ATHENS – There are dozens of AHEPA chapters across Greece, with many in the Attika national capital region, and on Friday, May 14, Solon Chapter – Halandri HJ-4 held its first meeting of the year, a new member initiation ceremony, at the fascinating The Museum Herakleidon of Science, Art and Technology in the shadow of the Acropolis.

Little by little, slowly but surely, Athens is looking more and more like a living city than the set of a post-apocalyptic movie, and the resumption of live events is most welcome.

Present at the meeting were George Malamo – Chapter President; Michael Galiatsiatos, VP; Sotiris Stasinopoulis, Secretary; Nick Aggelisl, Treasurer; Chris Faslis, Past President; Petros Livanios, IT Support, and Alex Dimas, Warden, who arranged for the meeting to be held at the museum at 16 Herakleidon Street in Athens’ Thision district.

The new members who were inducted during the solemn ceremony replete with symbols and presentations about the history of Greece, life in the Hellenic Diaspora, and the Order of AHEPA, which was founded in Atlanta in 1922, were: Vangelis Livanios, Angelo Varthalitis, Lefteris Xrisofakis, Angelo Kontogiannis, and Adam Nikoloudakis.

“It was almost like ‘liberty’ for sailors after all these months of being confined in our homes and trying to obey all the rules,” said an excited Malamo – a retired mechanical engineer from Pensacola, FL whom moved to Greece about 10 years ago and is one of the Deans of the Greek-American expat community.

He said of the brief meeting which was followed by a fellowship gathering at a nearby outdoor café – masks were worn and social distancing was practiced – “it’s a good start for our chapter” which is one of the most active in Greece.

“After discussions among our members and with Eleni Nomikou, the museum’s director, our chapter decided to adopt the Herakleidon as our venue for future events related to Hellenism and Culture,” he added.

Malamo and the other members are looking forward to resuming cultural and other kinds of events, but they are most excited about welcoming AHEPA brothers and sisters from the United States to the 2021 AHEPA Supreme Convention, which will be held in Athens in honor of the Greek Bicentennial.

Naturally, the pandemic not fully conquered the program will be different from what was envisioned a few years ago, but while respecting COVID restrictions, many events are planned.

“It will be a monumental occasion – marking 200 years since the start of the Greek Revolution and 100 years of the existence of AHEPA. It is one of the strongest Hellenic organizations in the world, surviving all these years by promoting the pillars of AHEPA including Hellenism in general, education, and philanthropy.”

The Convention will run from July 25-31 and the main events will take place in Athens, especially at the Hotel Grande Bretagne in the city’s Centre.

“For the first couple of days we will discuss AHEPA internal issues and business, followed by special events. There will be great dinners featuring excellent guests from academia, politics, and business,” he said, but the beautiful about it is that “it will bring together and to Greece chapters from all over the world.”

Malamo also can’t wait to talk about Hellenes abroad about how the Diaspora can promote economic development and to build a New Greece, which he is devoted to given his experience during a successful career in the United States and his desire to ‘give back.’

For more information about the museum, visit: www.herakleidon-gr.org.