NOVEMBER 2010
Issue 8

SOP Greeks in LA Weekend 2011 & Western Regional Basketball Tournament

Come join us for a weekend in Los Angeles to enjoy the beautiful LA weather, sights, nightlife, people, and basketball!


Basketball Tournament at UCLA to coincide with weekend events.
Parties and night events planned in conjunction with DJ G. Sverk of Goodtime Productions.
Pictures from last year's Greek Weekend: Can be found here on the Sons' Facebook Page

EVENTS
Friday Night Welcome Party - 10PM - West Lounge IN Hotel Angeleno Saturday 10am-4pm (Basketball at UCLA) Saturday Night Party - TBD Sunday Church Service 10am Sunday 12pm-6pm (Basketball at UCLA) Sunday Night Party - TBD
2011 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT	HOTEL INFORMATION
Registration Information Coming Soon! Basketball Team Fee: TBA Games to be played on Saturday & Sunday at: UCLA - Student Activities Center 220 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095 (310) 206-0443	Hotel Angeleno 170 N. Church Lane Brentwood, Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 476-6411 Room Rate: $139.00 (+tax) per night (two double beds) www.hotelangeleno.com Group: SOP Greek Weekend 2011 Link To Online Reservations: http://tinyurl.com/3xytgzm Reservation Deadline: December 20, 2010
IMPORTANT NOTES
All basketball players MUST purchase a player package and be current on SOP dues. Prices are subject to change at the discretion of the Sons of Pericles Supreme Lodge. Proceeds to benefit the Sons of Pericles National Project.
Click here to view the Facebook Event Page

SOP Essay Contest

The Supreme Lodge has decided to create a contest where SOP members can submit their thoughts, in a proper essay format, on the subject of: What Does Being a Son of Pericles Mean to Me?  Each member submitting an essay should explain, in detail, the opportunities they have enjoyed and experienced by being a member of the Sons of Pericles.

The essay must have a minimum of 500 words, a maximum of 1,000 words, and only one submission per member is allowed. Participants in the contest will be rewarded with 10 Membership Rewards points for their Chapter. In addition, five (5) essays will be ranked in order of first to fifth based on their overall composition and content. These winning essays will earn their respective Chapters points based on place, the points per ranking are listed to the right.

Keep in mind that the Membership Rewards Program tracks all points awarded to SOP Chapters and the Chapter with the most points at the end of the year wins the grand prize of a free hotel stay at the Fountainbleau Resort in Miami for the 2010-2011 Supreme Convention.

The winning essays will be announced in our monthly newsletter, The Periclean, with one published each month from February to June. In addition, the first place essay will be published in The AHEPAN Magazine next summer. This will show young men across the nation what being a member of our Order truly means and the winning essays will be read by countless AHEPANs, Daughters of Penelope, Maids of Athena, and Sons of Pericles.

If you wish to submit an essay, please email it in a Microsoft Word Document format to essay@sonsofpericles.com before December 31, 2010. The essays will be reviewed by an impartial voting committee during the month of January. During the voting process, no one on the voting committee will know who the author of each essay is or what chapter they hail from. We encourage each member to participate, as this is a great way to express what being a Son of Pericles has meant to you and an easy way to earn some Membership Rewards points for your Chapter! Best of luck to all participants and we look forward to seeing the great essays that will come from this contest.

Sons of Pericles District 8 Basketball Tournament Recap
By Jason Vergados, SOP Chapter #27 President

With no more than 2 ½ months of planning, the Boston SOP has successfully put together a District 8 basketball tournament. On the weekend of October 22-24th, six local teams and our brother Chapter from Waterbury, CT competed for the championship spot. The six local teams were comprised to represent the cities and towns of Boston, Roslindale, Peabody, Lynn and two from Worcester.

The games were played at Lynn’s St. George Greek Orthodox Church, the home of Harry Agganis and the Agganis Basketball Tournament which boasts over 15 teams from across the country. Given we were using the home of a Greek-American Marine, Boston University and Red Sox Legend, expectations were set very high.

As a result of the tournament, our chapter posted a healthy profit; a percentage of which will be given to the SOP National Project. On our end, the applications are still being organized, however, I can confidently say that we have brought in over 40 new members to the Boston Chapter. There is also potential for a block of these new members to break off and create a new chapter in Worcester, MA. We will be working with our District Advisor in order to make that possible.

We are very happy with the success of this tournament and we’ve already had calls to put on another one in the spring. Next year we hope to have even more teams participating, especially from fellow chapters, and ultimately realize a growth in our Order and a sustainability of interest by Greek youth.

NYC Volleyball Benefit Tournament Hosted by Gold Coast Titans and Sirens Chapter & Ski Trip Announcement

The Gold Coast Titans and Sirens (previously known as the Flushing Titans) again make news after the success of their New York City-wide charity volleyball tournament. The tournament was held to benefit the QSAC School for Autistic Children.

The tournament was held at the newly renovated St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Shrine Church in Flushing, NY. Chapter reports that the attendance for the event was great and everyone who went had a wonderful time. Cheering audiences, successful concessions stands, and volleyball matches made it a great event for the Gold Coast Chapter.

The Gold Coast Sons and Maids Chapters are also hosting a skip trip to Killington, VT on December 3, 2010 to December 5, 2010. The event will be all-inclusive and extremely affordable. For more information, contact SOP Supreme Governor George K. Pappas at (516) 779-1941 or at g.pappas@sonsofpericles.com and www.skilodge.co (not .com).

Albany Sons & Maids Halloween Party
By Jimmy Googas, SOP Chapter #44 President

On October 23 and 24 the Albany Sons set up and carried out their annual Haunted House at the Sons and Maids Halloween Party for the children of our community. We began early Saturday morning setting up foundation and making the walls inside the house, and Sunday we planned our ideas on how to scare the kids of the church. The event was well attended by the Sons and the community, with over 130 people in attendance. In the hall there were games, face painting, a costume contest, pizza and ice cream, along with enough candy for the kids to take home. This free event is a great way for us to give back to the community and bring the Sons and Maids together to have a good time.

Atlanta SOP Chapter President Attends Governors' Conference 2010
By Michael Hadjisimos, SOP Chapter #86 President

Attending the 2010 AHEPA National Governors' Conference in Washington, D.C. was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life! Being that I had never attended any type of AHEPA event before, I was quite anxious to get there and see what all the hype was about! My first encounter with an AHEPAN, other than the Sons Supreme President, Spiro Nicolopoulos ,whom I was traveling with, was at the Airport with the National Sons Advisor, Chris Economides, also known as “Mr. E”. After having listened to a few of his entertaining jokes and some raving about how good of a time we were going to have, I knew that everything was going to be OK!

Upon arrival to the Ritz Carlton Hotel, I was immediately impressed with the value that AHEPA placed upon this regal conference. Not only was I excited to be there, but I knew it was going to be a first-class experience from the beginning. Friday night we were invited to AHEPA Headquarters for some food and drinks. Here I got to experience the hospitality and filoxenia of the AHEPA family firsthand. Everywhere I turned, people were shaking my hand and introducing themselves to me. They asked me if I was enjoying myself, who I was, and where I came from. Admittedly I did fall into a small routine after having answered the questions over and over again, but it was enjoyable every time none-the-less! After dinner was served, I made my way up to the rooftop of AHEPA Headquarters. There I was introduced to a few Sons who I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life! We talked, shared stories, and just got to know one another as we overlooked the breathtaking D.C. skyline.

The following day was marked by important meetings in the morning during which I gave an update of my local chapter and in the afternoon we attended an exclusive tour of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History! Further, the Sons made an ever memorable donation with the money that we raised for our National Project to the ALS Association, which made me PROUD TO BE A SON!

In all, this trip to Governors' Conference was a great success! I had a great time meeting new and exciting people and enjoyed seeing the organization from a top to bottom perspective. I hope to share this enthusiasm and excitement with our local Atlanta Chapter in hopes of attending many more conferences and events in the future!

Explore Hellenism: Celebrating Oxi Day

October 28, 2010 marks the 70th anniversary of the memorable day in world history when Ioannis Metaxas told Italian forces "Oxi" after being presented a surrender ultimatum on October 28, 1940. Metaxas was presented with the ultimatum on the eve of October 28th by Emmanuele Grazzi, an emissary for the Italian leader Benito Mussolini. The treaty demanded Greece grant Italian forces safe passage and access to all of the country's strategic points that may have been unknown to the Italians. It essentially informed Greece that Italy would be invading the country and any resistance would have drastic consequences. Rather than let the Italians have their way, Metaxas's resistance was heard across the world with only one word: OXI.

While the results of Metaxas's bold decision included a strong attack by the Italians immediately after, the resistance of the Greeks, as characterized in saying "Oxi," boosted national morale across Greece and Hellenism across the world. It became clear why Winston Churchill said "Hence will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks" after seeing the entire country unite behind the cause of fighting the Italians.

Greece was successful in fighting off the Italians, pushing them back into the northern Balkans and liberating Albania. Many historians have attributed the strength of Greece against the Italians in World War II as the turning point in the war, marking the Allies first land victory. Churchill continued by saying the war's outcome would have been a mystery if it were not for the "virtue and courage of the Greeks." While Greece was not as successful in resisting Nazi forces, it's resilience help spread the Nazis resources thin across Europe. Adolf HItler even admitted that if it were not for the situation in Greece, he could have easily taken Stalingrad and Russia, drastically changing the course of the war.

Events
Membership Rewards
Supreme Lodge
Photos
Annual Convention
Contact Us

Albany SOP Awards Luncheon
Albany, NY
November 14, 2010

SOP-MOA Ski Trip
Killington, VT
December 3-5, 2010

Greeks in LA
Weekend 2011
Los Angeles, CA
January 14-17, 2011

SOP-MOA Valentine's Day Dance
Albany, NY
February 12, 2011

89th Annual AHEPA Family Supreme Convention
Miami, FL
July 18-24, 2011

Membership Rewards Points Standings

Have your information in The Periclean!

We encourage all of the AHEPA Family to submit their EVENTS and NEWS information to be posted on the SOP website and in The Periclean.

Send your information to news@sonsofpericles.com!