LARNACA – The delegates of the Supreme Convention of the Daughters of Penelope (DOP) elected Margaret Dritsas as Grand President for the 2024-2025 administrative year. Elections were held July 25, at the 102nd Annual AHEPA Supreme Convention in Larnaca, Cyprus. Dritsas becomes the second Grand President who hails from Canada.

Grand President Margaret Dritsas, the first-born child of Dimitra Dritsas (née Georgopoulou) and the late George Dritsas both immigrants from the southern Peloponese region of Mani, Greece, was born and raised in the beautiful city of  Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

Dritsas is a member of the Euphrosyne Chapter 292 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in District 23, since 2003 and served her home chapter as vice president and president for several years. While District 23 Maids of Athena Advisor, she reestablished the District 23 lodge of the Maids of Athena.

Dritsas co-chaired the Parliamentary Banquet in 2012, and was on the AHEPA Family Charitable Foundation of Canada as a legal advisor and member of the Board.

She was elected to the Grand Lodge in 2018, and has served all offices.

Dritsas completed her education in French in Montréal. She completed her civil law degree at University of Ottawa in 1998. She then remained in Ottawa where she started her public service career. She worked on Parliament Hill and then moved to the Department of Justice in Criminal Law Policy. She then continued as the Nationality Law Advisor in the Citizenship Division of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. She then was a senior advisor in the Regulatory Affairs Section and Cabinet Affairs Unit of the Treasury Board Secretariat. Finally, she was the chief of regulations and legislation at Transport Canada.

After 23 years of service, she retired and started her own practice in Toronto, Ontario, where she specializes in economic immigration.

Her community service includes being on the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Community of Ottawa, while also serving her parish as the Sunday School co-director.

Now in Toronto, she is a member of IWB (Immigrant Women in Business), a member on the Fundraising committee for COMPASS, a privately-funded organization that provides help and services to refugees in Canada, and a member of the Hellenic Canadian Board of Trade, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, and the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association.

Grand President Dritsas’ special project this year is Huntington’s disease research. This neurodegenerative disease has affected the Ottawa AHEPA Family. In their memory, together we will fight to find a cure.

Grand President Dritsas’ theme this year is: “Empowered Together!”

“Empowered women empower communities, and together, we can make a lasting impact. Our strength lies in our togetherness. By empowering one another, we create a powerful force for positive change in our communities and beyond,” stated Dritsas.

The 2024-2025 Daughters of Penelope Grand Lodge 

In addition to Grand President Margaret Dritsas, the following individuals were elected to the Daughters of Penelope Grand Lodge:
Grand Vice President Antoinette M. Zachariades of Brick, NJ; Grand Secretary Gretchen Holtsinger of Wimberley, TX; Grand Treasurer Patty Didik of Hudson, FL; Grand Governor Zone I Lainie Damaskos-Christou of Schenectady, NY; Grand Governor Zone II Effie Kirkiles of Oakland Park, FL; Grand Governor Zone III Christie Finch of Aurora, CO; Grand Governor Zone IV Linda Belba of San Jose, CA; Grand Governor Zone V Xanthe Vafopoulou of Richmond Hill, ON, Canada; and Grand Advisor to the Maids of Athena Helen McClure of Lakewood, WA.

The 2025 Supreme Convention will convene at Walt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL July 21-26.

For more information about the DOP, or any of its programs or projects, visit: http://www.daughtersofpenelope.org.