At 69th Annual Epiphany
Banquet.
WASHINGTON-The
American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
(AHEPA), the largest and
oldest American-based, Greek heritage grassroots
membership organization,
presented retired Vice Admiral Michael Kalleres
with the 2005 AHEPA Medal of
Freedom Award at the 69th Annual Epiphany
Banquet, Jan. 5, 2005, in
Tarpon Springs, Fla.
Retired
Vice Admiral Kalleres (second from left) proudly displays the AHEPA
Medal of Freedom and is accompanied by Supreme President Manios (at
left), U.S. Rep. Bilirakis
and His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios (to his right).
"We are fortunate to
have such a dedicated and accomplished Greek
American as a member of AHEPA,"
said Supreme President Franklin R. Manios during the presentation.
"We are proud of your distinguished service to our country, defending
one of the most cherished gifts of our ancient ancestors to
Western
Civilization-democracy."
During his 32-year active
duty in the United States Navy, Vice Admiral
Kalleres led eight
military/civilian commands during combat and peacetime,
including the U.S. Second
Fleet in the Atlantic during Desert Storm.
Command of the U.S. Second
Fleet involved over 300,000 forces, 350 ships,
and 3,000 aircraft for which
he was awarded the Defense Distinguished
Service Medal (DDSM), an
honor second only to the Congressional Medal of
Honor. Moreover, for
his command of humanitarian and disaster relief
efforts in Somalia, Bosnia,
and Haiti, the admiral was awarded an
unprecedented second DDSM.
"I will wear the AHEPA
medal in my heart as well as on my person," said
the retired admiral, who is a
member of AHEPA Socrates Chapter 6,
Jacksonville, Fla.
Admiral Kalleres credited his
strong belief in God and family as well as
building excellence in all
who worked for him as keys to his successful
career.
In his remarks, Supreme
President Manios also praised the close 82-year
relationship between AHEPA
and Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and
offered his continued
commitment to working together to "ensure Greek
heritage and our Orthodox
Faith survives and thrives" in North America.
Many notable speakers
participated, including: His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios, His Excellency
George Savvaidis, ambassador of the Hellenic
Republic to the U.S.; U.S.
Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-9-FL), State Rep. Gus
Bilirakis, Mayor of Tarpon
Springs Beverley Billiris, and Daughters of
Penelope Grand President Demi
Kapolis.
A Moment of Silence was
observed prior to the start of the banquet program
for Past Supreme President
Johnny N. Economy who passed away Jan. 2. Many
of the evening's speakers
took time to remember Economy during their
remarks, recalling his
passion for Hellenic values and his commitment to
the Orthodox Faith.
Supreme Secretary Ike Gulas
served as the Master of Ceremonies and
co-chair for the event.
Nick Stathopoulos, past president, George Washington
Chapter 16, Tarpon Springs,
also co-chaired the event from the local chapter.
The AHEPA Medal of Freedom
was created and first awarded in March 2002 to
honor Emergency Responders
from New York City and the Washington DC Metro
area who admirably and
bravely aided those in dire need on September 11.
Since then, AHEPA has awarded
it to individuals who bravely fought for
their own freedom or who have
led causes that promote and advance freedom around the
world.
AHEPA is the largest
Greek-American association in the world with chapters
in the United States, Canada,
Greece, and Cyprus and sister chapters in
Australia and New Zealand. It
was established in 1922 by visionary Greek
Americans to protect Hellenes
from prejudice originating from the KKK, and
in its history, AHEPA joined
with the NAACP and B'nai B'rith to fight
discrimination.
Today, the mission of the
AHEPA family is to promote the ideals of
Hellenism, education,
philanthropy, civic responsibility and family and
individual excellence.
The AHEPA family consists of
four organizations: AHEPA, Daughters of
Penelope, Sons of Pericles
and Maids of Athena.
For more information about
the AHEPA family, or how to join, please
contact AHEPA Headquarters,
202.232.6300, Ext. 211, or visit
www.ahepa.org/joinahepa.
For instant information visit www.ahepa.org.
