News Release TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2010

Supreme President Dean Tselepis Visits The White House and Capitol Hill

Brothers,

Last month was one of the most exciting times for me as Supreme President. I had the unique opportunity to represent our great Order of the Sons of Pericles in Washington, DC. I traveled down to our nation's capital not once, but twice. First, was for the Greek Independence Day Celebration at the White House and the second was for the AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day.

On Tuesday, March 9, 2010, the White House celebrated Greek Independence Day a couple weeks early because the President was due to be out of the country on the 25th. The event began at 4:30PM with a reception in the White House. The cocktail hour, featuring food prepared by Greek celebrity chef, Cat Cora, provided a great opportunity to meet with Greeks from all over the country. Also present were Vasilis Kaskarelis, Ambassador of Greece to the U.S. and Andreas Kakouris, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the U.S. With an orchestra playing both Greek and American classical music, we explored different rooms in the White House including the Green Room, Red Room and Blue Room. After we finished our tuna tataki lettuce gyros, dolmas with black truffle avgolemeno and loukoumades, it was time for the program to begin.

As the nearly 300 guests and media took their seats, the room was filled with energy and excitement. Shortly thereafter, an announcement was made; "Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the United States". First entered Archbishop Demetrios, followed by Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreaou with First Lady Ada Papandreau and finally, President Barack Obama accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama. The Greek Independence Day celebration is a long running tradition at the White House, but this night had two firsts. It was the first time that the Prime Minister of Greece was in attendance as well as the First Lady of the United States.

The first to address the guests was Prime Minister Papandreaou, followed by Archbishop Demetrios and then President Obama. All three focused on the fact that the founing fathers of United States based this country on the ideals of democracy in ancient Greece. They also mentioned the strong relationship between the two nations as both allies and friends and discussed several pressing Greek-American issues such as the occupation of Cyprus and the reopening of the Halki Seminary in Turkey. To watch the video of the three speeches and read the transcript of President Obama's speech, please CLICK HERE. Once the program concluded, the President greeted guests as he was leaving.

On March 24, 2010, I traveled back to Washington for the AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day. I had always received emails about this event in years past, but had never considered going as I truly did not know what it was all about. What a mistake. This is truly a remarkable event and really enables one to do their civic duty as an American citizen. The day started at 8:30AM with a breakfast reception in the Rayburn House Office Building. There we were addressed by members of the Hellenic Caucus including U.S. Reps. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), Dina Titus (D-NV), John P. Sarbanes (D-MD), Zachary T. Space (D-OH), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Niki Tsongas (D-MA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

Following the morning reception, each of us was assigned to small groups of two or three and provided with a schedule for the day. Meetings were organized with congressmen, congresswomen and senators, in their respective offices. We were also provided with various talking points to discuss with the elected officials. I was paired with Brother Savas Tsivicos, father of our Sons of Pericles Supreme Treasurer Haralambos Tsivicos. Our first meeting was with Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) and then with Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ). Both congressmen were very open and receptive to hearing about the various issues facing the Greek-American community. It was truly a great experience.

Later in the day, I was invited to a State Department Briefing from Deputy Assistant Secretary Tina Kaidanow. We were brought up to date on many of the major European and Eurasian affairs, especially those involving or affecting Greece. We then attended two Greek Independence Day Celabrations, the first hosted by Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL) at the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill and the second hosted by the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) at the Cannon House Office Building.

The day concluded with the AHEPA "Salute to Civic Responsibility" Dinner Honoring Senator George Voinovich. Senator Voinovich was awarded the AHEPA Paul E. Tsongas Public Service Award. In addition, the audience received remarks from His Excellence Markos Kypianou, foreign minister, Republic of Cyprus, His Excellency Vassilis Kaskarelis, ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the U.S., and U.S. Reps. Michael McMahon (D-NY) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ). His Excellency Andreas Kakouris, ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the U.S. also was present. Amongst those sitting at my table were James A. Catella, Legislative Assistant to Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and AHI Director Nick Larigakis.

I will remember both of these days for the rest of my life. I encourage all Sons of Pericles, and everyone in the AHEPA Family, to travel to our nation's capital for next year's AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day. It is truly a remarkable experience and one that exemplifies all that AHEPA stands for.

To view pictures of the event CLICK HERE

Fraternally,

Dean Tselepis
Supreme President
Sons of Pericles