Santa Barbara AHEPA Chapter 243

Ahepa Chapter #243

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Dear Brother Ahepans,

As you know since our chapter meeting in November there has been the sad event of the passing of Brother Ahepan Peter J. Demourkas, a hard working member of this chapter and parish community. Peter was always a gentleman who would step up to help at a moments notice. To his family go our sympathies and our faith that he is at a better place. ETERNAL BE HIS MEMORY.

This got me thinking about this holiday season and the Birth of our Savior and Promise of the Resurrection. Even as we believe that death on this earthly plane is not the end perhaps we should celebrate life while we are here. This is the time to call and visit friends while we are here and we can all enjoy our company. Consider sending holiday cards to each other. There may be some struggle in each of our lives, some greater than others. Sending and receiving greetings is a joyful act especially for those that are facing challenges.

In our chapter I know of only Bill Chachakos and John Laury who are still recuperating from illness. Bill Poulis will have knee replacement surgery on December 5th. Please consider sending greetings to these Brother Ahepans during this very special season.

On December 11th we will celebrate the season with our sister organization-the Daughters of Penelope at our community room. The cost is $20.00. Please call President Jim if you plan to be there-(805-376-9352)

Our next chapter meting is on January 19th 2009! At Harry’s Plaza Café’ and with the New Year our chapter dues need to be renewed. This year we will install three new members and reinstate a prior member. Basic dues are $65.00. There are fees for the new and reinstated members. Details will be in our next mailing prior to the January meeting. Please bring your payment to the meeting or mail you payment to Brother Steve Compogiannis, 5290 Overpass Rd. #124 Santa Barbara, 93111-2409

December Birthdays-James Brown (12/19), Sam Pertonakis (12/25)

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND NEW YEAR
Jim Brown,
Chapter Secretary.

AHEPAcademy Now Taking Applications for the 2009 Session
WASHINGTON (AHEPAcademy) -- Attention High School Juniors: you have the opportunity to be one of a small, select group of Greek-American high school students selected from all over the country to participate in AHEPAcademy, an interactive leadership and networking seminar to be held on the campus of George Mason University outside Washington, DC from June 21-27, 2009. ... download your application today!

Happy Thanksgiving


The Daughters of Penelope Grand Lodge and Executive Director wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.


Barbara, Elaine, Diane, Christine, Nicky, Anna-Helene, Debbie, Helen, Jan, Joanne and Elena





May all the blessings of the Season be with you and your family during this time of Giving Thanks.

Welcome to the Daughters of Penelope E-Newsletter
CELEBRATING FOUNDER'S DAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE!!!!

The Daughters of Penelope is an international women's organization dedicated to the promotion of Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic responsibility and family and individual excellence. Today, the Daughters of Penelope is a leader in philanthropic, educational and cultural activities with nearly 10,000 members in local chapters throughout the United States, Canada and Greece. Our web site is www.ahepa.org/dop.

Founder's Day Events are planned throughout our Domain.
Enjoy the Festivities and the Celebrations!!!!

U.S. ELECTION RESULTS
We are pleased to report that in the U.S. House of Representatives the following Greek-American incumbents and members of the HELLENIC CAUCUS were re-elected on Nov 4 to their position. Congratulations to these members:
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Caucus Co-Chair
Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
John Sarbanes (D-MD)
Zack Space (D-OH)
Niki Tsongas (D-MA)

Greek-American Challenger Dina Titus (D-NV) was elected to a House Seat in Nevada, defeating incumbent Jon Porter. Founder/Co-Chair of the Hellenic Caucus, Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) won reelection easily. The Hellenic Caucus had 141 members this year.
VICTIM'S RIGHTS CAUCUS

Founder and Co-Chair Ted Poe (R-TX) won reelection. His co-chair, Jim Costa (D-CA) also won reelection. This Caucus currently has 43 members. Members must resign for each Caucus in the new Session.

WOMEN IN CONGRESS
The number of women has now increased slightly in the U.S. Congress. The November 4 elections brought the total to 94, of women in Congress. There will now be 17 women Senators and a record high 77 women Representatives. The number of women Governors remains at 8.
CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY
After the new Congress takes office in January, it will be a great opportunity for our chapter members in the U.S. to contact the local offices of their Senators and Representative and invite them to speak at a meeting, luncheon, tea or other event in your local area. They want to meet with their constituents and will want to meet our chapter members to talk about the working of our government and important issues facing the new Congress. They can explain how our members can become more involved in our government and political processes. Now is a great time to plan a Spring Chapter Program for Civic Responsibility.

EL CAMINO NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION

ORDER OF AHEPA
SANTA BARBARA CHAPTER #243
Established October 17, 1929
“Promoting the Harmony of Greek Culture, Service, and Community”
“Keeping the Spirit Alive”
www.ahepa20.org/chapters
** E-mail: ahepa243@gmail.com **
“Let’s Do Something Great in 2008”

November 9, 2008

The last two quarters of this Ahepa year have been quiet for this twenty-nine member chapter yet there have been some special moments. (Exquisite things come in small packages). In June we experienced a very special moment when one of our own went to Iraq to meet the psychological needs of our servicemen and civil servants. After 21 years in private practice Dr. James Angelos, a Brother Ahepan was leaving to spend one year meeting the needs of those who serve. On Sunday June 15, 2008 a Special Letter of Commendation was presented to Brother Jim by PSG Lyle Hochberger. In attendance also were DG John Ttiantafyllos, PDG Peter Triantafyllos, PDG Costa Frangos, Daughters of Penelope PDG Georgia Gastouniotis, Rev. Fr. Simon Thomas and our Parish Community. The letter in part read-“This service to your fellowman is imbued in every good physician. Indeed it is an unselfish ministry of the highest order. This recalls a prior generation with its ethos of self sacrifice…. The mission statement of Ahepa contains six articles. The most important of these is the mission of Philanthropy-“Love of People” and the Hellenic Principle of Man’s Commitment to Humanity”. Your actions speak to these ideals” We are very proud of Jim’s service to those who serve.
To better communicate with the community and prospective members we established our own e-mail address. (Please see the heading of this article). We created our own banner with the Ahepa symbols and our e-mail address which we use for the yearly church festival and other events.
We just held our yearly Ahepa Glendi which raises money for our Philanthropic endeavors; chief among them is the District and our Chapter project to raise money for research to find a cure for Rett Syndrome –a very debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder syndrome which primarily affects females. We are grateful for the support of the members of this District and our community for your support.
Our plans for the next six months are ambitious but fun-filled. Next October our Chapter will celebrate our 80th Birthday! Come and join the fun.
The members of Chapter #243 wish all of you a very Joyous Holiday Season.

Chapter 243-General information
Chapter 243-General information
Ahepa Chapter243 general information
ORDER OF AHEPA SANTA BARBARA CHAPTER #243
Established October 17, 1929
“Promoting the Harmony of Greek Culture, Service, and Community”
“Keeping the Spirit Alive”
http://www.ahepa20.org/~ chapter243/
or www.ahepa20.org/chapters (easier for some)
** E-mail: ahepa243@gmail.com **
“Let’s Do Something Great in 2008."
General mailing address: Ahepa Chapter #243, c/o Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 1205 San Antonio Creek Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93111.
(805) 683-4492, Fax (805) 964-2774 http://www.saintbarbara.net/ (please note our e-mail address above).
2008-2009 officers: Pres. James Arger, Vice. Pres. George Papazacharioudakis, Treasurers- Steve & Chris Compogiannis, Sec'y & immediatePast President James Brown, Past District Governor Costandino Frangos.
Meetings held on the third Monday of the month (12) @ Harry's Plaza Cafe' in the Lorretto Plaza at the corner of State St. and Las Positas Rd,
6:30-6:45 start time. We have a wide range of vision and activity. We welcome your visitation.

ORDER OF AHEPA
SANTA BARBARA CHAPTER #243
Established October 17, 1929
“Promoting the Harmony of Greek Culture, Service, and Community”
“Keeping the Spirit Alive”
http://www.ahepa20.org/`chapter243/
www.ahepa20.org/chapters (easier for some)
** E-mail: ahepa243@gmail.com **
“Let’s Do Something Great in 2008”

MINUTES OF OCTOBER 20, 2008.

October is the tenth month of our year but the fifth month of our chapter year. This month is best known for the celebrations of Halloween and Oktoberfest-(one party for the young kids and one for the adults.) Seems good enough for me!

From “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”-There is power in a strong intergenerational family…children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins can be a powerful force in helping people have a sense of who they are and where they come from and what they stand for.

Ponder on this – His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

Posted on our web site is information about the El Camino District 20 Scholarship (application deadline is April 1, 2009) and the 2009 Journey to Greece programs
.
HAVE YOU VISITED OUR WEB SITE RECENTLY?

President Arger called out meeting to order at 6:39 PM
The Opening Prayer was lead by Bill Poulis Esq.
Attendance: Among the fourteen members who signed the ledger book were Alex Haimanis who has been in Greece for three months, Brian Iorio who we missed last month, Constantine Daviantes who is Vice-President of marketing and Sales for NivaSonix . He had been a member of our chapter and wishes to be reinstated- Welcome Back, and Panos Mitroulias who is a member of the Greek Air Force and is interacting with the Raytheon Corporation and our own V.P George Papazacharioudakis.
Happy Dollars-This night did not have a “Happy Dollars” container so we just placed our contributions on the table accompanied with our happy thoughts.






(2)

September Minutes were read and approved by vote- motion by Bill Pertsulakes.
Treasurer’s Report-The “Brothers Compogiannis” reported that in the Smith- Barney account we have $9634.70 ($366 Happy Dollars) =$9328.70. Our checking account totals $1344.16. On October 24, 2008 our CD with Smith-Barney and the funds will be transferred to UBS, where Chris is now working and there will be no fee.
Chapter Correspondence- Jim Brown indicated that he sent an e-mail to brother Jim Angelos c/o Ruth giving him our best wishes, asking him to write about his experiences in Iraq to our e-mail address, and keeping in touch with happenings through our web site.
Old Business-- Chris Compogiannis is viewing the video of the Greek Heritage Society and will make recommendations at our next meeting.
New Business-We discussed the Ventura Ahepa Scholarship BBQ-they cleared $900.00.
The Saint Demetrios Dinner-Dance was cancelled because not enough people indicated they would attend. There was much discussion about the Christmas Party we customarily have with the Santa Barbara DOP, Suggestions included having the dinner at the Double Tree Restaurant, cost approximately $9-$25, having the dinner at the church with a possible BBQ, the Montecito Country Club was also considered. The complexity is that the DOP wants a limit of $25.00 and does not wish to travel too far. Our Bill Persulakes will confer with the DOP President Valerie Richardson and reach an accord. We suggested the date of December 11, 2008. George Papazacharioudakis recommended that our chapter assume the responsibility of welcoming all Orthodox Christian college students in the area to our community. George will chair a committee for this activity and we project a December date. The motion was made and seconded to allocate up to $200 for this event.
Glendi discussion began with Bill Poulis informing us that the folk dance group wishes to perform at the Glendi. We decided to have Bill respond that because we did not plan this year for dance groups to participate in the Glendi we might consider this option for our next Glendi. John Demourkas advised us that his father Peter is not well and can not help him in the kitchen, Connie Kallas is leaving the area and will not assist also. John requested assistance. Assignments were finalized for all aspects of the Glendi. Prices for the bar were agreed upon.
Good of the Order-Jim Brown indicated that the Long Range Planning Committee report had been submitted to President Arger for his use. Other comments were of a general, supportive nature.
Closing Prayer-was lead by Brother Bill Poulis Esq. aka Deacon Wm-(there is hope for all of us)
Meeting Adjourned at 8:34 PM
Birthday Greetings to Jim Angelos, Thanasis Batalas, Steven Compogiannis Anthony Kallas Ph.D, Paul Tziouivaras (all Nov.), Jim Brown, Peter Demoukas, Sam Petronakis (all Dec.)
Respectfully Submitted,
James P. Brown
Chapter Secretary.
Next meeting November 17,2008 at Harry’s Plaza Café’

El Camino Real District 20
AHEPA SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

The El Camino Real District 20 AHEPA Scholarship Foundation is proud to provide scholarships for worthy students. Students must be members of District 20’s Sons of Pericles or Maids of Athena; or children of members of District 20’s Order of AHEPA or Daughters of Penelope. Parents must be residents of District 20. A student may not receive more than four (4) scholarships. Completed applications will be evaluated by an impartial panel of college administrators/professors.


Attached is the application. It is also available online at http://www.ahepa20.org/scholarship/ and specifically at http://www.ahepa20.org/scholarship/scholarship_application_2008_2009.pdf

Deadline April 1, 2009

We are pleased to announce The 4th Annual Journey to Greece for 2009:

Session #1: July 3-July 18: 3 units class credit
Session #2: July 20-August 12: 6 units class credit

This year Session #2 will include a visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople! We encourage college age students to apply early for this great opportunity! Attached is both the complete program description with the class options and the application. Group flights will be available from both the West Coast and East Coast for our students. The Journey Program includes: Tuition; all excursion; housing and one daily meal; receptions and visits and special events!

Any questions should be directed to:

Dr. Jim Dimitriou, PSP,
Director
Journey to Greece Program
e-mail: jfdplato@aol.com
fax: 310-378-7596
phone: 310-375-5544
Additional information is available at: www.ahepa.org/journey/