I don’t know where to begin.

This week I have felt an enormous amount of gratitude, pride, nostalgia, passion – and everything in between.

The National Herald, the sister publication of the 104-year old Ethnikos Kirix, has turned 22. While a great deal younger than its Greek counterpart, TNH is no less important to the Greek-American community and to Hellenes living all over the world.

It is also my first time celebrating this milestone as one of the two editors of this historic publication.

It is surreal. My brother and I always joked that the newspaper was our father’s ‘first child’ that needed nurturing and taking care of for more than a decade before we showed up in his and our mother’s lives. For as long as I can remember, we always celebrated every anniversary of the newspaper with a candle and a cake – just like a child’s birthday.

I must say, things have come full circle, because today I feel like a parent celebrating a milestone in my child’s life.

I still remember when my father realized that the Ethnikos Kirix in the Greek language alone was not satisfying its purpose of educating the Greek community living outside of Greece. He understood that an English edition was a product of absolute and vital necessity to provide information to the part of the Greek diaspora whose first language is English – which today comprises the majority of our community.

Although young at the time, I recall the excitement – but also the hesitation – in my father’s voice when we discussed the possibility of this new publication at the dinner table. He knew that it would be a huge undertaking for a community newspaper – but as a man who believes and feels strongly in the sense of duty and responsibility, he and the rest of the EK family pushed through to fulfill their mission.

And here we are now.

While we want to continue our father’s legacy and will try tirelessly to fill his shoes, Eraklis and I have lofty goals to expand our reach to cover even more of the Greek-American community in the United States as well as to push a new initiative to highlight the incredibly and noteworthy accomplishments of the younger generation of Greek-Americans.

The United States alone is home to more than 1.4 million Greeks and Americans of Greek descent whose stories should be told and published so that they may live on in perpetuity – for generations to come. Our archives serve as the history book of our people in America and we hope that you all will continue to support us in our efforts in writing about our great community.

On October 18, 1997, history was made when the first TNH edition was released as an insert of the EK weekend edition. Thanks to our incredible team and to all of you, since then, the English edition has grown and continues to grow on a daily basis – exceeding our expectations.

Whether it be through your telephone, computer, or the actual newspaper – thank you for welcoming us into your lives and homes every week; thank you for sharing your stories with us – the exciting, the sad, the informative, and everything in between.

We hope to maintain your trust, but also your support, so that we can remain independent – beholden to no one – and continue to offer you the reliable information that you deserve.

Thank you for believing in us and in our mission.

We are incredibly grateful and we promise there is much more to come.