to have another rating agency for the
investment group to use instead of Standard and Poor’s. So
they’ll have two rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s or
Value Line, that’s, in essence, theMALE VOICE:
And/or.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
You want to say and/or?
Okay.
Well it’s
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July 22, 2011
270
either/or, either/or, so it’s or Standard and Poor’s or
Value Line for the investment criteria.
MR. MANIOS: Frank Manios. The reason for this is that right
now our Wells Fargo advisor, the trust advisor for the
stocks and bonds, he is limited to the Dow Jones only, well
no, not the--the S&P. So what happens there, when he goes
to S&P, if he wants to by Franklin Pharmacy in Warren,
Ohio, and it’s a one star rating, he cannot buy it. He’s
stuck. But if it’s on a Value Line and Value Line says
three stars, and I’m exaggerating way out, and it’s three
stars on Value Line, it gives him an opportunity to say,
“Yes, I want to buy that. I know all about that company.
I want to buy it.” It gives him flexibility and a little
bit more length in his deliberations and selections. Well,
we selected Value Line, it could be Moody, but we wanted
two and we selected--because that’s the one he suggested.
[Crosstalk]
MR. D. SELIMOS: Can I clarify one more, Mr. Chairman? Yes,
brothers, let’s again clarify this. This is amending the
AHEPA national trust fund agreement. This is not amending
the AHEPA constitution nor amending the AHEPA bylaws. This
is a separate instrument that the AHEPA Board of Trustees
operates under, but it does allow an amendment by 2/3 vote.
MR. MANIOS: Yeah, I’d like to speak in favor of this motion
because a member of the Board of Trustees, brother John
Galanis, has put in hours and hours and hours of time to
get this across, and I compliment Brother John for that
effort, and I urge a yes vote. Thank you very much.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
aye.
ALL:
Thank you.
All in favor of this resolution say
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Those against, nay.
Unanimous.
MR. KIRKILES:
We’re just about done.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Okay so we have retroactivity, okay, so the - . Okay, we got that, that’s pretty much--okay. You
comment on that.
MR. KIRKILES: Brothers, if I can have your attention? We’ve
passed a number of constitutional and bylaws items in
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July 22, 2011
271
Montreal and apparently in the past. The next
recommendation, and this doesn’t require a vote, this is
just acceptance of the report, that any changes that we’ve
made in the past are hereby adopted retroactively to the
date of enactment, and are incorporated in our constitution
and bylaws as appropriate. That’s it. Specifically this
deals with the Sons of Pericles, some other small things,
but our membership has already voted, already passed them.
We need to just deal with it, and make them retroactively
because we’re actually acting on it, and collecting money,
based on those provisions.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
MR. KIRKILES:
There’s no vote required.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
There’s no vote required?
MR. KIRKILES:
No, no, it’s just a report.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Oh, there’s no vote. There’s--it’s just a
report. All right, I move that the report of the--Brother
Nick?
MR. SMYRNIS: Nick Smyrnis, past Supreme President, would you
repeat that again?
MR. D. SELIMOS:
Brother Smyrnis, what this is-
MR. SMYRNIS: [Interposing] Stosh, I really don’t--being a
member of longstanding I know some of the things that have
transpired in the past, I don’t know that I want to agree
to it, so I want to hear what he said.
MR. D. SELIMOS: Okay. What this is, brother Smyrnis, is this
relates to the Montreal convention where legislationMR. SMYRNIS:
[Interposing] Only?
MR. D. SELIMOS: Yes, only, where legislation was passed, but by
accident, omitted from insertionMR. SMYRNIS: [Interposing] I have no objection to it.
thought it was-
I
MR. D. SELIMOS: [Interposing] Okay. We’re saying to implement
it, not to forget to implement it, but we’re going to do it
retroactively. It’s doesn’t have anything to do, but we
want it part of the report.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
272
MR. SMYRNIS: The Montreal convention doings I accept. I’m
talking about those that have happened in previous years.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. SMYRNIS:
That’s correct.
Thank you.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
Brother?
MALE VOICE: Yes, Mr. Chairman? To the legislature, Chairman,
just for the record, how many members are in the standing
committee that are allowed to vote and how many alternates
do you have? Just for a point of information there,
because all the other committees have stated that.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. KIRKILES:
- - the working total this year?
Yes.
MR. D. SELIMOS: This year the standing committee totaled
approximately 13 members.
MALE VOICE:
Do you have any alternates?
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MALE VOICE:
So the most number of members who could vote is 13.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MALE VOICE:
That’s correct.
Thank you.
MR. D. SELIMOS:
MR. KIRKILES:
No, it was just members.
Yes.
That includes the Chairman as 13.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Including the Chairman for your information.
those in favor of accepting the legislative report as
rendered to you, signify by saying aye.
ALL:
All
Aye.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Those against, nay.
accepted unanimously.
Your report is fully
Brothers, it’s 1:15, should I make it 2:30?
MALE VOICE:
Short lunch.
MALE VOICE:
No, 2:00.
Short lunch.
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
273
MR. CHAIRMAN: 2:30 and we start nominations. Where are you
going to get served by 2 o’clock if you’re going to eat
lunch?
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE:
Set the time.
Set the time.
MR. CHAIRMAN: I said 2:30, we will be here to nominate the
officers.
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274
Miami, FL
July 22, 2011
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
AHEPA
July 22, 2011
275
MR. CHAIRMAN: Will Jimmy Scofield and Lee Millas come to the
dais, please? I also would like the nominators to come
forth with the person that you’re going to nominate.
MR. GEORGE: Okay, before we start with the nominations, can we
call up the Credentials Committee? Credentials committee?
I’d like to find out how many delegates we have, if anybody
knows.
Could we have a volunteer to tell us--run over and tell us
from Basil or somebody on the Credentials Committee how
many delegates we have? We’d like to get that in the
record. Somebody near the door over there? Sandy, thank
you.
MALE VOICE 1:
Brother George [phonetic]?
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
Yes.
MALE VOICE 1: I think it’s imperative that we keep all the
doors closed, we maintain order, so we can honor our
nominees. And we need to provide some respect to the dais
up there.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE 1:
Okay.
Please.
MR. VICE CHAIRMAN: Brother Phil [phonetic], please see to it
that the doors are closed, as long as the A/C is on.
We don’t have a count yet on the Credentials Committee, but
we will. We’ll let nominations proceed. Mr. Chair?
MR. CHAIRMAN: At this time we’d like to proceed. I’d like to-it gives me great pleasure to request the nominator of our
incoming elect Supreme President--to be elected Supreme
President, our Supreme President John--Nick Karacostas.
[Applause]
MR. NICHOLAS KARACOSTAS: Thank you, Brothers. It is a
tremendous honor and privilege for me to have this
opportunity to nominate a young man who I’ve known for 27
years as our paths crossed and we served the Order of AHEPA
and the Sons of Pericles together.
It’s easy to stand here and nominate this individual
because I don’t have to read his bio. I don’t have to get
information from him because the journey, the journey over
the last 27 years we have been side by side. And when you
know somebody that well, it’s easy to stand here and speak
from the heart.
Our current Supreme Vice President, Dr. John Grossomanides
from the Norwich, Connecticut Chapter, bleeds AHEPA. He
has served in every capacity on the Chapter level, the
District level, and almost entirely the Supreme Lodge
level. For the last two years he has been our Supreme Vice
President, done everything that has been asked of him.
Gone everywhere where we had requested he be. And as the
Membership Chairman he has put the AHEPA back on track with
record numbers that we have not seen in close to 20 years.
I feel as though most of you know him because you’ve
watched him growing up--grow up just like you’ve watched me
grow up. And it’s easy for you to embrace John because you
know what he’s capable of. He’s successful in his
professional career. He’s successful in his family life,
in his church. And he has certainly been successful in the
Order of AHEPA for the last 27 years.
I have no doubt that he will be one of the best Supreme
Presidents we have ever seen. He certainly has been one of
the best Supreme Vice Presidents we have ever seen. And
it’s really touching for me that he asked me. Yes it’s
tradition but he could have asked a lot of other people, he
asked me to be the one to nominate him.
And although I have this responsibility and this honor, I
would like to join with his family, the Grossomanides
family, and his new family, the Panagakos family, in
placing the nomination of Dr. John Grossomanides for the
Office of Supreme President.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: At this time, are there any other further
nominations for the Office of Supreme President? Oh, the
second, I’m sorry.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Tell him to come forward.
Come forward.
I’d love to have the honor.
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MALE VOICE:
No, no, his dad.
MALE VOICE:
Oh, okay.
Nobody else came up.
What can I do?
MR. JOHN GEORGE GROSSOMANIDES: My name is John George
Grossomanides, a member of AHEPA for 56 years. And I shall
like to second the motion of John Grossomanides. He is an
outstanding young man with high standards. As you can see,
I taught him all that he knows. Thank you very much.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, he had a good teacher. I got to say that.
Are there any further nominations for the Office of Supreme
President? Are there any further nominations for the
Office of Supreme President? A third time, are there any
other spectators that would like to view the Office of
Supreme President? Hearing none, you’re elected
unanimously.
[Applause]
For the Office of Canadian President, may I have the
nominee and would the candidate please stand up in front
here? The nominator and the nominee, I mean, so we--they
know who you are, come on. Or come on up here. That’s
okay. I was trying to save you the steps.
MALE VOICE 4: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Indeed it’s a great
pleasure for me to introduce our new Canadian President. A
person I know at least for 15 years since I got involved
with AHEPA. George Vassilas, he has been a member of this
organization for the last 20 years.
He was responsible back in 1991 reactivating the Sons of
Pericles in Montreal and became the first Canadian to hold
the position of the Supreme President of the Sons of
Pericles in 1996. Became again--later he became the
Chapter President for three consecutive years. And when he
was the President he negotiated with the Shriner’s Hospital
the name--to name the school of the hospital to AHEPA
Family Educational Center, and he committed $250,000. And
I’m very happy to say that the Montreal Chapter already
have done that, and the school will be named under--after
the AHEPA in a little--in a few years.
After that he served in the District Lodge and he was a
Lieutenant Governor for two years. And last year he held
the position of the District Governor. He was also judge
[sic]. He found time to go to the--to Athens last year and
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run the marathon. And he ran 10 kilometers in 90 minutes.
And the most important thing, he was one of the few that
they raised over $7,000 for our organization. So it’s a
great pleasure for me to introduce you, George Vassilas,
the new Canadian President. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Who’s the second?
Frank.
MR. FRANK ANTONIOU: I also know George for the last 20 years
since he was a little young guy. My name is Frank
Antoniou, Montreal Chapter CJ7, past Canadian President.
I’ve also known George since he was his early youth. And
we traveled together throughout our--both our--him younger,
me a little older, and he’s a very capable young man. His
accomplishments were read by our Canadian President. So,
therefore, I’d like to second his nomination. Thank you
very much.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: We are now open for any additional candidates for
the Office of President of Canada, once. Office of
President of Canada, twice. Office of President of Canada,
three times. Hearing none, I declare you nominated
unanimously.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: At this time the Office of Supreme Vice President
is now open for a nominee and the nominator to come to the
dais here, please. Who’s--where is Gus James? Is Gus
James here? Okay. Anthony Kouzounis, are you here?
Please come up, please. We want all our candidates to be
recognized.
MR. GUS JAMES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am also pleased and
privileged, really, and honored to have this opportunity to
nominate someone that I’ve worked very close with--closely
with in the order of AHEPA, Anthony Kouzounis for the
position of Supreme Vice President of our Order.
He’s had a phenomenal service with the Order of AHEPA.
He’s served the order of AHEPA for 52 years. Most people
don’t realize that because you’ve only focused on the last
dozen or so years. But he’s gone through every office of
his Chapter, Chapter President. He’s gone through the
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various offices in his District, District Governor. He was
Supreme Governor for two terms. He was Supreme Governor
under both terms when I was Supreme President, and he was
the hardest working Supreme Governor I’ve ever seen. He
was Supreme Treasurer for two terms. And most recently
he’s been Supreme Secretary for two terms.
But his involvement on the national level is much longer
than that because it dates back to 1966. He was District
Manager of Olympic Airlines. And Olympic Airlines, in
those years from the mid-’60s to the late ‘70s, early ‘80s,
was a major national sponsor of the Order of AHEPA. And
he, as a District manager, would represent the company and
would also represent AHEPA at ever national convention and
major event. So we saw him working diligently then, not
only for Olympic, but also for the Order of AHEPA.
As I said, most recently in the last six years, if I can
relate to those, two years as Supreme Governor, he was
Supreme Governor while I was Supreme President, and I can
go on and on about everything that he did during that
period. But I’d like to focus on one thing and one thing
only, and that is that unfortunately Hurricane Katrina did
a great deal of devastation during our years of service.
And he was one of the key co-chairpersons on the
fundraising effort to raise money for the victims of
Katrina, New Orleans and all the other areas. They raised
the money. He was the AHEPA representative on the scene to
select those recipients, the victims that were to receive
the aid from AHEPA. He was on the scene to distribute
checks on two different occasions that AHEPA was
distributing to those victims of Katrina.
In the last four years his involvement has been numerous,
through numerous activities and extensive travels. I won’t
mention all of it. I’d like to highlight, though, just a
few. He’s attended the regional conferences. As you’ve
seen his photograph, it’s on the table, he was there for
the laying of the wreath at Arlington Cemetery for the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier. He’s in the front of the parade
with the Supreme President in New York, the March 25th
parade. December 6th of last year, he’s there when the
Archbishop, the son [phonetic] of the Archbishop, and the-our Supreme President.
When they want to make a statement that St. Nicholas needs
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to be rebuilt, he was there again in June when Districts 5
and 6 reunited to make a statement regarding St. Nicholas.
He was there next to the Supreme President. And most
recently, while it wasn’t mentioned, it was reported to me
that the 2010 Marathon, the marathon project with the Order
of AHEPA, which netted in excess of $100,000. Well, he was
the Supreme Lodge officer that was--spearheaded that effort
that raised over $100,000 for philanthropic causes for the
Order of AHEPA. So now we have $100,000 that AHEPA is
distributing to philanthropy and philanthropic causes,
which is a critical part of our name as we all know.
I can summarize, I think, his role in AHEPA with a few
words, experience, leadership, clearly, desire to serve,
and a hard worker. And the rest of his community life I
think I can summarize by just saying to you that it’s so
extensive that he received the St. Andrew Medal for
community service from Archbishop Iakovos. So I’m pleased
and privilege, really, to nominate Anthony Kouzounis to be
the next Supreme President of the Order of AHEPA--Vice
President, sorry.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
JOHN:
John?
I rise to second the nomination of Brother Kouzounis.
Brother Anthony and I have had the pleasure to work side by
side on the Supreme Lodge both as Supreme Governors,
Supreme Treasurer, and Supreme Secretary. I’ve had the
honor to know Anthony over the last 10 years, and there’s
no one who works more diligently for our organization, who
comes up with new ideas, innovative products, and endeavors
to be progressive in the Order of AHEPA.
He’s part of the team that has worked so well and so
diligently under the Supreme President, Nicholas
Karacostas, and he would be an asset to be the Supreme Vice
President of the Order . Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: I thank you. At this time, for further
nominations of the Office of Vice President, I ask--Art
Poly?
MR. ART POLY:
I’d like to place a name in, please?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Art Poly?
MR. POLY:
Yes.
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MR. CHAIRMAN:
Come on up.
MR. POLY: The nominee is Pete Kaldis. I’ve been dying to get
up here all week, finally made it. Nick Karacostas said
don’t you dare get up there, but I’m going to try anyway.
Just a quick note, I applaud, congratulate, and certainly
support the nominee for the Supreme President, John
Grossomanides.
I know that there’s somebody looking from upstairs down at
you today, your Uncle Steve, who probably epitomized the
word AHEPA, maybe even more than your family. And so I
just get goose bumps just thinking about that. And I kind
of looked up, and I think I saw him for just a second.
In any case, Gus just used the word asset, and I completely
agree that everybody in this room certainly has assets.
They bring all kinds of assets to the table. And I’d like
to think that the gentleman that I’m going to nominate is
also one that brings assets.
I’ve only known this man for a short while, but in his
company I’ve felt his passion and his love for our
fraternity. And it’s amazing to me, I’ve been around AHPEA
for--somebody--oh, where’s my 40 year pin, by the way, you
were supposed to bring it? Oh, I did know. Okay, all
right. In any case, I’ve been around this fraternity for
40 years, and there aren’t a lot of AHEPAns who really
certainly touch me in the way that Pete has. I just feel
his passion. I feel his interest in our fraternity. I
feel his interest in doing the right things for us.
It is with great personal pleasure that I offer the name of
Pete Kaldis for the position of Supreme Vice President.
Pete, as most of you probably know, is a member of AHEPA
Chapter Number 29 located, of course, in Houston, Texas.
Pete lives and breathes AHEPA and has worked his way up
from the grassroots and has, I guess, until recently been
Supreme Governor as well.
Pete has historically demonstrated a can-do, follow-through
kind of an attitude, a do-er [sic]. I think we need doers. I listened today in this room and let me tell you
something, there aren’t a group of people more adroit in
the depth than Greeks when it comes to being eloquent with
the English language. It’s amazing how well you’ve all
adopted the English language. Anyway, I’m just kidding a
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little bit.
But Pete is a do-er. Pete puts his money where his mouth
is. His children and his grandchildren are active in the
AHEPA family either as AHEPANs or as Sons. And I’m told
that Pete really insists that even their undergarments have
the word AHEPA on it. So he really, really epitomizes the
family called AHEPA.
In closing, and I want to make this brief, I really believe
that we have in Pete Kaldis an independent thinker, a doer, a gentleman who will do us all proud. And I urge you
to seriously consider voting for Pete Kaldis for Supreme
Vice President. Thank you.
MR. DENNIS KIRIAZIDES: I just have a few words. Dennis
Kiriazides, Rochester, New York. I stand here with the
honor to second Pete Kaldis for Supreme Vice President. We
have a choice now. Peter is a members’ candidate. He’s
independent, he’s accessible, he’s supportive, and he is
committed. He loves AHEPA and he has a passion for our
fraternity. He has the time and the talent above all to
perform this important role. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Are there any further nominations for
the Office of Supreme Vice President, once? Any further
nominations for Supreme Vice President, twice? Any further
nominations for Supreme Vice President, three times? The
two nominees will be placed on the ballot. At this time
we’re open for the nomination of Supreme Secretary. John
Grossomanides?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Brothers, I rise to place a nomination, the
name of a man who has spent the better part of his adult
life working for the Order of AHEPA. Phil, please come
forward.
Phil Frangos--I’ve had the pleasure to know Phil Frangos
for 25 years. Twenty-five years ago I came to my first
Supreme convention at this very hotel, at the Fontainebleau
Hotel, as a first time delegate. And Brother Frangos
served on the Board of Directors 25 years ago.
He was a member of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the
Board of Directors, and went on--and previous to that he
served his Chapter in all of the offices of his Chapter.
Served his District and all of the offices of his District
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including District Governor, and continued to climb through
the ranks of the Order of AHEPA. Served as Supreme
Counselor for two years, and then most recently this year
as part of the Karacostas Administration came back and
served again as Supreme Counselor.
Phil was instrumental in purchasing the property that we
have on Q Street, 1909 Q Street would not have happened if
it hadn’t have been for Phil Frangos being Chairman Of The
Board of Directors. He was also instrumental in writing
the 2000 Vision Alliance with Brothers Marianas [phonetic]
and Alex Kariotokas, which had many views and opinions and
vision on how the Order of AHEPA should progress through
the next decade.
I’ve been proud and can call Phil my friend because I’ve
had the opportunity to work with him very closely over the
last 12 months. I know what he has to offer. He has to
offer his time, because he’s now retired. He has his
talent, which we know through the organizations, and not
only through the AHEPA, he’s served his church and his
community.
On the personal side, he worked for the State of Michigan
for many, many years. And now he has the time to devote to
our organization because we need somebody who will work
every single day, who has the time and the passion. And I
believe that Phil Frangos is that man. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
All right.
You can retire, Phil.
Oh, there’s a second there.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Oh, who is the second? Oh, Frank Manios.
seconder is playing with the microphone.
The
[Crosstalk]
MR. FRANK MANIOS: I’m too short for this thing. That’s what
happened. Anyhow, I rise to second the nomination of my
friend and brother, Phil Frangos. I know Brother Phil
well. Brother Phil knows the Order of AHEPA well. And he
loves the Order of AHEPA with a deep and abiding passion
for many, many, MANY years. And with--because of that
passion over these years he has worked for the AHEPA.
You heard Brother John say he co-chaired Ellis Island. He
bought the property that we have today. He was a Board of
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Director, you heard about that, too. But more than that,
he was the author, or part of an author at that time. He
created the Board of Directors, fellas [sic]. Going back
to those years, if anybody remembers the blue books and the
red books and the green books, those were created by Phil
Frangos. I’m talking back in the ‘70s or late ‘80s, early
‘80s.
Phil Frangos has worked in the AHEPA all his life. He’s
also worked at his profession as a lawyer. He’s worked for
the State of Michigan. He was in charge over the state-Assistant State Deputy Secretary of State for the State of
Michigan, was over 25,000 employees. Now, that’s some
numbers that he had charge of and had duties to take care
of.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the time for Phil Frangos
to get--to rise into the Order of AHEPA and go forward is
today. And forward--and it’s with a personal pride and
particular pleasure that I second the nomination of Phil
Frangos for Supreme Secretary of the Order of AHEPA.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. I’d like to welcome Brother Gus
James. And the nominee, please come forward.
MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Colonel?
Where is he?
He’s coming.
MR. GUS JAMES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. While the Colonel is
moving forward, I also come before you as a lifelong member
of District 3. And I’m pleased and privileged to nominate
our favorite son, who is currently the Supreme Treasurer of
the Order of AHEPA, for the position of Supreme Secretary
of the Order of AHEPA.
I can summarize the Colonel’s life with several words,
commitment to service. And let me just talk about four
categories. First of all, his military service. He went
from private to full colonel in the army, 30 years. He
commanded companies, battalions, brigades, brigades with
7,000 men or more. He served two tours at the Pentagon,
both on the Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff and Chief of
Staff of the Army. Two tours of duty in Vietnam. Has a
Silver Star, which is the third highest recognition that
the military gives, three Bronze Stars, and, of course, he
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was wounded with a Purple Heart.
His community service and church service is unequaled.
He’s worked for his church. He’s worked in food kitchens.
He’s worked on Hellenic causes.
With regard to the Order of AHEPA, first of all on the
local level, he’s held the various offices in his Chapter,
and ultimately the President of the Chapter. And was so
successful with a new concept of one for one that every
member brought another member that he increased the
membership significantly of his Chapter. He took that on to
the District. And he served the District in various
offices, ultimately as District Governor where we had an
enormously successful District 3 membership drive.
On the national level he was first Supreme Governor, served
one year. And then for the last two years he’s served as
our Supreme Treasurer. He has supported our Supreme
President in every endeavor. He has traveled throughout
the United States. He was on the Pacific Northwest in the
first year, Dallas Southwest. He was in L.A. He’s been in
Chicago. He’s been on the East Coast. And he’s been to
all the regional conferences, three the first year, three
the second year. He traveled to Europe, Patriarchate and
so forth, Cyprus, Jerusalem, on his own nickel to travel
with the Supreme President and support him and support the
Order of AHEPA.
He was part of initiating this historic Chapter in
Constantinople, which we now have a Chapter. He was
involved with the current administration in increasing our
membership in Cyprus; up to six chapters now as you know.
He was very much involved as well in the District 5 and 6
event to--regarding St. Nicholas. He was also involved in
the Archbishop’s initiative and was there beside the
Supreme President.
He has been our representative at the Memorial Day event
where we were one of the few organizations that lay a
wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Colonel
has always been there. And I was proud to stand next to
him as Supreme President with him in front, really, in his
uniform to show that AHEPA really cares for the military
and veterans of this country.
He is a devoted father, husband.
He’s been married for 47
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years. He’s got two children, six grandchildren. And I’m
pleased and privileged to nominate Colonel Nick Vamvakias
for Supreme Secretary of the Order of AHEPA.
MR. VAMVAKIAS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
MR. JAMES:
Thank you, Gus.
Thank you so much.
Who’s your second?
Second is past Supreme President, Spiro Macris.
MR. SPIRO MACRIS: I’m Spiro Macris, Cape Fear Chapter number
408 of Wilmington, North Carolina. The Wilmington, North
Carolina Chapter is one of the smallest in the AHEPA
domain. And it is the smallest in District 3. Sixteen
years ago a man from that Chapter was nominated for Supreme
President in this very city and in this very hotel. He was
supported in this effort by his District, District 3, and
by Colonel Peter Derzis and his Chapter 438, which is now
called the Peter Derzis Chapter.
I can do no less today than be loyal to my District,
District 3. Aristotle said, “man’s greatest virtue is
loyalty; loyalty to his family, his friends and his
country.” And so today I am loyal to my District and I’m
loyal to this great man that I take great pleasure in
seconding the nomination of Colonel Nick Vamvakias for
Supreme Secretary. Thank you.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Are there any further nominations for the Office
of Secretary--Supreme Secretary? Any further nominations
for the Office of Supreme Secretary, twice? Any further
nominations for the Office of Supreme Secretary, three
times? I now close the Office of Supreme Secretary. The
two names will be placed upon the ballot.
At this time the Office of Supreme Treasurer is open for
nomination. Will the Supreme Treasurer come forward--the
nominee?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: I rise to place in nomination the name of
Brother Andrew Zachariades for the Office of Supreme
Treasurer. Brother Zachariades is a--been a brother for 21
years, a member of the Hudson Chapter Number 108 of Jersey
City, New Jersey. He’s been a two-term President. He’s
been a District Governor of the Fevus [phonetic] District
Number 5, one of the best districts in the Order of AHEPA.
Brother Zachariades also serves as Chairman of the-AHEPA
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Chairman of the Board of the AHEPA 5th District Cancer
Research Foundation, which has given out over $700,000 in
grants for cancer research. Brother Zachariades currently
serves as the Supreme Governor of Region 3. This year he
made over 50 chapter visitations to the chapters in
District 5 and in District 6.
His commitment to the Order of AHEPA is unprecedented. He
is also the controller of FPE Limited and CFO of affiliated
companies. He’s been instrumental in working with District
6 on the rebuild St. Nicholas project. He works in that
area. When 9/11 hit almost 10 years ago, he was one of the
individuals that was covered with the fallout, the soot,
the smog, and had to walk back to his home and was covered,
as I said, head to toe.
Brother Zachariades is part of the team. He’s been part of
the Karacostas team, and I look forward to having him part
of the Grossomanides team moving forward. He’s a tireless
worker. He has the time, the talent, and the treasure to
do this job. And I’m honored to be able to place a
nomination in his name, Andrew Zachariades, for Supreme
Treasurer.
MALE VOICE: Mr. Chairman, fellow AHEPANs, I rise to second the
nomination of a fellow colleague from the same region as I
come from. The distinguished Brother from Hudson Chapter-that’s God calling. This always happens, and I’ve got to-it always happens.
[Crosstalk]
MALE VOICE: The distinguished Brother here is a servant of
humanity. A few years ago I had the opportunity to meet
him when as Chairman of the--one of the nation’s preeminent
cancer foundations, he crossed the bridge and chose a
brother from my Chapter to honor him with the Cancer
Foundation Award of the Year. He chose Dr. Nicholas Romas,
the distinguished chair of urology of St. Luke’s Roosevelt.
We attended that night with three full tables. Being the
largest Chapter in New York, certainly we had to support
our brother, and it was a very costly evening because we
made a very significant donation.
Brother Andy is a terrific salesman. If there was a job
that was customized, where the fit was perfect, it would be
this job for Andy. It wasn’t mentioned earlier by the
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Supreme Vice President, but Andy also holds an
extraordinary title and honor having received from the
Patriarchate, the extraordinary medal of St. Paul. The
medal of St. Paul, my brothers, is not a metal that is
given lightly. I stand and I’m proud to stand the--and
endorse my colleague from New Jersey, current Supreme
Governor for the position of Supreme Treasurer.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Are there any further nominations for the Office
of Supreme Treasurer, once? Are there any further
nominations for the Office of Supreme Treasurer, twice?
Are there any further nominations for the Office of Supreme
Treasurer, three times? I now declare Brother Andrew
Zachariades Treasurer.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: At this time, Karacostas, our Supreme President,
will make a nomination.
MR. KARACOSTAS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Brothers, this next
office that we need to fill is going to be contested by two
very talented individuals who have served you all week.
And they’re both sitting on the dais as your Vice Chairman
and your Secretary, and they’re both named George. I think
they both deserve a round of applause from all of us.
It’s often difficult to fill the position of Supreme
Counselor. But this year we have two exceptional
candidates. However, I rise to nominate the first
candidate by the name of George E. Loucas from the great
Buckeye District in Ohio. This is George here.
George has lineage in the Order of AHEPA because if most of
you don’t know, his grandfather was a past Supreme
President of this wonderful organization by the same name,
George E. Loucas. From a young age George was trained in
AHEPA. He attended conventions, and he always tells the
story of how his grandfather was respected and always
taught him the great works of AHEPA. And here he is 30
years later as a 30-year AHEPAN after serving his Chapter
in many office positions including Secretary and Vice
President, and serving his District as the legal advisor to
the ever popular and very profitable Buckeye Scholarship
Foundation. And he’s now aspired to be the next Supreme
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Counselor of the Order of AHEPA.
I can honestly tell you that George has the talent and
experience to serve as Supreme Counselor. His resume is on
the tables. And I won’t take too much of your time to go
through the many, many accomplishments George has had
through his years.
Professionally, he’s a pharmacist first and an attorney
second. But he’s combined these two professions to have a
very lucrative legal office and he has many medical
malpractice lawsuits. I’ve often seen him in action
because I’m on the other side defending the cases that
George brings forward. So I know his trial skills.
I know his talents, and I know that he’s certainly capable
of being the Supreme Counselor. He’s organized,
meticulous, thorough, and above all, which is very
important for Supreme Counselor, compassionate. His record
speaks for himself--for itself. And I think George has all
the characteristics to make a fine Supreme Counselor. I
place the nomination of George E. Loucas for the Office of
Supreme Counselor. Thank you.
MR. MANIOS: I’m Franklin Manios, and today I have double
pleasure in nominating two very close personal friends with
a great talent from two different states which is kind of
unique, Phillip Frangos for secretary from Michigan, which
is a Wolverine, and George E. Loucas from Ohio, which is a
Buckeye. This doesn’t happen too often folks. But there’s
a catch to it because George E. Loucas was also a
Mountaineer from the State of West Virginia. And he was
born in Weirton, West Virginia where I was born. And his
grandfather was an attorney to my father. And he got him
out of trouble one time with - - downstairs, got water from
my dad’s apartment upstairs and George E. Lucas had to come
to get him out of trouble.
Anyhow, I know George E. Lucas all his life. I knew his
grandfather. I’m going to take a few seconds here--or, no.
I knew his grandfather. I know his mom. His mom was a
past District Governor of the Order of AHEPA and the
Daughters. I know his sister, Penny [phonetic]. She’s a
magistrate. She was a District Governor of the Maids when
I was a Supreme governor back in 1976.
Two things George knows well and loves well.
He knows the
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AHEPA and he knows the law. And that’s why he’s destined
to be not only a good AHEPAN but a good lawyer for the
Order of AHEPA. And it’s my privilege and honor and
pleasure to nominate second--to second the nomination of
George E. Loucas for Supreme Counselor of the Order of
AHEPA.
MR. CHAIRMAN: At this time I would like the nominator for our
next candidate for the Office of Supreme Counselor.
MR. SAMMY THOMAS: Good afternoon, my name is Sammy Thomas. I’m
from the great Chapter Ramapo 453 in New Jersey. And I’m a
District Secretary of District 6--District 5, sorry. I
might get the District Secretary of 6 later.
The position of counselor requires a person who has a good
grasp of integrity and ethics, who can display vision and
leadership, and who practices wisdom with a hint of
humbleness. It’s important to complement those qualities
with the demonstrated accomplishments that support the
AHEPA and its goals. The person who I’m proud to nominate
without question has the professional credentials and
ideals necessary to effectively carry out the
responsibilities of counselor.
He is the head of an expanding law practice. He is a
member of the Bar in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, the U.S.
Federal Courts including the Supreme Court. His service to
AHEPA and to his community is deep and admirable. He has
held every office in his Chapter, Camden Chapter 69. He
has held every office of the District Lodge of District 5
including last year a District Governor. He was Vice
Chairman of the very successful AHEPA Cancer Research
Foundation, which you heard described by the past speaker,
and he is a member of the Parish Council of St. Thomas of
Cherry Hill.
Truly an impressive resume, but that resume is also
pockmarked with wonderful accomplishments. He
reinvigorated the Philadelphia Greek parade, and after an
absence of a decade the Greek parade is now back in the
City of Brotherly Love.
While District Governor he wasn’t content just to work
within his own District, but he reached across the AHEPA
domain and he partnered actively with the District officers
in District 6 of New York and District 4 of Pennsylvania to
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advance the objectives of AHEPA in that region. And he
reinvigorated the Hellenic Cultural Event calendar
throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan region.
These contributions of his to AHEPA and his community
received a major recognition from the National Herald
newspaper. They featured this man on the cover of their
feature magazine, PeriElatiko [Greek audio]. He suffered a
personal tragedy recently with the passing of his father,
but nonetheless his sense of duty and his service compel
him to continue to serve as a beloved AHEPA.
Please consider these qualifications. We have two
admirable candidates, but merit and fire in the belly
deserve consideration. I proudly nominate for Supreme
counselor a proud son of the great District 5, a favorite
son not of the few but the champion of the many in our
AHEPA, Brother George Horiates.
[Applause]
PHIL:
Brother Chairman, it is indeed a pleasure being in front
of you to take this opportunity to speak a little bit about
a young man who has become my son because he came into my
family. And I have seen him grow up and develop to a
gentleman, an integral part of the Order of AHEPA, and I’m
hoping someday that he’ll be a leader of AHEPA. Brother
Nick, I really am very proud of you--to see you grow up to
be part of this great organization. Brother John is going
to be leading us. We’ve been together with the esteemed
brothers here, Brother Lee, Brother Scofield, Brother
Steve, and all of you brothers who have contributed so much
to the Order of AHEPA.
But I’m going to leave you only with one reason why I’m
here, and that is integrity. This young man has that
integrity that qualifies him to be our next Supreme
Counselor. So therefore, I second the motion and I want to
congratulate all of you for the wonderful job you have done
thus far.
But I want to leave you also with the following, it was
when I met George, and he and I have traveled up and down
the New Jersey Turnpike, New Jersey Parkway, and all other
side roads. And he told me, he says, “In case you get into
a problem, please call 1-800-HORIATES.” Thank you very
much.
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MR. GEORGE HORIATES:
Thank you, Phil.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, do we have any lawyers here that want to
aim for that Office of Supreme Counselor? Nominations are
open once. Again, twice for the Office of Supreme
Counselor. Three times for the Office of Supreme
Counselor. Hearing no further nominees and nominations for
this, I close the Office of Supreme Counselor and place the
two names on the ballot.
Would Brother Scofield come forward, past Supreme President
Scofield? Did I say it right for you?
MR. JAMES SCOFIELD: My name is James Scofield Demetrios
Efsthatheo Enscoufakis [phonetic], for those of you who are
concerned. The AHEPA--and I am Chairman of the AHEPA First
Party. The AHEPA First Party endorses Brothers
Grossomanides, Vassilas, Kouzounis, Frangos, Zachariades,
Loucas, and Brother Spiro Siaggas for the Office of Supreme
Athletic Director.
In regard to the Supreme Governors, we nominate the
following, Region 1, Sandy Papadopoulos; Region 2, Dr. Pete
Nicholas; Region 3, Jimmy Kokotas; Region 4, Nicholas
Nikas; Region 5, Dr. Mark Zigoris, from Cincinnati where I
was born; for Region 6, Louis Atsaves; Region 7, Nicholas
Dixie; and Region 8, Alex Christy.
For the Board of Trustees we nominate Brother Nicholas
Karacostas, our present Supreme President. For auditor we
nominate for re-election, Brother Vasilios Albanos. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Brother Lee Millas, will you come forth please?
MR. LEE MILLAS: Thank you, - - . Thank you, sir. Good
afternoon, Brothers. My name is Lee Millas. I am Chairman
of the New Horizons Party. And I would like to give you
the list of names of endorsements by the New Horizons Party
for this forthcoming election. For Supreme President we
are proud and happy to endorse Brother John Grossomanides
for Supreme President. We are also endorsing Brother
George Vassilas for Supreme President of Canada.
Now, I’d like to explain something for those that don’t
know this, during the course of last year an agreement was
reached between the New Horizons Party and the AHEPA First
that we would not run candidates for the Office of
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July 23, 2011
293
President, Vice President or Secretary if we were given the
opportunity to have the Office of Supreme Treasurer.
Now, this was a commitment made by the AHEPA First Party
and the New Horizons Party. And I am very happy, and I am
really happy that this agreement worked and has come to
fruition. There’s one thing that I think everybody should
understand and does understand that there’s nothing more
important than your word. When you give your word it is
your word and your bond. And thanks very much to Jim
Scofield who kept his word on behalf of his party, and we
kept our word, and that’s why we’ve had some degree of
harmony between the parties. So this I thank you very
much, Brother Jim.
That said, the survivor of our candidate in electing a
Supreme Treasurer, we circularized the entire membership of
the New Horizons Party from coast to coast. And all the
dues paying members of that party were able to cast a
ballot for the candidate of their choice. And we have
three candidates. And the winner of that was proudly, Andy
Zachariades. So Andy is our candidate for Supreme
Treasurer.
For Supreme Counselor, we are happy to also endorse and
nominate 1-800-HORIATES. Brother George Horiates, Esquire.
Congratulations Brother George. Athletic Director, we are
honoring and supporting Brother Spiro Siaggas. For Supreme
governors, in Region 1, Sandy Papadopoulos; in Region 2,
Dr. Peter Nicholas; Region 3, our good friend Brother Jimmy
Kokotas from District 6; in Region 4, Nicholas Nikas, also
our good friend from the neighboring Connecticut; Region 5,
Dr. Mark Zigoris, also a good friend; Brother 6, Louis
Atsaves; Brother 7, Nicholas Dixie; and Region 8, Brother
Gus Hazifotis for Supreme Governor; Board of Auditors,
Vasilios Albanos, and last but not least, and most
important, a re-election to the Board of Governors, Lee J.
Millas. Thank you very much.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Hearing all the nominations for the various
offices of Supreme Governor, Board of Trustees, Board of
Auditors, are there any further nominations for any one of
these offices? Once?
MR. JOHN TANIONOS:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
I rise, Brother.
Yes, sir?
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MR. JOHN TANIONOS:
MALE VOICE:
I have a nominee for the Board of Trustees.
Talk in the mike.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
You want to nominate for a board of Trustees–
MR. TANIONOS:
[Interposing] Yes, yes I would.
MR. CHAIRMAN:
Okay.
MR. TANIONOS:
Should I do it from here, or?
MR. CHAIRMAN:
No.
MR. TANIONOS:
Okay.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Come up here.
have to leave the room.
MALE VOICE:
Hey, please, let’s go ‘cause we
I’m sorry.
MR. TANIONOS: Hello, brothers. My name is John Tanionos. I
come from Cape Cod Chapter 483. I’m the District Governor
of Bay State District 8 whose headquarters is in Boston,
Massachusetts, the Athens of America. I also serve as the
National Athletic Awards and Scholarship Director. I am
the Chair of the Harry Agganis Award. And I’m doing this
for the first time, and I’m listening to my papou’s voice
talking to me now. He says, Yanni [phonetic], when you do
something for the first time - - [Greek audio], all right?
I promise if I ever do this again I will not be doing it in
my underwear here as Brother Gulus [phonetic] just pointed
out to me, so.
I rise to nominate--for many years I believe we’ve all
experienced passion, reminders about what the Order of
AHEPA embodies and our remarks that are made and shared
amongst us. This individual that I rise for, his signature
salutation is Brotherhood in Hellenism. His contributions
to the National Athletics, his tasks as Team AHEPA soccer,
his successful Baltimore 68 housing project theme was the
foundation for the golden tradition. For many years of
dedication to the Greek Independence Day and Mid-Atlantic
parade, carried the message “Spirit of America, Legacy of
Greece, Freedom and Democracy for All.” And recently he
has campaigned to unite his own past District go the
community and the church.
The initiatives, the Hellenic example, leading the Hellenic
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spirit, community and church, and initiative to do what
AHEPA does best. You have all seen the effort, and you
have heard and witnessed the success of this brother in his
own District in the past. Most recently, two years ago,
everywhere I go people will say, John, when I presented the
Harry Agganis Award in Baltimore to Nick Markakis of the
Baltimore Orioles, I was always real quick to tell
everybody, you know, it’s an honor for me to present the
award, but no Steve Mavronis and no Harry Agganis Award for
Nick Markakis. It was that simple. And after the ceremony
Brother Steve swore Nick Markakis into the Order of AHEPA
of the Lord Baltimore Chapter 364.
Past District Governor for two years, Mavronis relentlessly
worked and promoted the mission of the Order of AHEPA by
increasing membership, serving at every Chapter office at
his District as Chapter and District level. Mavronis is a
relentless in his promotion of the Order of AHEPA and for
his perpetuation to promote Hellenism.
It is a privilege and honor for me to place his name for
consideration, this young dynamic individual and brother of
ours, and past two term District Governor for the
nomination for the Board of Trustees. Thank you, Brothers.
MR. CHAIRMAN: This is the nominee for the Office of the Board
of Trustees.
MR. SPIRO SIAGGAS: Mr. Chairman, I am Spiro Siaggas, Supreme
Athletic Director. And it’s my pleasure to second the
motion for Steve Mavronis for Board of Trustees.
I stand before you not as an individual but to represent a
group, the Athletic Committee, and all the supporters of
athletics to let you know that this individual is probably
the hardest worker, has the most integrity, and beyond that
has a vision. There isn’t anything that we’ve asked in the
Athletic Committee of Steve Mavronis that he hasn’t done
110%. Our problem is sometimes in keeping him restrained a
little bit because he has so much passion, but more
importantly than that, he has a vision. He doesn’t wait to
be told what to do or how to do it. He’s telling us what
he has in mind and how he’s going to do it. And he just
says, support it--do you support it? We support it. He
says, then I’ll take care of it, and he has.
He does have vision.
He is a younger guy.
We need younger
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people. That’s all I’ve been hearing in our athletic
luncheon yesterday. Steve fits every bill that we need for
the position of Board of Trustees. One of the most
important things I feel in the Board of Trustees is the
ability to go out and meet people, represent the AHEPA, and
raise money, okay? The Board of Trustees I feel should be
raising money, and I think everybody feels that way. And
Steve can do that. So I proudly second the motion for
Steve Mavronis for Board of Trustees.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, is there--are there any further nominations
for any of the offices that have been already placed, once?
Any further nominations twice for the various offices of
the Board of Trustees, of Auditors, or Supreme Governors?
Three times? I now close. All the nominee names to be
placed on the ballot as for the office they were placed.
At this time, now--is Tony Drakos in here? Tony Drakos,
you’re not in to give us the vote count? Well, I know what
it is. I just--I know what it was from yesterday. Well,
the only thing I can tell you right now without having the
official count from Tony Drakos is, we had 209 registered
delegates, plus the seven that were seated, and there were
two that were still in the open that could be seated. So
we’re either at 216 or 218, but that’s not official. So
until we get it from Tony Drakos that will give you an idea
of where we stand. Thank you.
MR. HARRY KAVALARIS:
Mr. Chairman-
MR. CHAIRMAN: [Interposing] Yes - - .
MR. KAVALARIS: -Harry Kavalaris from Marathon Chapter Number 2.
Do we have a select time for early voting tonight?
MR. CHAIRMAN: Not yet. I was going to try to get that if
possible, but I don’t know if we can get it.
[Crosstalk]
MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, but I got to find if the ballots are ready.
I can’t get ahead of the ballots. Right now, until I know
the ballots are ready, there’s no way of starting to give
you a starting time for early voting tonight. But I think-pardon?
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MALE VOICE:
MR. CHAIRMAN:
- - if the food is served, right?
Is this on?
The microphone is–
MR. CHARLES STAMITOLES: [Interposing] Charles Stamitoles,
Daphne Chapter 296, Pensacola, Florida. First of all, I’d
like to thank the Chair that’s had a very difficult job
this year, and the Vice Chair, because I think we had a
difficult time in this room at times. But I think the one
thing that’s so important, either before or even after
voting, that we come together as a group so we can be
stronger.
The other thing I’d like to say to the people in this room,
from the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to
be seated at this convention. And I couldn’t bear with the
thought of going back home to Pensacola, Florida before the
11 young men that want to be Sons of Pericles and tell them
that I didn’t have the opportunity to be involved with this
convention.
So again, I don’t want to be long because I know we have a
lot of things to get done, but again, thank you for
allowing me to be seated. And I’m excited--I’m as excited
about AHEPA as I’ve been in 36 years. Thank you very much.
[Applause]
MR. CHAIRMAN: The only thing further that I can state is once
we get an idea--hold on. I’m getting a call. The only
thing I can state at this time is that we’ll post on the
headquarters’ door, at the room, what time early voting
will be held as soon as we get an idea of what time it can
be held--take place and where it will take place. So at
this time I recess until tomorrow morning.
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Miami, FL
July 23, 2011
Phone: 212-227-7440 800-221-7242 Fax: 212-227-7524
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299
[START Ahepa_Nat_l._Convention_#6_Election_Results.mp3]
[Gavel bangs]
THE CHAIRMAN: We are now opening the final session of the 89th
Convention. I’d like to have our good friend Tony -- what’s
his last name again?
MR. TONY DRAKOS: Good friend, how am I a good friend, if you
don’t know my last name? Drakos.
THE CHAIRMAN: Tony Drakos to give us the report of the voting
machine and the candidates who won their offices. Thank you.
MR. DRAKOS:
Can we have silence in here?
MALE VOICE:
Enjoy your 15 seconds.
MR. DRAKOS: I’m making a stand. Okay. Okay, the final results
on the election, we had -- before we go any further, we had
217 people that were registered to vote, of the 217 people
that were registered to vote we had 207 that voted. Okay.
Now we had 15 ballots that went through the machine that were
kicked out by the machine because they were invalid, they did
something with their vote and it was an illegal ballot. So
the 15 votes were thrown out.
Now the results. John Grossomanides for Supreme President
received 182 votes, he ran unopposed. Congratulations, John.
For Supreme Vice-President, Anthony Kouzounis received 137,
and Peter Kaldis, 52. Anthony Kouzounis.
For Canadian President, okay, George Vassilas, Canadian
President, he ran unopposed at 170.
Supreme Secretary, Phil Frangos, 113, Dick -- Nick Vamvakias,
77. Congratulation, Phil.
Supreme Treasurer, Andrew Zachariades ran unopposed at 175.
Congratulation, and thanks for the $2.
Okay, for Supreme Counselor, George Loucas, 109, George
Horiates, 79. George Loucas you won at -- you won.
Athletic Director, Spiro won unopposed at 163.
MALE VOICE:
Spiro who?
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July 23, 2011
1
MR. DRAKOS:
Spiro Siaggas.
MALE VOICE:
How many?
MR. DRAKOS: 163. 163. All right, now we’ll go down to the
Supreme Governors. Okay, in Region I, Sandy Papaboulous -Papadopoulos, I know Mr. Sandy, I’m sorry. Region I he ran
unopposed, he received 19 votes. Everybody, all the Supreme
Governors with the exception of Region number VIII had
competition. Dr. Nick in Region II, Nickolas, received 27
votes. District III, Kokotas, Region III got 27 votes.
Region IV, Nicholas Nikas received 22 votes. Region V,
Zigoris received-MALE VOICE:
[Interposing] Zigoris.
MR. DRAKOS: Dr. Mark Zigoris received 20 votes.
how to read because I’m a mailman.
MALE VOICE:
No, I don’t know
He only knows zip codes.
MR. DRAKOS: I only know zip codes, that’s why you guys don’t get
no mail, takes a long time to get.
Region VI, Louis Atsaves got 22 votes. Region VII, Nick
Dixie received 13 votes. Now in Region number VIII, there
was two candidates, Alex Christy and Gus Hazifotis. Alex
Christy received seven votes, and Gus Hazifotis received six.
All right. Now for the Board of Trustees. There was two
positions open, and the top two candidates won for the Board.
Nick Karacostas received 117, Lee Millas received 46, and
Steve Mavronis received 28. Nick Karacostas and Lee Millas
won.
And for the Board of Auditors, Vasilios Albanos received 174,
he ran unopposed.
All right, now for the legislation issues. I’m just going to
say -- I’m just going to tell you yes and no. All of them
passed. Legislation number 1 was 163 to 20. Number 2 was
172 to seven. Number 3 was 163 to 24. Number 4 was 165 to
19. Number 5 was 75 to 10. Number 6 was 171 to 10. Number
7 was 173 to 10. Number 8 was 173 to 10. Number 9 was 175
to seven. Number 10, 174 to seven. Number 11 was 144 to 40.
Number 12, 174 to 11. And the last one, number 13, was 171
to nine.
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2
That completes my report. Does anybody have anything to say?
Nothing else? Yes, I know. All right, thank you for another
wonderful successful year, and thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Supreme President, Mr. Supreme President, John
Grossomanides, Supreme President. It hasn’t sunk in yet,
he’s right. Can you tell me where the installation’s going
to take place at 3.00 p.m., in this room, or elsewhere?
MR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES:
THE CHAIRMAN:
Downstairs, right below us.
Right, below us.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
What’s the name of the room?
The name of the room is Splash.
THE CHAIRMAN: All right, the official swearing in of all
officers, AHEPA Daughters of Penelope, Sons, and Maids, will
take place 3.00 p.m. in the room called Flash number 9, 10,
and 11, which is immediately below us, in other words you go
down to the lobby level and walk all the way back to this
area. Right. I wish to congratulate each and every one of
the winning candidates, and to those who aspire, can aspire
again to run next year, because after all that’s what it’s
all about.
Any further questions?
MR. LOUIS ATSAVES:
THE CHAIRMAN:
Yes, Brother Chairman?
Yes, sir.
MR. ATSAVES: I’m over here, I’m sorry. I decided to switch
places today. I have a question. I waited yesterday to hear
who the AHEPAN of the Year was, as chosen by this Convention,
I didn’t hear the name announced, at any time during the
business meetings I didn’t hear the name announced. At the
banquet-THE CHAIRMAN:
[Interposing] It wasn’t announced.
MR. ATSAVES: Who is -- I mean, is this is a secret?
AHEPAN of the Year?
Who’s the
THE CHAIRMAN: The DPWs didn’t report. I waited for the report;
nobody came in to give me a report, so I have no idea.
MR. ATSAVES: I think it’s absolutely shameful on our part that
someone was nominated to be a national AHEPAN of the Year,
and was totally forgotten, ignored, by this Convention. And
quite honestly, I’m ashamed as an AHEPAN that this took
place. Now how do we rectify this to give this honoree his
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3
proper due for all the hard work that he did the past year,
which merited the award of AHEPAN of the Year?
THE CHAIRMAN: What I can do, Brother Lou, is wait for the
Chairman of the District Governors to report to me at the
installation, I’ll announce it at that time, and then close
the Convention. Does that satisfy you?
MR. ATSAVES: Well, no, not really, because we heard who the - winner was at the Grand Banquet, this should be announced at
the Grand Banquet. And I think we should restructure this
Convention so that the AHEPAN of the Year is always announced
at the Grand Banquet, otherwise this time next year we’re
probably going to forget next year’s candidate as well. I
don’t understand why this once prestigious award has slipped
to such low esteem that it’s been completely forgotten by
everybody. And I think we should all be ashamed.
THE CHAIRMAN:
Yes, Brother?
MR. CHARLES STAMITOLES: Yes, Charles Stamitoles, Daphne Chapter
296, Pensacola, Florida. There’s been something I’ve been
dying to share with our group here, and this has been the
only time I’ve had a chance to do it. I think it’s very
important that if we’re going to take the time to have a
grievance committee and spend that time doing it, I think
it’s very important to educate our Chapters so they know at
the grass root level what to do, maybe in the form of like a
fighter pilot checklist.
Furthermore than that, I think every Chapter should take this
paper and have every active member sign it so they understand
it, and I think it should be reported to the District
Governor, Supreme Governor, excuse me, so that he can have a
form of accountability so we don’t have to waste so much time
in the grievance committee. And I think it’s very -- you
know, we don’t have -- the room’s not full now, but maybe
this little blurb can go out in our next magazine, and maybe
that fighter pilot checklist with a piece of paper you can
tear out of that magazine can go to each Chapter and we can
have it signed by every active member in AHEPA so nobody
cannot know what they need to do hands down, and then the
Secretary will be informed.
Two other points and I’ll be very quick, is we’ve got a good
example of our Sons growing their membership, they’ve tripled
their membership. And maybe we use as an example what they’ve
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July 23, 2011
4
done but it can’t be done the same way. One thought might be
a little concept that was shared to me by my papou years ago.
He said if you ask somebody to come to a meeting they might
come, but [Greek audio], you bring two people to that meeting
with your two hands, but make sure they’re good people, make
sure they understand what they’re getting into, and then
you’ve doubled your membership. Okay.
Now the last point I think is very important is the word
called Philhellenes. Philhellenes are friends to the Greeks
as we know how it’s defined. The reason we need these
Philhellenes is they’re influential people in our different
communities whereby when we’re having district conventions,
or if we’re having national conventions, we can play upon the
influence they might give us to drop the DB, to drop the fee
that comes to AHEPA. You know, it’s almost like trying to
play with sugar instead of vinegar.
And my wife made me promise one thing to say if I did get up,
and this is even the most important point. Next year, and
I’ve entrusted our fellow Brother newly-elected Frangos to
negotiate if possible these dates. I don’t care what he has
to do, he’s a very inquisitive man, he can figure it out, we
cannot leave our youth behind. I know personally my two sons
cannot come next year, and I imagine all the rest of the sons
can’t come. We’re not trying to point the finger that
somebody’s made a mistake, but it’s got to be resolved. If
we don’t resolve that and we leave our youth behind, we’re
shooting a hole in Sons of Pericles and all the work they’ve
done.
THE CHAIRMAN: That has been taken up by the Convention-MR. STAMITOLES:
[Interposing] I know it has.
THE CHAIRMAN: Don’t repeat it now, we’re in the final stage, we
don’t have to have a recap of whatever happened yesterday.
MR. STAMITOLES: Okay. And again, thank you for letting me
address things. We in Pensacola Florida are very motivated
to take these tools back, and our District Convention that
we’ll have this next year will have a national flair, because
we’re going to work very hard to put on a good District. And
I’ll make sure everybody in this room that came to the
Convention knows about it. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
5
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. At this time I wish to thank the
Convention Committee Officers, Brothers George Horiates for
his work as Vice Chairman, and George Loucas, the Secretary
of the Convention Committee. They did a tremendous job, we
were here every day all week long, and I want to thank all of
the other officers and members who came astutely to the
Convention floor to participate in hearing the reports, and
giving their comments. I will hold open until the Chairman
of the District Governors’ Committee reports for the AHEPAN
of the Year, which I’ll take place and announce at the
installation at 3.00 p.m. Thank you.
MALE VOICE:
THE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
THE CHAIRMAN:
Do you need a motion to close?
3.00 p.m.
I’ve got one committee to report.
Mr. Chair, I think we should - - .
What, you want more?
MALE VOICE: Yes, we want more, absolutely.
week. We should have more.
We’ve been here all
THE CHAIRMAN: Does anyone wish to come up and make any remarks on
the good of the order?
MR. ANDREW ZACHARIADES:
MALE VOICE:
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, sir.
MR. ZACHARIADES: Supreme Governor Andrew Zachariades, Region III.
I stand and I want to congratulate the Credentials Committee,
and all the Brothers who worked in the Grievance Committee,
two difficult committees. And I would like to put in a
record that these Brothers should be congratulated for the
hard work they did, they did a tremendous job. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: They did a tremendous job. I know Tony Drakos and
that whole committee on the grievance especially, and also on
the legislative did a tremendous job working all week in
doing the problems, to try and resolve the problems of
legislation and grievance this past week. Any further
comments?
MR. JAMES KARAMANOS: Mr. Chairman? James W. Karamanos, Monroe
Chapter number 75, New Brunswick, New Jersey, District V.
First of all I want to congratulate everybody here at the
convention on their decorum. At times of course we were a
little bit rowdy, as Greeks are when they get riled up.
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
6
But that having been said, I want to also mention about the
initiation ritual. I think it should be revised, and not
have a short version of the initiation ritual. I, as
District V, and a few of the other districts know, the New
Brunswick Monroe Chapter Number 75 degree team was in place a
few years ago and we were visited beyond the confines of the
district. And so -- and I happen to be fortunate to be Vice
President of the Degree team. But that having been said, I
really think that the ritual should be revised and not have a
short version.
THE CHAIRMAN: You know, I agree with many of the things you’re
stating, and I say this to you. The long degree which I went
through coming out of a war, coming out of a battle, just
being a civilian for two months when I was initiated. Let me
tell you something, I was ready to pop heads when I was being
initiated because 40 of us were being initiated at one time,
and I couldn’t stand what was happening to the one that was
picked, because it just irritated me. But I will tell you we
will never forget it, that’s what I’m trying to bring up.
MR. KARAMANOS: Well we’re in mixed company here, but I just want
to say I don’t want to bring back the trial part; I don’t
want to bring back part two. But-THE CHAIRMAN: [Interposing] Anyway that’s up to the Board of
Trustees and the Legislative Committee, for the standing
Legislative Committee. Who’s next? You? Our new electee,
George Loucas has a few remarks to make.
[Applause]
MR. GEORGE LOUCAS: George Loucas, Georgie Loucas, Chapter 480,
North Royalton, Ohio. I just wanted for the record to say
thank you to the delegates for showing support and giving me
this opportunity. Although I’m a third generation, 30 year
AHEPAN, and I have the credentials to step in and help us and
serve as Supreme Counselor. I have not been active, excuse
me, as active as I should have been over the last ten years
on the national level. And I want to thank the delegates, my
Brothers, from the bottom of my heart for giving me this
opportunity. And we will rebound as a family, not just
myself, you get the whole Loucas package, all of us, and
110%. And I look forward to serving and getting to visit
folks, and be with my Brothers and begin from there. But
thank you very much.
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
7
The other thing I would like to say is I haven’t had a taste
of AHEPA politics in a long time, since the district level,
where we’d see the heated battles. And on the floor
yesterday I’m reminded of my grandfather’s stories I keep
hearing from all the older AHEPANs of my grandfather, and a
battle that was near fisticuffs on the Convention floor. And
he stood up and started singing the Greek national anthem.
And now I see how that happened, because yesterday I thought
music calms the beast, and I was about ready to stand up and
start singing.
But more importantly, the politics have to, although they are
necessary to keep this organization guided, the two-party
system I do believe in it. But at the same time, I’m
grateful that they were clean politics, and that we need to
adjourn and remain Brothers first, because a house divided
falls, and we don’t need resentments among Brothers. And I
for one know that I will support George Horiates and all that
he strives to do for AHEPA, because I think we need him, and
I think that he can help take us places, and I’m fully behind
him. And that’s one of my biggest lessons I’ve learned this
week is that this loyalty, and this love, this fraternal
[Greek audio] is most important to me in my heart. And
you’re going to see me work from that grass root level up in
this organization, and this order. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN:
At this time -- he knocked on - - .
MR. GEORGE HORIATES: Well, this is George Horiates, the Vice
Chair as well as the individual that lost to Mr. Loucas, and
I think we should give a round of applause to George Loucas.
[Applause]
MR. GEORGE HORIATES: He’s a worthy opponent, and I can tell you
that we came here with one goal, and one goal in mind, and
that is to reinvigorate AHEPA. And I think that’s a goal
that whether your parties, or independence, or wherever you
flush your toilet, that’s what we were all looking for. And
it’s my hope that we will continue to reinvigorate AHEPA.
Let me tell you something about George, George comes from an
area in the country in the Buckeye State where I happen to do
some of my most amazing work as a supporter of Greek causes.
As the Supreme President on the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood, we
have most of our Chapters in the Buckeye State. And I can
tell you for the best part of the last two or three months
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
8
the phone lines were burning up in that State, and George
didn’t know where it was coming from. But I will tell you
this; the Buckeyes should be proud of Mr. Loucas.
And I will tell you another thing, I appreciate the
camaraderie of all the Brothers when they get together, even
at the end of the day, despite our perceived differences,
perceived differences. Because at the end of the day, like
Mr. Karachi [phonetic] sitting there with the AHEPA shirt on,
we’re all AHEPANs. I’m hopeful to continue in this great
order on a greater level, and I’m hopeful that we will all
continue to work united, united on behalf of and to the
benefit of AHEPA.
So congratulations George, and God bless AHEPA, and I will
tell you something else. 16 years ago, maybe 17 years ago,
at one of these conventions there was a little bit of a
battle in the AHEPA first party between our current Supreme
President and - - past Supreme President, or actually I
should say now both past Supreme Presidents, and I hope to
work and continue to work for the benefit of AHEPA just like
Gorge does.
So thank you so much, we hope we entertained you throughout
Miami, and we look forward to your continued united support
[Greek audio], God bless AHEPA always. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Would the winning officers like to make a few
remarks while we’re here, so we’re on record? Supreme
President -- whatever you like. Okay.
MALE VOICE: Mr. Grossomanides, our Supreme President, please come
forward, we demand the Chair and the Vice Chair after a hot
sweaty weekend, and week, that you do speak and conclude this
wonderful Convention. Everybody please give a round of
support, I know there’s not many delegates here for Dr. John
Grossomanides, Supreme President of the Order of AHEPA.
[Applause]
DR. JOHN GROSSOMANIDES:
THE CHAIRMAN:
I’ll keep my remarks brief.
The remarks at the installation are not on record.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: They’re not on record. The remarks that I
would like to make, we have no losers today, we have only
winners, because this organization is an organization where
we need every single person to work together. Our greatest
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
9
asset is our strength in working together as Hellenes, to
forward our mission, the mission of Hellenism, to promote
Hellenism, and Hellenistic causes. We need each and every
one of these individuals, winners or losers, to continue
their efforts into promoting and to fostering the advancement
of the order of AHEPA.
So it may not be an office that they hold this year, it may
be a committee chairmanship, it may be on a committee, it may
be some other role, but I was always told you don’t need to
have an office to help the order of AHEPA. There’s some
capacity where we need each and every person to fulfill
something to advance our cause, whether it’s rebuilding St.
Nicholas, whether it’s reunifying the Island of Cyprus, we
need everybody. So the words I leave you with is let all of
us work together to advance AHEPA, and make it a great -- a
great organization and even bigger and better than we’ve ever
been. Thank you.
[Applause]
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you Mr. Supreme President. I think… is
George Vassilas in the room? Anthony Kouzounis? Phil
Frangos, please come aboard, make a few remarks for the
record.
[Applause]
MALE VOICE:
Please come forward and give some advice, Counselor.
THE CHAIRMAN: Phil Frangos, Supreme Secretary just immediately
elected, and will give us remarks for the record, also want
to put a time in here, it’s 1.40 -- 2.45 p.m.
MR. PHIL FRANGOS: Fellow delegates. I will probably start - - ,
I already have. And I was waiting to see the Colonel come
into the room. I was just telling him that last night at the
banquet he has one of the loveliest wives in the AHEPA, just
a gentle, wonderful woman. And I said, “Carol, I’m in this
to win, but if I lose”, and I was by no means -- “I couldn’t
think of losing to a classier person than Nick Vamvakias”.
[Applause]
MR. FRANGOS: I want to think that in this race there are no
losers, because I -- he’s taught me a lot in this. I’ve
learned from him, if nothing, how to become a campaigner,
he’s written the book. One thing is we all call him the
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
10
Colonel, and he’s owed that respect, but I don’t think of
Nick as the Colonel, I think of him as my Brother.
To all the Brothers who supported me, I know that we’re going
to go forward. I want to express my appreciation to the
Supreme President whose help -- I look forward to working
with the entire lodge, I appreciate the help, and together I
think we’ve got a tremendous team both people who had the
bigger numbers and the lower numbers, the caliber of the
people, it’s that we’re all a team. Thank you very much, I
appreciate it. God bless the AHEPA. And I’d better get off
before I start crying. Thank you.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: The Vice Chair’s been granted the microphone,
which has happened a lot this week, and we’ll get to the
Chair and our appreciation for him. But before we adjourn it
would be proper for us to call forward Colonel Nick Vamvakias
to give his regards and his remarks. This gentleman has
given so much to the order of AHEPA, and I think we should
give him a round of applause.
[Applause]
COL. NICK VAMVAKIAS: Mr. President, thank you so much. Say,
Brother, sisters, and friends, I just say thank you very
much. One of the-MALE VOICE:
[Interposing]
Your name.
COL. VAMVAKIAS: Yes, my name. Colonel Nick P. -- Nicholas
Praxitelous [phonetic] Vamvakias. Nicholas P. Vamvakias, I
want to thank you all very much. I still, as I’ve told many
of you many times, an immigrant son of an immigrant family,
like Louis Manesiotis who lost his mother at aged eight, I
lost my mother at aged five. My dad died at age 18, and I
washed dishes, pots, and pans, and I’m proud of the fact that
I became an AHEPAN, went into the Army, and for 30 years
fought for my country, and I’m proud of that.
No, he’s not here, he’s at Fort Bragg, he’s a commander of an
82nd airborne division, paratrooper division, he’s been an
AHEPAN by the way, he isn’t an AHEPAN now. But I want to
thank you all. Phil did a real classy act, he really did a
super job campaigning. I can’t say thank you enough to all
of you, you’ve all been so courteous, respectful, great
AHEPANs. The great daughters, the daughters, don’t lose
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
11
sight of the daughters, embrace the daughters and work close
together with them like you have.
To all the districts, to everybody, you know, we travel to
the West Coast, Pacific North-West, West, Mid-West, Chicago,
Dallas, Connecticut, to New England, Districts VII, VIII,
VIX. I just can’t say thank you to all the Brothers in New
Jersey, New York, you know, it’s just great. Chicago,
Atsaves and his great people were super to me.
I just can’t say thank you enough, Mr. President, Mr.
Chairman, Vice Chairman, and all of you. This is great, this
is Brotherhood, this is what it’s all about. So if there are
winners today it was AHEPA, and I’m one of the winners, and
Phil just happens to get the position, and I thank him very
much, I love Phil. So thank you all, I salute you, and I’ll
be here to help AHEPA all the time. Thank you. And to my
Vietnam veterans.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: I think we should give him a round of applause
again, even though there’s only 20 of us in the room. And
there’s a gentleman that’s shaking hands and kissing, kind of
kissing cousins, with Phil Frangos, and his name is Andrew
Zachariades. Andy had a much easier run than most; he was
unopposed. However, I can tell you that Andy is our new
Supreme Treasurer, and as those things go I think merit
demands that we give a round of applause to one of our
Executive Officers, one of our newly-minted Executive
Officers, Mr. Andrew Zachariades, for him to give his closing
remarks. Please.
[Applause]
MR. ANDREW ZACHARIADES: Thank you Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman.
On the outset I want to first congratulate our new Supreme
President Brother John Grossomanides, we look forward to your
leadership and working with you. Whatever your agenda is
we’re here to support and work together.
On the outset I want to thank all the Brothers especially
Brother Jim Schofield for the cooperation that we had this
year, regardless of the parties everybody stuck together.
And I would like to again thank Brother Schofield for all of
us working together, Brother Jimmy, thank you very much, past
Supreme President of the Order of AHEPA. And all the
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
12
Brothers always who have worked together looking forward to a
productive and excellent year.
I congratulate all of the Executive Board, the newly-elected
members of the Board of Trustees, the new Supreme Governors.
The order of AHEPA now dictates that we move forward, and
will do in the order of why we were elected, and that is
service to the order of AHEPA. And that’s what we intend to
do. Thank you very much, Brothers, thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: And as we go down the line, excuse me, the
person that’s walking out of the room, please come back in.
We’re not allowed to have anybody walk out of the room at
this point, we’re closing up the Convention, and some of us
want to catch the Florida Marlins game tonight.
We do have the Board of Trustees of AHEPA National, and we
will tell you that the election results obviously Brother
Karacostas who was very busy this weekend is unable to be
here, but sends his regards in terms of your vote of
confidence, and sending him to the Board of Trustees. And I
think we should give a round of applause to our Past Supreme
President, our immediate Past Supreme President, Nicholas
Karacostas on his election.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: We also have, sitting there, with his hand on
the chair, waiting for us to call him Brother Lee Millas to
come forward and give brief remarks, if it is capable within
his soul to give brief remarks, in regards to his election to
the Board of Trustees.
[Crosstalk]
MR. LEE MILLAS: I’m not kissing you, I’m not kissing you, I’m not
kissing anybody. Brothers, look at this big crowd, we have a
great Convention here, and it’s always been an honor to serve
on this Board of Trustees, I’ve been there for three years,
and now I’ve got another three years. And let me tell you
something, it’s really, really enjoyable working in
headquarters every time we go down there, looking at the
budget, looking at where things we can improve in the order
of AHEPA. And I think the Board of Directors, all of them,
to the man has really performed well in the capacity of the
Board of Directors. No-one has ever had that title that
really shirked his duties, and you should be proud of that,
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
13
you’re electing the right people, even though you have to
settle for me, you’ve elected the right people.
And I have to say thank you to each and every one of you,
it’s going to be a pleasure to serve you during the course of
this year. And I just want to let you in on a couple of
little secrets. You’re going to see things this year that
maybe you haven’t seen in many, many years. And I know
working in cooperation with the Supreme President John
Grossomanides, you’re going to be really, really surprised at
the things that are going to happen. So my pleasure to serve
you, God bless you, and we’ll see you downstairs. Thank you
very much.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Our Chair is inclined to grant the Supreme
Governors that are present some time to recognize them.
However before I relinquish this microphone, over the last
week, what I want to do is recognize our Chair. Stach
[phonetic] has been sitting here throughout the course of the
week, and I think he’s done a wonderful job, and I thank him
for the opportunity to allow me to get the mic as well, but
he’s done it for the benefit of the order, and I think we
should give a round a applause of our Chair.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Axios to our chair, and to the work he’s done,
particularly when he’s showing us those pictures, those
monuments that he put a lot of his own money in. Axios, Mr.
Chair, I look forward to doing this again in Vegas with you.
THE CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES:
THE CHAIRMAN:
And how old are you, sir?
Just short of 88.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: He’s just short of 88, and I know I’m not
going to make it ‘cause I’m not 6’2”. But congratulations,
Tony.
MALE VOICE: Can I make one quick announcement? One quick
announcement for anyone who’s going to be around this
evening, we’re going to have a little celebratory party in
Room 1780 at 7.00 p.m., it’s in the Versailles Tower, this
building. So if you’re free at seven o’clock tonight, please
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
14
come by. My district and my Chapter would like to host a
little get-together in celebration of a great week and a
great AHEPA Convention, so thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: And for those of you who are looking for the 17th
floor, it says PH instead of 17. At this time, is Sandy
Papadopoulos in the room? Dr. Pete Nickolas?
DR. PETE NICHOLAS:
THE CHAIRMAN:
Yes.
Please come forward.
[Applause]
MALE VOICE: Oh, come on, we can do better than that.
[Applause]
THE CHAIRMAN: James Kokotas. Nicholas Nikas. Dr. Mark Zigoris.
Lou Atsaves. Nickolas Dixie, Alex Christy, please come
forward. Mr. Supreme President, would you do the recognition
of your Supreme Governors?
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: - - . These are the people you have elected
to serve you for the next year. These are our Supreme
Governors who will be traveling the highways and the byways.
And so at this point I would like to ask-THE CHAIRMAN:
Five out of eight, that’s not bad.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Five out of eight are here, so I’d like to at
least give them a couple of minutes to speak to the Brothers.
I know we don’t have a lot of people in the room, but at
least it will be recorded in the minutes, the unabridged
minutes that we put out. So at this time from Region number
II, Dr. Peter Nickolas.
DR. PETE NICHOLAS: I want to thank all the Brothers here for the
opportunity to serve, it was a wonderful experience learning
to be with my fellow Brothers on the Supreme Lodge last year
under Brother Karacostas. And this year again I’ve been give
this great opportunity, and I thank all of you very, very
much. And I’m looking forward to serving under a great
President, Brother John. Thank you.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Next from Region IV, from my home region and
from my home district, Brother Nicholas Nikas.
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
15
[Applause]
MR. NICHOLAS NIKAS: Thank you very much, Brother John, and thanks
to all of you for giving me the opportunity to serve. I’ve
been looking forward to hopefully getting this assignment.
And I intend to work very hard as a member of the team under
John to basically expand the membership of AHEPA, and to make
sure that our Hellenic issues are winning everywhere that we
can. So membership and Hellenic issues. Thank you.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Congratulations. From Region V, the great
Buckeye District, Dr. Mark Zigoris.
[Applause]
DR. MARK ZIGORIS: Thank you. Thank you Brothers, thank you for
the opportunity and the honor to serve you as a Supreme
Governor. I’m really excited to be working with John. I met
him several years ago at the Tarpon Springs celebration of
the epiphany. And I saw the leadership there, and I saw that
AHEPA was going in the right direction, and I want to thank
-- Chris is not here, but I want for the record, Chris
Kontos, the outgoing Supreme Governor has been really helpful
in preparing me for this new journey. Thank you.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: From Region VI, and the great State of Texas,
the Lone Star State, Brother Nick Dixie.
MR. NICHOLAS DIXIE: With a name like Dixie, I’m the only true
Southern Greek in the house. I work on this opportunity to
serve as Supreme Governor, and congratulations to everyone.
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: From Region VI and the great state of
Illinois, a two-time Supreme Governor, past District Governor
of District XIII, Brother Louis Atsaves.
MR. ATSAVES: Thank you. I want to thank everyone in my region
for entrusting me with the opportunity to serve a second
term, it’s been a great learning experience. Geographically,
I started with Illinois and Wisconsin, I’ve now added
Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, North and South Dakota. My
ten-year-old Jeep with 248,000 miles on it, I’ve already made
a decision that it’s time to retire it and buy a new one.
Otherwise some of my visitations may be jeopardized. But I
look forward to working with Brother John and Brother
Anthony, and the rest of the lodge members. I think we’ll
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
16
all do a great job, and thanks again for the trust that
you’ve put in us. Thank you.
[Applause]
DR. GROSSOMANIDES: Thank you Brother Chairman, Brother - - I’ve
had the opportunity to know you for some 25 years now and I
want to thank you for all of your service and especially for
serving as Chairman for this week.
THE CHAIRMAN:
Thank you very much, it was my pleasure.
[Applause]
THE CHAIRMAN: Okay, the only thing I ask of all of you who are
might be in this room, if anybody knows a District Governor
who was at the District Governors’ meeting to please to
report to me downstairs at the installation, so we can
announce the AHEPAN of the Year, because I have no way of
knowing who was nominated and elected for that position. At
this time we recess until 3.00 p.m. in the -- what was the
name of that room again, Galaxy?
MALE VOICE:
Flash.
THE CHAIRMAN: Oh, Flash, 9, 10, and 11.
told me, down below here.
MALE VOICE:
THE CHAIRMAN:
MALE VOICE:
Pardon.
That’s what you
Glimmer.
Oh, Glimmer 9, 10, 11.
Let me check.
THE CHAIRMAN: Well, what’s the difference, Flash or Glimmer, it’s
immediately below this office, in other words Lobby floor,
all the way to the extreme end. Thank you. It’s Flash,
Flash.
[Gavel bangs]
THE CHAIRMAN:
Recessed.
[END Ahepa_Nat_l._Convention_#6_Election_Results.mp3]
AHEPA
July 23, 2011
17

2011 Supreme Convention Minutes

Transcription

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