AHEPA Family Attends Epiphany Celebrations

AHEPA Family Attends Epiphany Celebrations Supreme President Carl R. Hollister, and Supreme Lodge officers, attended events surrounding the 112th Epiphany Celebration at Tarpon Springs, Fla, which included the annual Epiphany dinner hosted by AHEPA George Washington Chapter 16, Tarpon Springs, Jan. 5.  Daughters of Penelope Grand President Eva Jean Fomalont, DOP Grand Lodge officers, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta and U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, attended the dinner. The Supreme Lodge and Daughters of Penelope Grand Lodge also held meetings that day. The Epiphany Celebration in Tarpon Springs is the largest Epiphany gathering in the Western Hemisphere. Call for Applications! | 2018 AHEPAcademy Session Join a select group of Greek American students from across the country for AHEPAcademy, June 24 to 30, 2018, George Mason University, outside Washington, DC. AHEPAcademy 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, graduate and professional careers. AHEPAcademy is looking for exceptional Greek American high school juniors during the 2017-2018 school year with top grades (minimum 3.5/4.0 GPA or equivalent, or Top 10% of Class), who exemplify scholarship, leadership, character, participation in extracurricular activities, community service, and involvement in the Greek American community, to apply for selection to this summer's program. Early Application Deadline: March 15, 2018 Application Deadline: April 15, 2018 Share: AHEPAcademy Promo Video (via Facebook) Apply Today! 2018 National Scholarship Application Available The AHEPA National Educational Foundation announced its 2018 scholarship application is available. The deadline to apply for an AHEPA National Educational Foundation scholarship is March 31, 2018. Become one of many students who received a national AHEPA scholarship since the foundation's inception.  Apply Today! Sad News | Past Supreme Secretary Dr. Torney Passes Away AHEPA mourns the passing of Past Supreme Secretary Dr. Harry L. Torney, Noblesville, Ind., who passed away December 31, 2017. He was 90. In addition to serving as Supreme Secretary, Brother Torney served as president of AHEPA 232, Inc. Apartments and on the board of the AHEPA National Housing Corporation. Read Brother Torney's obituary. "Brother Torney served AHEPA admirably and with great pride and joy," Supreme President Carl R. Hollister said. "His service and dedication to the community will be missed. Our sympathies are with the Torney family. May his memory be eternal." Media Share | Be Part of the Legacy   Our latest media share, "Be Part of the Legacy" is out! Check it out and share it with friends, family, and potential new members!   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 January 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 15 | Early Deadline: AHEPAcademy 2018 Session 31 | AHEPA National Educational Foundation Scholarship Deadline 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.   Tarpon Springs teen retrieves 2018 Epiphany cross WFLA (Jan. 6) Tarpon Springs is celebrating Epiphany this weekend.  The tradition celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan.  This year Bishop Metropolitan Alexios (Panagiotopoulos) of Atlanta cast the custom-made white wooden cross into the water at Spring Bayou just after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday in Tarpon Springs. Dozens of local boys dove into the water to retrieve it.  The cross was retrieved a few moments later by Christian Chrysakis of Tarpon Springs who turned 18 last month. This was his final year to dive.  He will now have a year of blessings.  "I believed in it. I am just so thankful to be here with all my brothers right now. I am speechless," said  Christian Chrysakis.  read more  Greek Orthodox Mark Epiphany with Constantinople Swims The National Herald  (Jan. 7) The Greek Orthodox Christian community in Constantinople has celebrated Epiphany with the traditional blessing of the waters.  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians around the world and the archbishop of Constantinople, led the liturgy on Saturday at the Patriarchal Church of St. George...Nikos Solis, 29, a personal trainer from Greece, retrieved the wooden cross three years in a row.  read more Opinion/Commentary | The Eastern Med in a state of flux Ekathimerini (Jan. 9) Our neighborhood is changing. The most important development, which became evident last year, is the United States' reduced interest in the Eastern Mediterranean. If Washington does not return in the immediate future, Russia will rush to fill the vacuum, followed, perhaps, by China.  read more Greek Yogurt Fuels Your Morning...And Your Plane? Smithsonian (Jan. 3) Do you, like many Americans, enjoy the tangy taste and thick creaminess of Greek yogurt? Well, one day your yogurt could help fuel airplanes. Researchers Researchers at Cornell University and the University of Tübingen in Germany have developed a method of turning yogurt whey, the liquid left behind after straining out the milk proteins, into bio-oil. This bio-oil could then potentially be processed into biofuel for vehicles, including planes.  read more  How a Greek immigrant family built a booming Hollywood film studio in downtown Chicago CNBC (Jan. 3) Sometimes failure can lead to unexpected business success. That was the impetus that led to the founding of Cinespace Film Studios in Chicago, a facility owned and operated by an immigrant Greek family that has helped turn around a depressed neighborhood in the Windy City.  The story began in 2007 when Alex Pissios - a real estate developer - was in a bad place.  read more  A digital introduction to Greek heritage by Athens University Ekathimerini (Jan. 7) It's no secret that the internet is changing the way we travel. So much so that international online travel platforms are racing to meet the demands of tomorrow's travelers as they search for their next destination. Providing reliable information has always been key, but, increasingly, an appealing presentation seems to be the secret to capturing people's attention. Music, online tours, panoramic images, videos and interviews allow the user to digitally experience a destination before they travel.  For these online platforms to survive, they need to offer something special, which is exactly the case with the interactive website YouGoCulture. Created by Athens University, YouGoCulture provides a digital introduction to Greek culture and heritage.  read more  Olga Gatzoyiannis-Bartzokis Dies at 90 The National Herald (Jan. 9) Olga (Gatzoyiannis) Bartzokis, formerly of Worcester, who in 1948 led her brother and two sisters on a night escape down a mine-laden mountainside from her Communist guerrilla-held village during the Greek Civil War, passed away here at home at the age of 90 surrounded by her family and friends. Known for her dedication to her four children, two of whom became doctors and two lawyers, she was born in Lia, Epirus, Greece on November 28, 1927.  read more Greek-French Alexandre Desplat Wins Golden Globe's Original Score The National Herald via Associated Press (Jan. 8) Mariah Carey, who was nominated for her song "The Star," helped announce the winner of the best original score honor at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards, which went to the Greek French Alexandre Desplat for "The Shape of Water."  Desplat's parents, (French father, Greek mother), met while both were studying in the United States at the University of California, Berkeley, and then they moved to Paris where he was born and raised.  read more At 95, Betty White swears by vodka and hot dogs Page Six (Jan. 5)   Betty White is making it to her 96th birthday with the help of booze and a barbecue staple.  The actress told Parade that her secret to a long, happy and healthy life is vodka and hot dogs, "probably in that order." read more