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AHEPA's e-News will take a brief hiatus for the holidays.  We will return Wednesday, January 3, 2018. We're grateful to our readers!   Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! AHEPA Spreads Christmas Cheer at Saint Basil Academy   The AHEPA family presented His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America; Father Costa Sitaras, executive director, Saint Basil Academy; and Evellyn Tsiadis, president, Saint Basil Academy Board of Trustees, with the AHEPA's family's annual gift contribution for the children enrolled at Saint Basil Academy, Garrison, N.Y., December 16, 2017.  Supreme President Carl R. Hollister, DOP Grand President Eva Jean Fomalont, MOA Grand President Sophia Shakolas, and Executive Director Basil Mossaidis were among the AHEPA family members in attendance. For more than 65 years the AHEPA family has been an active supporter of Saint Basil Academy, donating more than $1.75 million to the institution, and will always remain a champion of the academy to help it meet its worthy mission. For more information about Saint Basil Academy, please visit http://stbasil.goarch.org/1  Sad News | AHEPA Mourns Passing of PSS Anagnostos AHEPA mourns the passing of Past Supreme Secretary George Anagnostos, Portsmouth, R.I. Brother Anagnostos, a 35-year member of Maud Howe Elliott Chapter 245, Newport, R.I., passed away December 15, 2017. In addition to serving as Supreme Secretary, Brother Anagnostos served as Vice President of the Board of the AHEPA National Housing Corporation, and he served as Editor of The Ahepan magazine.  "An exemplary Ahepan and citizen, Brother Anagnostos served the Order, the community, and his country, with utmost pride and selfless dedication," Supreme President Carl R. Hollister, who served with Brother Anagnostos on the AHEPA Housing Corporation board, said. "Brother Anagnostos will be missed tremendously. Our deepest sympathies are with his widow, Ellen, and his family. May his memory be eternal." Obituary for Brother Anagnostos AHEPA Donates to Children's National Medical Center Santa's Bag, which is administered through the AHEPA Charitable Foundation, makes an annual donation at Christmastime to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.  Kyriakos Mossaidis, who chairs Santa's Bag, began the initiative as a member of the Sons of Pericles, and he has continued it as a newly-initiated Ahepan from Chapter 515.  Brother Mossaidis presented the annual donation on December 18, 2017.  The Children's National Health System is ranked among the top 10 children's hospitals and number one in the nation for Neonatology. Season of Giving | Celebrate the Holidays with a Gift that Makes a Difference During this Season of Giving, the Order of AHEPA invites the community to give a gift that will help to make a difference in people's lives -- with a gift to the AHEPA Charitable Foundation. The Foundation helps AHEPA to meet its commitment to philanthropy, a facet of the Order's mission. Over the decades, AHEPA has provided millions of dollars in disaster relief or has supported America's military service members through organizations such as the USO. Most recently, AHEPA has administered humanitarian aid to the people of Greece, including public health assistance, through the AHEPA Charitable Foundation. TAKE ACTION: Make an online tax-deductible donation today Have You Listened to AHEPA Radio? Don't forget to check out our podcast, AHEPA Radio. Get caught-up on AHEPA service programs!  Download AHEPA Radio podcasts from our iTunes or Podbean (Android) audio vaults. Share our short video clip. And don't forget to follow AHEPA on social media:

Upcoming Events & Deadlines December 31 | Get Your Chapter's Dues Remitted to Headquarters! January 5 | AHEPA Epiphany Dinner, Tarpon Springs, Fla. 12 - 21 | 3rd Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus, Israel 27 | AHEPA Regional Banquet, Dallas, Texas February 5 | Spring 2018 Deadline for The Ahepan magazine March 3 | AHEPA Regional Banquet, Columbus, Ohio Join AHEPA Today! In Our Own Words. What AHEPA means to us. Join AHEPA Now Greek American News Digest   Editor's Note:  Editorials, Commentaries, and Opinion pieces are shared for information purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the Order of AHEPA, its affiliated organizations, and members.   Why Turkey and Greece cannot reconcile The Economist (Dec. 14)   Last week, Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the first trip by a Turkish president to Greece in over six decades. Mr. Erdogan called on his Greek counterpart, Prokopis Pavlopoulos; the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras; and representatives of the country's 130,000-strong Muslim community in Western Thrace. Discussions centred on migrant and refugee traffic; a 94-year-old treaty that defines Turkey's borders; and the stalled peace process in Cyprus, which is divided between the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot state in the south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot republic, recognised only by Turkey, in the north.  read more Greece's Olive Oil Industry Offers a Lesson on Economic Hurdles Wall Street Journal (Dec. 18) Workers at Yiannis Skiadas' mountainside mill pressed prized Kalamata olives on a recent day to extract the thick, fragrant oil known regionally as "green gold"--most of which would get shipped abroad in bulk and blended into Italian olive oil.  Mr. Skiadas could earn almost three times as much by branding his oil and selling it himself. But that would require investing in every step from cultivation to marketing, and quick cash from Italian customers is appealing after a decade of economic pain in Greece. read more    Cyprus, Egypt, Greece agree to bolster maritime security The Washington Post (Dec. 14)   The defense ministers of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece agreed Thursday to step up cooperation in combating drug, weapons and people trafficking in the east Mediterranean and to share information on countering the threat of terrorism.  Cypriot Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides and his Egyptian and Greek counterparts Sedki Sobhi and Panos Kammenos said that they're also setting up a coordinating body to oversee joint special forces drills geared toward protecting vital sea lanes in the eastern Mediterranean.  read more     IMF praises Cyprus's 'impressive recovery' Ekathimerini (Dec. 17)   The International Monetary Fund, one of Cyprus' international lenders in the 2013 bailout, praised the "impressive recovery of the eastern Mediterranean island's economy, but also issued a warning about legacy issues, a statement said on Friday.  The IMF said in a statement, issued after its Directors approved a post-bailout report on Cyprus, mentioned high private debt and the high ratio of non-performing loans as issues demanding urgent attention.  read more    Commentary | Fear returns to Greece's universities Ekathimerini (Dec. 17)   The greatest achievement of the post-dictatorship era in Greece was that people no longer lived in a state of fear. People were free to read any newspaper they wanted, free to sing any song they wished, free to openly express their opinions. Fear has returned, however, and where it should least reside: at Greek universities.  read more    Ancient Greek Port from City in The Bible Revealed after Earthquake Buried It under the Mediterranean Newsweek (Dec. 18)   Archaeologists have discovered the lost town of Lechaion, the harbor from the ancient Greek city of Corinth, for which the New Testament's 1st Corinthians is named. According to a press release from the University of Copenhagen, archaeologists from the university partnered with the Greek Ministry of Culture's department of underwater antiquities to begin excavating the ruins, some of which are "extremely well-preserved."  read more