NEW YORK – With the active participation of the youth, which has been the main concern for many years, the Asgata Association “Cyprus” held its 84th Anniversary Dinner Dance at Terrace on the Park on November 24.

Each year at this the well-established event, the Association awards scholarships to promising young people with roots in the village of Asgata, Cyprus. Asgata Association President Peter Louca told The National Herald, “the harmonious cooperation with the ‘new blood’ of the young Asgatans opens new perspectives for the preservation and perpetuation of the Association’s work in the future.

“It is very important for us to see many young people at the dinner dance. We are trying to combine youth with our own generation. Besides, this is the only way for the Association to continue its course,” Louca said.

Thus, the event’s chairperson Loula Antoniou was joined by three young co-chairs, who had been awarded scholarships from the Association in the past. Co-chairs Christos Eleftheriadis, Chris Odysseos, and Joanna Antoniou-Tetro contributed significantly to the organization of dance.

“We are here to create bridges between our own generation and the older ones, in order to continue what our grandparents started here,” Christos Eleftheriadis said on behalf of the three youth representatives shortly before awarding the scholarships to this year’s recipients, Chrystalla Neocleous, Nicholas Neocleous, and Dimitris Tzavaras.

“On November 3rd, at the Central Lounge, we held an event where we invited 67 scholarship recipients from previous years to get acquainted with each other and exchange contact information. Forty attended, exchanged emails, and we assigned three of them as the co-chairs of the annual dinner dance. However, we have a lot to do, these young people range in age from 25 to 40, and we are not stopping at one event,” said Louca. He also thanked Despina Axiotakis for the event’s journal.

Among those present, the Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus in New York Alexis Phedonos-Vadet, the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations Executive Vice-President Nicos Paphitis, and New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides, who has roots in Asgata and as a student was awarded a scholarship by the Association.

In his remarks, Constantinides noted that his grandparents always exhorted him to attend the Asgata Association events.

In conclusion, Association President Louca said that, apart from the charitable and cultural efforts, the national issue of Cyprus and the efforts being made for its solution are vital to the heart of all Asgatans.

“We are a philanthropic and cultural association also fighting for the national issue. We are pioneers and leaders, together with PSEKA, the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations, and the government, in order to do our best for our island and make our own contribution to this endeavor,” said Louca.

Asgata Association “Cyprus” President Peter Louca at the podium during the 84th Anniversary Dinner Dance. Photo: TNH/ Kostas Bej