NEO magazine - April 2022

APR

2022

$4.95

Michael

Bublé

the Modern King of Contemporary Pop Music

Michael Psaros Endows Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University

The Cathedral School Makes a Comeback

Ernest Hemingway on the Smyrna Catastrophe of 1922

Alexander Pantages: from the Shores of the Aegean to the Edge of the Pacific

FROM THE EDITOR

:: magazine FOUNDED IN 2005 BY Demetrios Rhompotis Dimitri Michalakis Kyprianos Bazenikas

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NEO Magazine is published monthly by Neocorp Media Inc. P.O. Box 560105 College Point, NY 11356 Phone: (718) 554-0308 e-Fax: (718) 878-4448 info@neomagazine.com Check our website neomagazine.com Cover photo: Norman Jean Roy

The Pappades In My Life

Priests were a big part of my getting dressed, and transforming himself from life. an ordinary man wearing ordinary brown striped pants and a long-sleeve shirt, into this black, When I was a kid, I was an resplendent figure who floated through the a l t a r b o y a t K i m i s i s whitewashed streets of the village like a swirl of T h e o t o k o u C h u r c h i n smoke.

Brooklyn, where Father Titos was the pastor. He was a nice He was a priest in a church back in the village of man, who pretended to be Volissos in Chios, and one time, on a casual stroll, angry with us when we talked because he had business at the church during off too much during the service, hours, he let me and his son Laki (Vangelaki) tag so he would make us kneel in a along, Laki in his shorts and plastic sandals, me in ring around the altar, and we would stay there, my American sneakers from the bin at knees creaking, as he swished around us in his Woolworth’s. He cranked open the door for us, silk vestments and muttered his prayers in a rapid just for us, and we walked into the solemnity of whisper, and jingled his censor, that filled the air the church, over the gleaming marble floors and past the glint of all the candlestands and the with sweet-smelling smoke. solemn icons in their panels, and then he went Until he needed us to go hold the basket for the about his business. While Laki, who was antidero, or hold the yiayiades back from mischievous, beckoned me over to a cabinet in storming the basket, or the mothers carrying kids the little room next to the altar, shoved aside that had enough of the service and were getting some velvet curtains, and took out a matchbox cranky, or the men in swanky suits who looked and cradled it secretively in his palm. “You want like they were important enough so you had to let to see something?” he said. And he slid back the them through just in case they were. cover of the matchbox--and showed me a tumble of old bones inside, like chicken bones left out too The priests in Chicago where we also lived, at the long and turning brown. “Saint Nektarios--!” he Assumption Church, were several, because the announced suddenly, and shoved around a little congregation was so large, and they became bone that supposedly belonged to the island’s familiar figures because my father was a principal patron saint. And then there were the bones of St. there and I would see them in their black blazers Dimitrios! and St. George! and St. Paraskevi! and with their white collar sitting in my father’s office St. Markella!: they all wound up in the matchbox! and catching up on parish news. One priest, Father Samaras, with a goatee and a wicked sense Until Thio Pappa came and took the matchbox of humor, became a good friend of my dad’s away, and put it back behind the velvet curtains, because he never married and went on to become while I stood there in awe, of my Thio Pappa, who a bishop, I think. It seemed a lonely life, living in a as a priest was the guardian of all the mysteries of room in a rectory, but my father said he was a life and death. scholar and liked his books.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter.

And I had an uncle back in Chios who was a priest, Thio Pappa, or Pappa Kostis, and I remember him once going through the ritual of DIMITRI C. MICHALAKIS

:: magazine PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN NEW YORK Editor in Chief: Dimitri C. Michalakis info@neomagazine.com

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by Dimitri C. Michalakis We lived in Chicago during the ‘60s and during the holidays we would often drive to visit our relatives in New York.

One Easter holiday my father and I drove from Chicago to New York (my mother was already in New York helping my sister with her pregnancy), but we stopped in Ohio to visit some relatives that I didn’t know, but were related to my father.

We piled our ’65 Mercury, powder-blue with whitewall tires, and we sailed out of Chicago at the crack of dawn on the multi-lane t horou g h f are c a l l e d t he E is e n howe r Expressway that my father never failed to be My father was distracted looking for the amazed at (as he was by everything big in address and didn’t answer me. car—he was an immigrant who had come to And after meandering through the maze of study in the ‘50s and had stayed). streets with generically-small-town American I remember Frank Sinatra playing on the radio names—Main, Maple, Clark—we finally got and singing “It Was A Very Good Year” as we to a house with mint-green siding and an sailed on the expressway out of Chicago and enormous porch trimmed in white, just across then climbed the trestles of the elevated from a strip mall with a grocery store and a highway that floated us over the factories of laundromat and families of Puerto Ricans Gary, Indiana, shrouded in shadows, before doing their laundry. the morning brought us to the farmlands of Indiana, with nothing but green fields of corn, My father got out and marched to the door and knocked, and the glass rattled on the door, and before we finally reached Ohio.

I hoped nobody would answer, but my father We had lived in Montreal, in the suburbs, and was relentless and kept knocking, so it later in Chicago, in the suburbs, but we were sounded like somebody nailing something, still in the throb of a big city. Ohio was and sure enough, the door opened and a lady something completely different, at least where poked her head out, who I assume was Thia we went: it was a sleepy, drowsy patch of Maria: hair dyed black, glasses like Mamie Middle America, with a water tower looming Eisenhower, a dress with beads on it. over the whole town, like the water tower in a television show popular in those days set in a Kisses, hugs, and my dad came trotting back and started unloading the trunk: we were small town: Petticoat Junction. staying with Thia Maria.

And we sailed through the light and shadow created by the sun hovering through the trees, It was the weekend before Holy Week and my past vast houses with even vaster yards, and dad informed me that we would stay the porches with rocking chairs, and hardly a car weekend and then head to New York—stay in the street, until we finally got to the house of with Thia Maria, in the big house, as big inside a woman my dad described only as Thia as outside: with endless rooms, carpets on the Maria: another Thia Maria. Only this one, as floor, creaky floors, family photos on the wall, he explained the complicated genealogy, was white doilies on the couch, chairs with somehow related to an uncle of his who was a slipcovers, and a view from the kitchen of the priest back in Greece, and she had gotten yard, and the neighbors’ yards, full of rusted cars and trucks and tractors, and combines: married and been brought to America.

Ohio seemed to be still emerging from “Okay, fine,” I told him, as we drove through farming. big old houses with their big old porches and fuzzy sunlight, “but why do we have to see Thia had two kids that I saw who were very her?” (I was a Greek kid and I had seen enough nice, much older than me: the daughter took old relatives of my own: I didn’t have to stop in me upstairs to show me our room, past a corridor of creaking wood, and that smelled of Ohio to see more).

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the old wood in the house, old and parched, past all these family pictures, including some that featured a man with sculpted hair and jackets with square shoulders: a Greek dandy. I learned later that he had abandoned the family, a shocking thing for a Greek.

For now, as the daughter led me down the corridor to our room, past the family photos, all I could see was the man in the photos who stood front and center and looked a little vain with his sculpted hair and sculpted jackets.

The son came and made a brief appearance and he was very nice. I learned later (news travels fast in the Greek community) that he was gay and having a hard time living in Ohio.

But for now, Thia Maria and my father made calls and the relatives came to visit.

They came, they sat, we had table sweets, and koulourakia, and fraskomilia, and kasseri cheese, because Thia said the Greek store had run out of feta and kefalotiri, and they reminisced: an old Thia with a gold tooth and a frizzy bun (except she wasn’t that old) told rollicking stories about growing up in Greece in her village and having my father be the “daskalos” there: “And I told them all he was my cousin,” she said, swiping the air and tugging down her skirt. “And they told me does he give you any koulouria?” (Any zeros).

“And I told them, the only koulouria we eat is when he comes over to my house and my mother feeds him!”

And she laughed and tugged down her skirt and her gold tooth flashed like a lighthouse beacon.

“God is with us all,” he said. “God is the “Don’t worry,” said the cousin in construction, resurrection and the light, especially when our who smoked and didn’t worry about anything. world seems to be crumbling.”

“I know the guy and he’ll fix it for you.” He also knew everybody.

This was pretty depressing, but it was the usual sermon—scare you to death, and then tell you, So we left the Chevy at this gas station in Ohio, it’s okay, God is looking after you. and got in the old Buick, all four of us, plus Niko doing the driving, and the cousin doing But then he started telling us about the death the smoking, and we had room to spare, cause of one of the parishioners, who had been killed cars in those days had seats like your living in a car accident, and had left behind a wife room sofa. and young kids.

And because I was a kid, I got to squeeze in “Whenever I used to call Niko,” he said, “he between all three men in the front seat, like a used to come down right away: and his wife is real man, instead of sitting in the back with my mother and sister, and got to watch Niko the head of our Epitafio Committee.” driving that Buick, and tapping the ash from And then he summoned the wife from the his cigarette in the ashtray, and swoop past congregation, a young woman all in black, lowly Chevys and Fords like we were a very pretty, leading two young kids by the spaceship. While he told me to slide in all these hand like Jackie Kennedy. Chairs were 45 Greek records (lots of Yiota Lidia and brought for them, and they were seated by the Manolis Angelopoulos) into his very own altar, in front of the whole congregation, while record player attached to the dash. the young widow kept the little girl on her lap and the little boy cradled up against her.

“How’d you do that?” I told him, in awe.

We were supposed to go to church that night, so I washed my face and behind my ears, and a relative (also on my father’s side from the lineage of priests), came to pick us up in his truck (he was in construction), and he smoked so much the smoke literally came out of his ears, as he drove us through the town, the trees now spectral-black and the big old houses looking like they were haunted.

The church was a welcome sight, all lit up for the night, and the doors open, so you could hear the psalmodia, and the priest with his uncertain voice. I was used to making entrances in churches, my father was principal of our Greek school back in Chicago and we had to attend church every Sunday, because he was a man in standing in our community: I could never get out of it. But I didn’t mind it too much: Sunday School you saw all your friends, the Presvytera was big and friendly, and Holy Week was colorful and somber, but then festive and full of good food.

I l o o k e d a t t h e c o u s i n w h o w a s i n “He’s my electrician,” said my cousin in construction, and he looked at me, and now I construction. knew who Niko was and why the cousin was here tonight.

And Niko, driving the Buick with one hand, glanced over at me and winked.

When we were going to Greece the summer before, the cousin in construction had come to He also told me to pass around the Kraft Chicago to drive with us to New York, cause caramels he had in a bag stashed in the glove our Chevy Impala broke down more often compartment: the chocolate kind. than it ran.

“I never had them in Greece so when I came to “So if something happens we’ll be there,” he America I couldn’t get enough of them,” he said, when he showed up, out of nowhere: told us. “Only it’s going to rot my teeth.” cousins did things like that in those days.

We laughed, he winked at me, and nodded at Only he didn’t come in his car, he had nothing the glove compartment, and I passed around but trucks splashed with mud (he said), so he the caramels, and we all chewed, while I came in a big old Buick driven by his friend, picked the caramel out of my teeth, and for the Niko. And a Buick in those days was first time I felt like a man, because I was sitting something special: a cut above our Chevy, and in the front seat with the men, and feeding packed with a motor that could pull the Yiota Lidia and Manolis Angelopoulos into Titanic. our very own record player.

They were going to escort us to New York, and And as a kid if you survived the marathon of we packed up our Chevy and started off, with services during Holy Week it was like running the Buick following until, sure enough, in a marathon and coming out alive.

Ohio, the Chevy broke down and I remember leaving it at some gas station off the highway.

Somehow the word got out that my father was visiting, a “mousafiris,” and distinguished one with a PhD and a principal in Chicago, so the ushers, among them some of the relatives who had visited us at the Thia Maria’s, brought us to a seat of honor in the front pew, where the elite of the community usually sat, and the “thitses” and “yiayiades” who went to church every Sunday.

Now Niko was gone, and his widow and children sat on display in their grief, while I imagined the old Buick was now a wreck, with the record player smashed, and the glove compartment still full of chocolate caramels.

And we sat, and I listened to the psalmodia, which I always liked, and checked the bun on the priest, who also wore glasses, so he was a scholarly priest, and the service progressed, until the priest came out of the altar, and flounced his sleeves, and joined his hands in front of him, and began to talk.

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Michael Psaros with his wife Robin and their children Alexandra, Marina and Leo PHOTO: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University More than a decade after providing seed capital to establish a financial markets and policy center at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, Michael G. (B’89) and Robin Psaros (Parents’21) are committing $11 million to build the newly renamed Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy into the preeminent destination for unbiased expertise at the intersection of finance and policy. This gift builds upon years of collaboration between Michael Psaros and his mentor Reena Aggarwal, Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance and director of the center.

Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy will host world-class convenings, bringing together market participants, policymakers, and leading academics to provide solutions for emerging challenges in global finance. The center will also benefit from the experiences of the most accomplished industry and policy leaders, supported by the gift’s funding for Visiting Distinguished Fellows and a Fellows Excellence Fund.

years, since I was one of her students,” Psaros says. “Dr. Aggarwal believed in me before I believed in myself.”

When Aggarwal wanted to create the center after the 2008 financial crisis to foster objective, research-driven dialogue on critical issues facing the financial markets, Psaros made a $500,000 gift to support her vision.

Now, at a pivotal moment for financial market regulation and polic ymaking, this transformative gift will allow the center to fulfill its ambition to be the undisputed leader in the field.

Aggarwal and Psaros first met as professor and student in the 1980s. Psaros says that the ways in which Aggarwal taught complex concepts, rigorous analysis, and logic had a profound and lasting impact that opened up the interconnectivity of politics and policy on finance and business to him.

When Aggarwal became interim dean and then deputy dean of Georgetown McDonough, she interacted with Psaros frequently through his work on the Board. She regularly invited Psaros to speak with her students about his firm’s constructive investing activities to drive transformational change of manufacturing companies.

In addition to renaming the center, the gift expands opportunities for research and outreach executed by the expanded center’s leaders in partnership with students. The

“I am very grateful to my mentor, Dr. Reena Aggarwal—one of the great minds in finance Then, the financial crisis of 2008 hit, and the g l o b a l l y — f o r p r o v i d i n g m e w i t h epicenter of financial policy decision-making encouragement and support for nearly 35 moved from New York City to Washington,

“My family is humbled and excited to invest in Georgetown, and in doing so, give back to a country that has provided us with so many opportunities,” Michael Psaros says.

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A f te r Ps aro s g r a du ate d an d m a d e a distinguished career in finance as co-founder and managing partner of KPS Capital Partners, LP, a leading global private equity firm, he became involved in Georgetown leadership. He joined the Georgetown Board of Directors and serves as co-vice chair of the B o a r d o f Ad v i s o r s o f G e o r g e t o w n’s “I cannot tell you how excited and grateful we McDonough School of Business. In this are to announce the Psaros Center for setting, he and Aggarwal reconnected over Financial Markets and Policy,” Georgetown their shared interests.

University President John J. DeGioia says.

“This is an extraordinary moment for “Mike was always interested in finance and Georgetown, for our McDonough School of policy,” says Aggarwal. “That goes back to Business—but also for our nation—as we when he was a student, and it has continued think about the kind of work, analysis, ever since. He understands both sides: why scholarship, and research that this new center financial markets are important, and how policy can play a significant role.” will enable us to do.”

D.C. In the immediate aftermath, Aggarwal The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and saw a need for leadership and expertise that Policy has already established an inaugural Georgetown should meet. board of globally recognized leaders who will contribute extensive experience in business “There was a real leadership void for the markets and policy. “With this gift,” says Paul financial sector,” Aggarwal says. “Regulators Almeida, dean and William R. Berkley Chair were very busy trying to figure out what to do at Georgetown McDonough, “we will be on with this financial crisis and executives at the path to be one of the best centers for financial firms were trying to lay low because financial markets related to policy in the they were getting the blame. It seemed to me world. We are grateful to the Psaros family for that it was our responsibility at Georgetown to this transformational gift to achieve even step up and fill this leadership void.” more.”

Ps a r o s E n d o w e d C h a i r i n B u s i n e s s Administration at Georgetown McDonough in 2013. Most recently, he made a $3.1 million gift to establish the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Endowed Orthodox Chaplaincy at Georgetown, the first fully endowed chaplain’s position in the university’s Campus Ministr y program. This gift complemented the $250,000 gift that Psaros made in 2019 to support the renovation of Copley Crypt, including the funding for iconostasis.

She approached Psaros with her plan to create a center for unbiased expertise in financial markets and policy, and he provided the seed capital to make it possible. “He really believed in Georgetown’s strength in finance, strength in policy, and location in Washington, D.C.,” Aggarwal says. “So all the pieces came together for us, and nobody was in a better p osit ion t han G e orgetow n to pl ay a responsible role.”

“Mike brings an extraordinary passion to everything that he does, especially his service to Georgetown,” DeGioia says. “He has a vision for the work that we can accomplish and he helps us to bring that vision to life.”

Psaros feels deeply connected to the center, not just for his own sake, but also on behalf of his parents and his children. “This was a family decision,” he explained. “I am deeply grateful to my wife, Robin. We’ve been married for almost 30 years, and we’ve been partners in all of our philanthropic endeavors.

I’m grateful to my daughters and son for their enthusiastic support for our investment in the center. My mom, Mary Ann, was a proud

In addition to his philanthropy, Psaros is a dedicated leader for the university and for Georgetown McDonough. He has been honored by the Georgetown University Wall

Psaros was thrilled to be part of the center’s creation. “I was unbelievably excited by the opportunity to partner with my mentor,” he says. “Over the past decade, the center has exceeded the most ambitious expectations of its many supporters.”

“The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy will play a role in making sure that the financial sector is working effectively so that t he g l ob a l s o c i e t y c an b e ne f it f rom innovation, job creation, and economic growth.”

Just as the center began at an inflection point, now it will evolve at a time of disruption.

“There’s a real transformation happening in the financial center and regulation plays a critical role,” Aggarwal says. “There is so much activity coming out of our regulatory agencies right now. I’ve never seen anything like that—even after the 2008 crisis.”

The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University PHOTO: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Climate concerns, human capital issues, and rapid innovation in financial technology—including digital assets—all need to be considered and addressed by policy, public school teacher for 37 years, so you can Aggarwal notes, and the decisions made in the imagine how she feels about us giving back to education. In many respects, the celebration of regulatory space matter for everyone. this gift belongs to my mom.”

“The financial sector is extremely important for the global society,” she says. “The Psaros Psaros’ son Leo (B’21) encouraged Psaros to Center for Financial Markets and Policy will tie the future of his family and Georgetown play a role in making sure that the financial together with the named center. “This isn’t just sector is working effectively so that the global about making a gift,” Psaros says. “We are society can benefit from innovation, job making a lifelong commitment in the center, not only financially, but also of my time. And creation, and economic growth.” my son is excited to be involved as well. The In this highly complex environment, Psaros’ only thing that you really have in life is your $11 million commitment will make a world of name and your reputation. We are putting our difference. “Mike’s gift is going to be family’s name and reputation on the center. transformational in taking us to a whole new A n d t h e r e f o r e w e n o w h a v e a n level,” Aggarwal says. “There are tons of issues intergenerational obligation to help the center that need to be tackled, which means the manifest and achieve its true potential.” center needs to invest a lot more in people, providing expertise and research that will be Mike Psaros has a long history of generosity to helpful for both market practices and also Georgetown. He and Robin previously made a $3 million gift to create the Michael and Robin policymaking.”

Street Alliance and was presented with the Georgetown McDonough Dean’s Medal.

“Mike is such a positive force for faculty, for deans, and for staff leadership,” Dean Almeida says. “He not only asks ‘how can I help you?’

He does help you. It’s not just words, it’s action.

It makes such a difference to know that you have someone like Mike who will always be open about his support for you.”

Psaros and Almeida agree that the best way to change the world is to empower students to become principled leaders and problemsolvers working for the greater good. “I am who I am today because of the values and value system that I learned from my family, the Holy O r t h o d ox C hu rc h , a n d G e or g e t ow n University,” Psaros says. “Every time my wife, my family, and I contribute to Georgetown in any way, it is a celebration of those values. Our work begins today to build a better world.”

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2022 FAITH Scholarship for Academic Excellence Application Now Available “FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism” announced that the 2022 FAITH Scholarship for Academic Excellence application is available to download at thefaithendowment.org/scholarships. Eligible applicants must be active members of a Greek Orthodox parish and graduating high school seniors enrolling in a 4-year accredited U.S. university this fall. Scholarships are meritbased and can range up to $10,000 in value.

Deadline for submission is June 20, 2022.

titles—from National Merit Scholar and class president to scholastic team captain and student government president—and enroll in highly competitive universities across the country. Their impact extends beyond the classroom as they use their talents and leadership to address the issues facing their generation today, such as social inequality, teen mental health, food insecurity and e n v i r o n m e n t a l sustainability, to ensure a healthy and hopeful future For eighteen years, FAITH has awarded f o r t h e i r c o m m u n i t y, academic scholarships to the community’s country and world. brightest and most promising young Greek American leaders who embody the scholarly “ I t h a n k F A I T H f o r intellect and academic achievement lauded by believing in my potential as their Hellenic ancestors and the extraordinary a Greek leader, and this spirit of community service and good honor has inspired me even citizenship in line with their Greek Orthodox more to make the most of Christian values. the educational opportunities I have to “I am grateful for FAITH’s generosity and impact my community. It is commitment to celebrating and encouraging an incredible honor to join Greek American young adults. It is such an the prestigious FAITH honor to be recognized by an Endowment that Scholar network, which is full of inspiring voi c e s t he Hel l e n is m , a lt r u is m , and leaders across all fields who give back to the innovation in our background,” said Callie Hellenic and Greek Orthodox communities in Saric, a 2021 FAITH-STEM Scholar studying profound ways. I am committed to giving back biomedical engineering at the University of just like those who joined this network before Wisconsin. me,” shared Peter Bazianos, who received the

Recipients of the FAITH Scholarship for Academic Excellence will join a network of over 600 young leaders from across the U.S. who are leading their campuses, career fields and communities. From aspiring architects and educators to future biomedical engineers and data scientists, FAITH Scholars graduate at the top of their classes with accolades and

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facebook.com/faithendowment for updates.

Scholarships are awarded on a merit basis with applicants given the option to be considered for a d d it i on a l f i n an c i a l n e e d - b a s e d allocations by submitting supporting documentation. For full list of criteria and eligibility, please visit thefaithendowment.org/scholarships.

Founded in 2004 by a group of ten visionary Greek American leaders and philanthropists, FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that supports the development of innovative educational, cultural, and

FAITH Scholarship for Academic Excellence scholarship programs that promote an in 2021 and studies physics and electrical understanding of the Greek Orthodox faith, engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Hellenism, and of the relationship of the two to America’s history and multicultural All applications must be sent by mail and landscape for young people. For more postmarked by June 20th, 2022. Scholarship i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a c t recipients will be announced in September info@thefaithendowment.org or visit and applicants are encouraged to follow thefaithendowment.org.

Leadership 100 Installs New Chairman and Approves 7 Million in Grants

Newly Installed Chairman, Demetrios G. Logothetis, left, Archbishop Elpidophoros, and Outgoing Chairman, Argyris Vassiliou, at Passing of the Torch at Grand Banquet

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Paulette Poulos, Executive Director, center, present the Leadership 100 Achievement Award to Dr. Lisa Liberatore and Dr. Dimitri Kessaris, Co-Founders of Luv Michael and US Autism Homes

Argyris Vassiliou receives Chairman’s Award and wife, Ann receives Shining Star, center, from His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, right, newly elected Chairman Demetrios G. Logothetis, second from left, and Paulette Poulos, Executive Director, far left

Chairman Argyris Vassiliou and His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America present the Leadership 100 Achievement Award to Rev. Fr. Gary Kyriacou, Director of Ionian Village of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

(Left to Right), Chairman Argyris Vassiliou and His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America present the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence to Dr. George D. Yancopoulos and Dr. Alexander Kitroeff 26

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Chairman Argyris Vassiliou and His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America present the Leadership 100 Achievement Award to Theo Nicolakis, Chief Information Officer of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Paulette Poulos, Executive Director, center, present the Leadership 100 Achievement Award to Mark Biondi, Program Director, Luv Michael and US Autism Homes. Award Recipients and Co-Founders, Dr. Lisa Liberatore and Dr. Dimitri Kessaris, stand at far left and far right, respectively PHOTO: GANP/DEMETRIOS PANAGOS

Jim and Marianthe Logothetis, Effie Goutanis, Joanna Logothetis, Mae and John Calamos and Paris Karasso

George, Eleni and Christopher Rongos with Archbishop Elpidophoros and nephew Dimitrios Karahalios

George and Callie Zoitas

L-R: Dr. Alexander Kitroeff, Nicholas and Constantine Larigakis

Andy and Leslie Seheremelis with daughters, Eleni and Tina and Vasilios Dimopoulos

Leadership 100 installed Demetrios (Jim) G. Logothetis of Chicago, formerly a Senior Partner at Ernst & Young, as Chairman, at the Grand Banquet of its 31st Annual Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, in Naples, Flor ida. Arg yr is Vassi liou, out going Chairman, praised his successor and acknowledged Jim’s support during his tenure.

Logothetis served as Leadership 100 Vice Chairman for the past four years. Also elected was James Pantelidis as Vice Chairman and reelected were Kassandra Romas and Maria

A l l w i n a s Tr e a s u r e r a n d S e c r e t a r y, respectively. Michael Bapis, who has served as a Board Member for many years, was elected to serve as a member of the Executive Committee. Some 480 members and guests attended the 31st Annual Leadership 100 Conference, which initiated the celebration of the Centennial of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Despite the fear of Covid, “it's unbelievable and amazing that this conference turned out to be so beautiful”, said L100 Executive Director Paulette Poulos in an

“We need to increase membership. We need to focus on the youth and the philhellenes, to make sure that they know us well and they stay with us. We have so many needs, so many opportunities in our community. We have to re-engage our people, especially the young. This way Leadership 100 and other organizations in the community will have a future.”

Chairman Demetrios Logothetis

interview with NEO. “This was truly the biggest blessing we could have. We were worried how we could have a conference with Covid, how are we going to bring the people together, cancellations were coming left and right and yet, we have never booked so many rooms as we have this time. And the kefi, the spirit of the people, it is unbelievable!”

Echoing similar thoug hts, depar ting Chairman Argyris Vassiliou speaking to NEO said that “it has been an honor to serve NEWS & NOTES

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Dr. Christos Polymeropoulos, Mahy Polymeropoulos, Theodore Vakrinos, Dr. Helen Abadzi and Dr. Mihael Polymeropoulos

“Leadership 100 continues to change its demographic. We are getting younger, we have close to 200 young professional members now, and we are getting them more involved.”

Eugenia Valliades, Helen Costarelis, Nancy Papaiaonnou and Stavro Soussou

Cathy & George Sakellaris, PHOTO: GANP/DEMETRIOS PANAGOS

Dimitrios Ziozis, John Koudounis and Yianni Sianis

Argyris Vassiliou, former Chairman John Calamos and Nikos Maximos Harry and Sandra Nick and Kathy and Timothy Joannides

Leadership 100 for the past four years, it has been a little difficult given the virus but not only we pulled through, we pulled ahead! I'm stepping down happy, especially knowing that I'm passing the reins to a good man, Dimitri Logothetis.”

“I feel a high level of responsibility. All of those who came before me these past 37 years they brought this organization to the level that it is now,” stated Chairman Logothetis. “I know there is much work to do and I'm ready! I feel 28

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excited, blessed. I commit to the members that I will do my best and I need their support, I can't do it alone. Every one of us needs to play a role.”

The Executive Committee approved 31 new and prior year grants, totaling $7,094,900. The grants were recommended by the Grant Committee, Chaired by Justin Bozonelis. The prior year grants consist of installments of multi-year grants, as do several new grants.

With a total of $4,460,150 in grants to be

distributed in 2022, the total of grants distributed by Leadership 100 since its founding will reach $70 million. Also, there were 19 new grants totaling $4,767,000 with $2,482,250 to be distributed in 2022.

The Conference speakers were Dr. Alexander Kitroeff, Professor, Department of History, Haverford College, who addressed the history of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; George Yancopoulos, MD, PhD, President and Chief Scientific Officer at

Markos and Sevasti Lagos with daughters Vasilia Kaplanis and Maria McAdams

Dr. Philip and Deborah Joy Efthimion with their children: Charles and Christina

Argyris Vassiliou and Jim Logothetis

Robert and Violetta Buhler

Regeneron, who spoke of his inspiration as a Greek American in leading the pioneering research to combat Covid-19; Dr. Lisa Liberatore and Dr. Dimitri Kessaris, who spoke of their motivation as founders of two nonprofit organizations, Luv Michael and US Autism Homes, along with Mark Biondi, Program Director of both organizations; Theo Ni c o l a k i s , D i r e c t o r o f I n f o r m at i o n Technologies at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, who spoke on the modernization of the Archdiocese

Jim and Marianthe Logothetis with daughter Effie Goutanis and daughter in law Joanna Logothetis

Elena Paraskevas-Thadani and Archbishop Elpidophoros

Dr. Thomas and Peggy Bartzokis and Nicholas Gage

"Looking at the young people, it is a perfect message that these kids want to be part of this Greek culture. They want the heritage, they want the language and they want the Greek dancing and the fellowship… We had more than 250 young professionals here and now they all ask me when are you having the next conference, we want to be there! This is a beautiful thing...

And despite the Covid challenge, we had the highest number of new members in one year.”

Executive Director Paulette Poulos

Helen and John Psaras

Technology; and Rev. Fr. Gary Kyriacou, Director of Ionian Village, who shared plans for its transformation. Although Bishop Andonios was unable to attend, a video on the plans for the new St. Michael’s Home was shown.

In addition, the Protopresbyter Andreas Vithoulkas, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, spoke on his newly appointed position as the Proïst amenos (presiding pr iest) and Archiepiscopal Vicar of the Saint Nicholas

Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center.

The Grand Banquet included the presentation of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence to Dr. Kitroeff, Dr. Yancopoulos and, in absentia, to Christos Kyratsous, PhD, Vice President of Research, Infectious Diseases and Viral Vector Technologies at Regeneron. The Leadership 100 Achievement Award was previously presented to Dr. Liberatore, Dr. Kessaris, Mark NEWS & NOTES

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Peter Gerazounis, Niko Katopodis, Demetrios Ziozis, Nick & Irene Rallis, Christine Gerazounis, Demi Psyllos, Marilena Katopodis, Bessie Ziozis, John Stratakis, Michael Psyllos, Mike Bapis

Late night cigar strategy session with Demetries Grimes who's running for Congress in central Florida

Amanda Koshivas, Kyriake-Melina Robotis and Eleni Rongos

Peter Psyllos, Stelio Katopodis, Chris Stratakis, Steven Gerazounis, Maria Bapis, Lazarus Ziozis, Christopher Kokkinos, Angelo Katopodis, John Ziozis

Fran Karivalis, Stephania and Athena Patsalis and Lisa Hake Biondi, Theo Nicolakis and Fr. Gary Kyriacou.

Vassiliou was presented with a special Chairman’s Award by the Archbishop and newly installed Chairman Logothetis. Mrs. Ann Vassiliou was presented with the Shining Star Award by the Archbishop and L100 Executive Director Paulette Poulos.

The 31st Annual Leadership 100 Conference concluded on February with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America at St. Katherine Church in Naples, Florida.

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Members of the Leadership youth

Fran Karivalis, Stephania Patsalis, Marissa Costidis and Dina Theodosakis

Nikos Maximos, Konstantine and Donna Tsiskakis Chairman Argyris Vassiliou stated that this was a most successful Conference, attended by 480 members and guests who responded enthusiastically to a program that initiated the celebration of the Centennial of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America shared his vision for the Archdiocese and the Church in America and worldwide in a Lecture he delivered and also during remarks at the Grand Banquet.

Kosta Almiroudis with a friend

Other events included a Welcome Reception, Golf and Tennis Tournaments and Awards, along with a Walk/Run. In addition, there were two networking and social gatherings for over 120 Leadership 100 Young Professionals.

Newly installed Chairman Demetrios Logothetis retired from the multinational professional services firm, Ernst & Young, on June 30, 2019. During his distinguished 40year EY career, he held several leadership roles, from offices in Chicago, Frankfurt, Germany, New York, London and Atlanta and

Jimmy Ziozis, George Bousis, George Zoitas and Niko Katopodis

Members of the Leadership youth was Lead Partner for some of the firm’s most prestigious clients, including several Fortune 250 companies (e.g., The C oca-C ola Company, Fiat Chr ysler Automobiles, Whirlpool Corporation).

He has served on the boards of numerous notfor-profit organizations and educational institutions, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the National Hellenic Museum, Hellenic American Academy, and DePaul

Conference participants

A. Cushing and Sandra Titcomb with Polly Titcomb, Amanda and Billy Koshivas

Dimitrios & Eleni Bousis, Anastasia Pantelidis and George Bousis

University. He was appointed Chair of the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School Board of Trustees of The American College of of Business and a BS in Accountancy from Greece in 2019.

DePaul University. He immigrated from Greece to the U.S. at age 13. He is married to He is also an Archon of the Ecumenical Marianthe Analitis and has three children and Patriarchate and served as Vice Chairman of nine grandchildren. They are members of the the National Coordinating Committee for the following parishes: Ascension of Our Lord 200th Anniversary of the Greek Revolution.

Church, Lincolnshire, Illinois, St. Katherine Church, Naples, Florida and St. Demetrios Logothetis holds an MBA in Accounting, Church, Libertyville, Illinois.

Finance and International Business from The

Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade in Baltimore’s historic Greek Town

Andy and Mike Manatos with the Greek Embassy’s Defense, Naval and Air Attaches

Maryland US Seantor Chris Van Hollen with Andy and Mike Manatos Maryland’s Greek-American community and philhellenes joyfully participated in the annual Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade in Baltimore’s historic Greek Town on Sunday. Life-long Marylanders Andy Manatos and Mike Manatos were honored to serve as t h e 2 0 2 2 Par a d e’s Gr an d Mar s h a l l s .

Representing the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America was Bishop Apostolos of Medeia. Also participating were New Jersey Diocese Chancellor Father Christoforos Oikonomidis, and priests from the surrounding Greek Orthodox churches in Maryland, including Father Michael Pastrikos of St. Nicholas which hosted the liturgy and doxology before the parade and in front of which was the parade viewing stand.

Andy and Mike Manatos marching with Congressman John Sarbanes, Bishop Apostolos of Medeia, Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott

Parade Grand Marshalls Andy and Mike Manatos

The Government of Greece was represented by several diplomats from the Embassy of Greece to the United States including: Consul General Nektarios Vasilakis, Defense Attache Col. Panagiotis Vlachopoulos, Air Attache Col. Dimitris Bitsis and Naval Attache Captain Prokopis Charitos. The Government of Cyprus was represented by the Embassy of Cyprus to the United State’s Consul General George Loizou and Defense Attache Col. George Ioannou.

A special thanks and congratulations goes out to the Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade Committee and its Chairman George Stakias. The parade each year features dance groups in ethnic costumes, children groups,

Andy and Mike Manatos with Congressman John Sarbanes and Nick Larigakis and Orthodox Clergy from the Baltimore-Washington area.

These groups come from as far away as Ocean City, Hagerstown, and Frederick, Mar yland, Washington, D.C., Falls Church and Fredericksburg, Virginia, as well as Lancaster and York, Pennsylvania.

Andy Manatos at the podium with Mike Manatos and Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade Chairman Col. George Stakias A remarkable number of federal, state and local government officials attended to show their support including: Maryland US Senator Chris Van Hollen and his Greek-American wife Katherine Wilkens Van Hollen; Baltimore area Congressman John Sarbanes; Baltimore City's Mayor Brandon Scott, Council President Nick Mosby and several Council Members, Comptroller, and State’s Attorney; Maryland's Senate President Bill Ferguson, several Delegates and Comptroller.

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Cyprus Federation Commemorates the EOKA Liberation Struggle against the British PSEKA President Philip Christopher drew the parallel between the Turkish invasion of Cyprus a n d t h e Ru s s i a n invasion of Ukraine, emphasizing that the drama of the uprooted refugees is identical. "Today, we see on television the invasion of Ukraine.

Mariupol could be Famagusta, Odesa, Kyrenia, and these refugees like those waiting to return to Kyrenia, Morphou, and Famagusta. If Turkey had been stopped in 1974, there would not have been an invasion of Ukraine today," Mr. Christopher said.

On April 3, 2022, in an emotionally-charged atmosphere with a moving artistic program, the Cypriot American community honored the 67th anniversary of the EOKA 1955-59 Liberation struggle against British colonial The Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus rule in Cyprus. in New York, Mr. Michalis Firillas, referred to The cultural event was organized by the his personal experience and how the fighters F e d e r a t i o n o f C y p r i o t - A m e r i c a n were honored in his own home. His uncle was Organizations (FCAO) in collaboration with a comrade in the fight with Markos Drakos, the International Coordinating Committee who was cold-bloodedly executed by the Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA) and the Consulate British. "We made the memorial for Markos General of the Republic of Cyprus in New Drakos at my house with refugee neighbors.

York. The event commemorated, honored, Thus, the historical epic of EOKA in our house and highlighted the events from 1955 to 1959, was very intense," he said, calling on the Greek when the Greek Cypriot youth stood up Cypriot community to contribute with its efforts in the policy-making centers. against Britain, fighting for their freedom.

The beautiful musical program under the artistic and musical direction of Mr. Phyto Stratis touched the audience. The talented soloists of the Pancyprian Cultural Division Aggeliki Psoni, Ariadne Anna, Demetris Michael, Louis Panayiotou, and the members of the Pancyprian Choir participated in the program with songs that highlighted the EOKA heroes Grigoris Afxentiou and Evagoras Pallikarides.

The student Nicolas Polydorou gave an exceptional performance on the violin and with a poem, he wrote for EOKA. The St. Demetrios School, second-grade and ninthgrade students performed moving songs and poems with their teachers, Dr. Eirini Grapsias and Mrs. Peggy Simakos, accompanied by Mr. Phytos Stratis on piano.

Also present were Permanent Representatives of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus to the UN, Ambassador Maria Theofili and Ambassador Andreas Hadjichrysanthou, respectively, St. Demetrios Cathedral Astoria presiding priest Fr. Vaseilios Tsourlis, Parish Council President Stefanos Thomatos, Federation of Greek American Educators President Stella Kokolis, Military Attache of the Republic of Cyprus George Ioannou, Consul of Cyprus in Washington DC George Loizou, Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Maria Pappas, as well many other well-known members of the community.

The Consul General of Greece in New York, Dr. Konstantinos Koutras, referred to the awe he felt during his repeated visits to t he “F i l a k is me na Mnimata” (the Brits bur ie d t he exe c ute d fighters within the prison area) and urged the younger generations to maintain what was earned through the struggle but also to learn from the example of the f i g h t e r s . " Wi t h t h e comfort of prosperity, we find it difficult to The MC for the event was Louisa Sirimis, realize how much courage these youths had. President of Nepomak USA, the youth Bishop Apostolos of Medeia, who represented Today is a day of remembrance, paying tribute division of the FCAO. Archbishop Elpidophoros, read the message to the heroes who sacrificed their lives.

The EOKA 1955-59 Photo Exhibit, organized of His Eminence, which stated, among other things, that "this struggle is not over." "Cyprus A screening of the documentary "ΗΡΩΩΝ with the support of the Cyprus Press and is suffering from the invasion, and although ΓΗ" produced by the FCAO, which included Information Office, was also part of the we are turning to the war in Ukraine, we testimonies and historical facts from the time program along with the "Agros village" exhibit, a project by the St. Demetrios second should not forget the long occupation of of the EOKA struggle, followed. grade students.

Cyprus by an illegal invasion.”

During his remarks, FCAO President, Mr. Kyriacos Papastylianou, asked: "How can a speaker today stand up to the heights of such a struggle and so many unjust sacrifices?"

Among those present at the event, he recognized the EOKA fighter Andreas Karacostas. "We applaud you, Andreas Karacostas, and at the same time, in your presence, we applaud the fighters and all those who have been hanged, sacrificed, and imprisoned during this fight. The British believed a struggle would never happen and that the Cypriots would never revolt for their freedom. They did not realize that the fighters' dream was a virtue, the dream for a better t o m o r row, h o p e a n d a l t r u i s m , " M r.

Papastylianou noted.

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Commander Demetries Grimes Running for Congress in Central Florida American leadership. He is a member of the Greek Orthodox He believes America’s Leadership 100, Republican Jewish Coalition, economic, military, Society of White House Military Aides, and a n d l e a d e r s h i p American Legion. strength as a steadfast force for peace and freedom serves in the best interest of America and the world. US energ y independence secures America’s economy and brings global economic stability.

Commander Grimes understands the threats America faces from adversaries "All government policy priorities must be aimed at making a b r o a d a n d f r o m within. He believes and keeping America strong. Our Nation lives up to its e er y decision in values of faith, family, and freedom by putting America and Cvon g re s s mu s t b e the American people first.” guided by the Commander Demetries Grimes, United States Navy, Ret. q u e s t i o n : “ I s t h i s Demetries Grimes with nephews Leonidas Constitutional?” He and Apollo at Tanagra Hellenic Air Force base will fight to protect life, For more information on Demetries Grimes Commander Demetries Grimes, a lifelong religious freedom, the right to bear arms, a n d h i s c a m p a i g n , t h e i r w e b s i t e i s Central Floridian, second generation navy privacy, freedom of speech, election integrity, GrimesFlorida.com veteran, son of a Greek immigrant mother, a n d c i v i l l i b e r t i e s . combat decorated former US naval officer, Grimes will challenge all aviator, Afghanistan war veteran, diplomat in forms of government Greece and Israel, executive, and published overreach and ensure writer on national security and foreign affairs, laws are fair, blind to is running for the new Congressional seat to prejudice, and fairly be established in Central Florida (FL 15 on enforced. He is ready to Governor’s Map). Long time Central Florida represent and serve the G O P a c t i v i s t J C Ma r t i n h a s j o i n e d people of Florida and Commander Grimes’ team as Campaign the United States again.

Manager.

He has an MBA from Grimes has completed seven deployments, The London Business more than one hundred combat missions S c h o o l a n d B A i n flown from aircraft carriers, including two International Relations deployments to Afghanistan. Grimes has from Boston University. served as a military prosecutor and head judge H e h a s c o m p l e t e d in enemy combatant trials of Al Qaeda, postgraduate studies in Strategy At a Mar-a-Lago event with President Trump Ta l i b a n , a n d o t h e r a n d captured terrorists. He is National Security Decision a Secretary of Defense Making at the US Naval War E x e c u t i v e Fe l l ow, a College, and Crisis Response former White House Operations at the NATO Military Aide, and has School. served in strategy and leadership roles at the Grimes’ awards include three Pentagon and NATO Defense Meritorious Service headquarters.

Medals, five Strike Flight Air Medals, five Navy Through his service in C o m m e n d a t i o n Me d a l s multiple combat and including Combat “V” for conflict zones around the Valor, Israeli Defense Forces world, has seen firstMedal, two State Department Demetries with his mother Eleni, hand the best and worst Meritorious Honor Awards at Souda Bay, Cret of humanity, the success and various campaign of s t rong A m e r i c an Demetries Grimes with awards. l e a d e r s h i p, a n d t h e Archbishop Elpidophoros consequences of weak of America 36

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It wasn't about just having a great arrangement and having a great concept being executed, it was the ability to put 130 people in a room with COVID protocols. There were only a few places where we could do that and we found the Fox Newman Scoring Stage here in Los Angeles, and they allowed us to put that many people in a room," he said.

PHOTO: NORMAN JEAN ROY

His latest studio offering "Higher" was produced by Greg Wells and Bob Rock along with Alan Chang, Jason "Spicy G" Goldman, and Sir Paul McCartney. This marks his first studio album in three years and it follows his very successful sold-out two-year world tour "An Evening With Michael Bublé."

Producer Greg Wells described Buble as a "great dance partner." "Michael gives me lots of credit but I credit him for opening up his trust to working with a new team. He's a p h e n o m e n a l h i t m a k e r, " We l l s s a i d complimenting Bublé.

"Since I’ve worked with him, this was the most focused and inspired Michael has been," producer Bob Rock added. "He understood the record he wanted to make. He had a clear vision. As soon as we started, he stuck his neck out to make each song get to the place that he was hearing it in his head."

Michael Bublé:

the Modern King of Contemporary Pop Music

by Markos Papadatos Four-time Grammy award-winning music superstar Michael Bublé chatted with Markos Papadatos about his upcoming studio album "Higher," which waw released on March 25, 2022, via Warner Records/Reprise Records.

On the song selection approach for his new LP, Bublé said, "I approached it with great difficulty and a lot of love. The truth is that the common thread in this record is my voice, but more than anything, is the fact that I don't just like these songs, I love these songs and I could U.S. Army general and former Secretary of not wait to be able to sing them for this record State Colin Powell once said: "A dream doesn’t and for the rest of my life." become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." Michael Regarding his personal favorite tunes on this Bublé is an artist and individual that album, Bublé remarked, "I am going to be epitomizes this wise quotation. honest, this is a record where I am astounded by the depth of it. I really am. I am so grateful "Higher" is comprised of three Bublé-penned to all of the people I worked with, and for the songs and several standards such as Barry universe coming together. My favorites are White's "You're the First, the Last, My 'Bring it on Home to Me' and I love ‘Crazy,' the Everything," a cover of Paul McCartney's "My duet with Willie Nelson. Also, from the pop Valentine" (produced by McCartney), Bob songs I've written, I would say that 'Higher' is Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love," "Smile" my favorite." (where he is accompanied by a gospel choir), "Crazy," where he collaborates with Country Bublé extolled the songs "My Valentine" for Music Hall of Famer Willie Nelson, and his being "so beautiful," and "Smile" for being own distinct rendition of Sam Cooke's "Bring "very ambitious" respectively. "Logistically, 'Smile' was a very difficult song to put together. it on Home to Me." 38

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"Higher" also follows the 10th year of the massive success of his seminal "Christmas" album, which continues to sell and stream in the millions and billions. As a result, Bublé's resonant voice has become synonymous with the winter holiday season.

Speaking of his most recent tour, "An Evening With Michael Bublé," it was seen by well over one million fans around the globe.

A s a p e r f o r m e r, B u b l é h a s e nj o y e d tremendous commercial success these past two decades as one of the most exciting global touring artists out there with sold-out shows in over 30 countries.

His first single, "I'll Never Not Love You" finds the multi-award-winning hitmaker at the peak of his vocal and creative powers. He copenned the song with Michael Pollack. It was produced by Greg Wells, and engineered by Joe Chiccarelli and Wells; moreover, it was subsequently mixed by Serban Ghenea.

Bublé delivers his love letter to the movies in a charismatic cinematic video for his latest No. 1 most-added mainstream AC single "I'll Never Not Love You." The video, directed by Andrew Donoho, features Bublé and his wife, Argentinian actress Luisana Lopilato, lovingly evoke key love scenes and classic moments from several popular films.

The "I'll Never Not Love You" music video is the sequel to his earlier music video for his biggest No. 1 hit "Haven’t Met You Yet" and shows Bublé once again daydreaming in a supermarket.

still want to have something to hold in their hands," he acknowledged. One of my favorite things about having a new record come out was the pictures, the package, and the liner notes. Having all of those beautiful things to read," he added.

Bublé listed Kelly Clarkson, Teddy Swims, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars, as his dream duet choices in the music industry. "I think Kelly Clarkson is an amazing vocalist. I am a huge fan of hers," he said. "Teddy Swims is also one

unbelievable," he shared. "Truthfully, I think Derek is one of the most talented humans in America right now."

In his personal life, he is the proud father of three children: Noah, Eli, and Vida. Bublé loves hockey, fantasy football, TikTok, and singing. "Now, I am on TikTok and I am having fun with it. I discover the most beautiful voices on there. Some of these people you come across on TikTok are a true gift," he said.

PHOTO: NORMAN JEAN ROY

"This video was a labor of love, and again, that was ambitious," Bublé said. "Everything about this record was ambitious, they were not easy ideas to execute. I was so excited to make a video with my wife, and I was so excited to tell the story of our life. It was very romantic for me to have fallen in love with this incredible lady 15 years ago, and to make that video 14 years ago, and to create a cinematic universe in where we get to surprise people with a sequel.

Many people didn't know this was the sequel to the 'Haven’t Met You Yet' video. On top of

Bublé started singing at the age of four in his family home in Burnaby, Canada, and he hasn't stopped ever since. His eponymous breakthrough studio album was released back in 2003 on Reprise Records.

PHOTO: NORMAN JEAN ROY

that, it was a wonderful opportunity for us, of my favorite vocalists and he is a beautiful and a really cool way to announce that we are guy too. Ed Sheeran is a good friend and a wonderful artist," he added. "I've had my expecting our fourth child," he explained. dreams come true. I've sung with Cécile “I’ll Never Not Love You” is available on digital McLorin Salvant, and I've had the chance to sing with Celine Dion, Mariah service providers.

Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Barbra On the title of the current chapter of his life, Streisand."

Bublé revealed, “Contentment." "Being Bubl é pr ai s e d d anc e r, content, fearless, and I can breathe again." choreographer, and multifaceted On being an artist in the digital age, Bublé said, entertainer Derek Hough, who "I feel like things have always changed. When I appears in his music video for "I started as a musician at 16, I was still listening Believe In You." "I like that song. As to cassettes, and before that, it was records and a matter of fact, I was in the hospital 8-tracks. Then, of course, the big CD came and with my son and at the time, I that was fun, and then it became the digital didn't even know I had a music age. I think the digital age has shown us that video for that song. I was so moved there are different ways of consuming the and so impressed by Derek that I music but the hunger to consume the music actually called him and we became has only grown. It is harder to make albums friends. I asked him to write, direct because people don't listen to albums as much and choreograph the music video but it's interesting that the actual album is for 'Higher.' Wait until you see it, he is coming back. It's the fact that I think people unb elievable and the music video is

A series of multi-platinum, chart-topping a lbums fol lowe d including "C a l l Me NEWS & NOTES

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On his career-def ining moments, he responded, "I don't think there is a moment that hasn't helped define me: my failures and my biggest successes. The truth is I think that the more personal moments in my life have defined me and those have transitioned into me as an artist."

enough passion to make music their life. I new producers and Paul McCartney, Bob think that's a wonderful gift," he added.

Rock, Greg Wells, Alan Chang, and Spicy G, and I worked with writers that I had never If he were to have any superpower, he noted w r itt e n b e fore an d I u s e d d i f fe re nt arrangements," he elaborated. that it would be "the power of healing."

On his definition of the word success, the crooner said, "Being true to yourself, and being able to go to sleep at night, and have the lights turned out, and be really honest with yourself, and still feel that you have respect for yourself. It's a tough thing to do, it's tough to be honest with yourself."

PHOTO: NORMAN JEAN ROY

Irresponsible," "Crazy Love," "To Be Loved," and "Christmas." His previous album "Love" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 all-genre charts. Bublé has sold over 75 million albums during the course of his illustrious music career.

"My family and I have been through a lot," he admitted. Every person in this world is going to go through adversity, and they are going to go through pain and loss. The one thing it does give us is perspective, and that perspective has given me the ability to be grateful. Honestly, I For h i s f a n s , B u b l é am grateful for my life and I hope that comes r e m a r k e d a b o u t out in my music," he added.

"Higher," "I made this album for the fans. The For young and aspiring singer-songwriters, truth is 20 years and 70 Bublé said, "If you have fallen in love with million records, and I music, you have already won. There is no loss don't want to say I'm in having the greatest romance in the world. micromanaged but every note you've ever Your passion, love, and marriage to music will heard is me," he said. never hurt you and it will never let you down, you are never alone."

"Even though I am so proud of those records, I wanted a chance for the listener to have a really "It is actually a wonderful way to work through fresh take on Michael Bublé. I didn't want to the greatest and the worst things that happen change styles, I just wanted them to get a very in your life. I am excited for anyone who has fresh take. I went out and worked with brand

"I wanted to give the audience a fresh take on my music but what ended up happening was that I got a fresh take too," Bublé concluded.

To learn more about global music star Michael Bublé and his new music, you can visit his official website, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

strategy στρατηγική

Endy Zemenides is the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), a national advocacy organization for the Greek American community. To learn more about HALC, visit www.hellenicleaders.com

THE NEXT PHASE

By Endy Zemenides For the last two years, both the Mitsotakis government and the Biden Administration have worked on a White House visit for the Prime Minister to mark the new highs the bilateral relationship has reached. This meeting was intended to be part of the celebration of Greece’s Bicentennial. Alas, COVID and Russia had other ideas, and the visit had to take a back seat to war and pandemics.

Yet the timing of Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ trip to Washington is fortuitous. It comes at the beginning of Greece’s next bicentennial and also marks the start of a new phase in the U.S.-Greece bilateral relationship.

Minister Dendias this past fall.

There are two temptations that must be avoided as the bilateral relationship is celebrated and an agenda is set out for the next phase that it is entering. The first is a failure to appreciate the extraordinary nature of all that has been achieved. We are about to have the fourth official visit between a Greek Prime Minister and U.S. President in six years. As discussed above, two landmark pieces of legislation were passed in c ons e c ut i ve C ong re s s e s . A m e r i c an corporate giants are investing in Greece.

Record number of American tourists are visiting Greece. I could go on and on, but there has not been an equivalent period in the U.S.-Greece relationship in living memory.

The backdrop of this meeting is significant.

Since the pre-COVID Mitsotakis visit to Washington, bilateral relations have been dynamic and have included the following We must also avoid the temptation of t r i u mp h a l i s m a n d re a l i z e t h at b i g developments: achievements – and not merely (1) The Eastern Mediterranean Security and improvements on the margins – are still Energy Partnership Act (the “EastMed ahead of us. And since politics is the art of the Act”), signed into law immediately before possible, we should have a laser focus on PM Mitsotakis’ visit with President Trump, what is immediately attainable and not just has started to be implemented. Increased mere aspirations. military education spending for Greece (and Cyprus receiving such assistance for the first It might not be as “sexy” as speculating about time), the establishment of a formal “3 + 1” F35 sales, the East Mediterranean Gas process and infrastructure within the State Pipeline, or security guarantees, but Department, and the limited waiver of the deepening U.S.-Greece economic ties should arms embargo on Cyprus are among the be the priority for this next phase. steps that have already been taken.

Early in the Trump administration, (2) Although full implementation of the Congress passed the Better Utilization of EastMed Act is still outstanding, the bilateral Investments Leading to Development relationship and regional developments have (BUILD) Act to counter China’s Belt and been so dynamic that successor legislation – Road Initiative. At the end of the Trump t h e U . S . - G r e e c e D e f e n s e a n d administration, the new US International Interparliamentary Partnership Act, which Development Finance Corporation (DFC) strengthened defense cooperation and established a foothold in Greece and the created a mechanism through with the U.S. Balkans as per legislation authored by Congress could work with the parliaments of Senator Chris Murphy – who visited Greece Greece, Cyprus and Israel – was passed and this past summer. signed into law last December.

DFC was assigned an indispensable role with (3) A new Mutual Defense Cooperation regards to U.S. interests in Southeast Europe.

Agreement (MDCA) was executed by U.S. Title 1 Section 102(b) of the BUILD Act Secretary of State Blinken and Greek Foreign states that DFC, in addition to low-income 42

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countries, will operate in “countries in transition from nonmarket to market economies, in order to complement the development assistance objectives, and advance the foreign policy interests, of the United States.”

The DFC has already made significant progress in recapturing economic influence from Russian and Chinese interests. The DFC’s assistance to promote American investment in Greece’s ports and shipyards has tied Greece’s Western partners to critical and strategic infrastructure developments. It also sent a clear signal that the U.S. will not cede the playing field in the Western Balkans and Aegean to Russia or China.

As the United States looks to Greece to play a major role when it comes to green and sustainable energy in a region that has traditionally been overly reliant on coal and other fossil fuels (and much of that being Russian gas), the DFC can speed up such developments. Title II Section 201(f) of the BUILD Act explicitly gives DFC authority to engage in “special projects and programs” in renewable energy. Many countries in the region emerged from economic crises only to be hit hard again by COVID and by the economic fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The DFC can encourage projects that will advance both the goal energy indep endence f rom Russia and t he reduction of carbon emissions.

The pieces are in place. The Biden Administration’s DFC finally has a Senate confirmed CEO – Scott Nathan. The new US Ambassador to Greece – George Tsunis – has deep ties with corporate America and can recruit the exact type of investors who would make the most of DFC investments.

Outgoing Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt is set to become the next Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, and no one has a better sense of how the DFC can advance both energy independence and a green energy revolution. Come May 16, President Biden must commit the DFC to playing a major role in Greece.

The Cathedral School Makes A Comeback: An Interview with Principal Meropi Kyriacou

by Athena Efter The Cathedral School has a bright future and more than a fair chance to get back to its core values of educating students in the ancient Greek tradition of paideia and the pursuit of excellence. Below is NEO’s interview with Ms. Kyriacou.

is precisely on the shaping of identity in individuals - not just students - in relation to the events and experiences they are immersed in within the New York diaspora community.

What made you decide to fo l l o w t h e p at h o f a n educator?

Cathredral School Principal Meropi Kyriacou

In the past seven years, The Cathedral School, a flagship school of the NYC Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, has gone through several administrative changes that almost brought the school to its knees and caused it to nearly crumble. What was once a thriving preschool, elementary and middle school, under the leadership of Sonia Celestin, began its decline upon her dismissal. Under her tenure, the school had an enrollment and retention of 200 students, a solid track record of student acceptances into top public, private, and specialized NYC high schools, and significant f u n d i n g f r o m t h e S t av r o s Ni a r c h o s Foundation. Then it fell victim to internal strife involving the school, the Archdiocese, and School Board incompetency. With the dissolution of the middle school, dwindling enrollment, administrative inconsistencies, and several other factors that led to the near dismantling of this once touted “hidden gem”, does the school stand a chance? It does now, and it’s here to stay. With the recent appointment of Meropi Kyriacou as principal,

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Although my studies and career a few years ago did not foreshadow my involvement with pedagogy, it arose "accidentally" when I arrived in the U.S. 11 years ago. The energy in the classroom and my interest both from an academic research perspective but also personally in the Greek community, especially for these new generations, won m e o v e r. T h e g e r m o f perfectionism led me to d e e p e n my k n o w l e d g e towards this direction. I would also like to acknowledge the help, support and guidance of the principals and colleagues in all the community schools I have worked with to date.

Archbishop Elpidophoros with school pupils

I read that you have several degrees in different fields. How do you apply these branches of study to your role as a principal?

Whatever one acquires as knowledge contributes to who one is and how one continues to operate in life. In general, knowledge broadens your horizons not only professionally but mainly spiritually. I would say that my first degrees helped and still help in all the administrative and l e a d e r s h i p resp onsibilities I have taken on so far.

They help me study, analyze, maneuver and evolve in ever ything that arises in the workplace every day.

My studies in the humanities at the postgraduate, research and doctoral level have largely determined my development in the education field, as my research focus

The Cathedral School has been through several administrative changes after 2015, which have challenged student enrollment and retention. What are your thoughts on the elimination of the Middle school? Any plans to bring it back?

The school as an academic institution and symbol of the community paid a high toll amidst these changes which eventually led to the closure of the Middle school. I took the principal’s position of the school in September of 2022, at a time when enrollment was at an all-time low. This was a huge part of what motivated me to undertake the effort to contribute to its future rise and evolution. I am pleased to announce the reopening of the Cathedral Middle School in September of 2023.

always meet the interest of Greeks and non-Greeks. Their contact with the Greek culture and the Greek element in general, especially the more positively it happens, favors and creates the new generations of philhellenes.

and goals of the school.

Maintaining the quality of the program we provide is essential, as well as continuing the classic approach of common core courses while also enhancing the arts & sciences with

What is your teaching philosophy and how does it relate to The Cathedral School’s mission?

I believe that every student as well as every human being is unique and deserves the required attention. The teacher is the most essential tool in the classroom in terms of each student's progress and needs to always be flexible and ready to meet different needs. Educators are responsible for providing all possible mental input to the student, to ensure h i s / h e r s m a x i mu m a c a d e m i c development. The teacher-student relationship is also crucial. Children learn more easily when they feel safe.

At the Cathedral school, our goal is programs like the ones we introduced this always this individualized approach year: Musical Theater, STEM and Robotics. to the needs of our students, and their The study of Greek language, history, and substantial academic preparation.

What do you find most rewarding about culture are an important part of The being an educator?

Cathedral School curriculum. How do you What do you hope to achieve in your tenure convey its relevance to non-identifying as principal?

The success of the students and their overall Greek students or children with no progress as individuals I think is the most I will talk exclusively about the Cathedral important reward of every teacher. connection to the diaspora? school and I would say that what I would like At the Cathedral school and as in most to achieve is to see this school flourish again. Lastly, there has always been a debate about parochial schools in America, Greek is taught The Cathedral School is at the showcase of all whether or not the school is parochial or as a foreign/second language due to the the schools of the Archdiocese of America and private. How do you address the difference? passage of multiple generations’ of Greeks as such it should have and who choose to attend them. Students with a should be treated and cared non-Greek background are taught Greek as a for by all. The school's “I am pleased to announce foreign language. This is the reason for the academic program is strong systematic retraining of our teachers so they and I would like to see it the reopening of the Cathedral have the skills to teach in this way. Morals, grow along with the number Middle School in September of 2023." customs and modern Greek history are of students. For me this is the sporadically included in the material priority. The daily routine of Principal Meropi Kyriacou depending on the celebrations and historical the faculty also contributes anniversaries. Both students of Greek and to the overall success of any non-Greek origin are educated through the program. Also, the creation teaching of these historical events, poetry and and maintenance of a good group of teachers Is there one? How does the school seek to music. Ancient Greek history and philosophy with constructive relationships between them identify itself? relate to universal concepts and content and will perfectly develop and deliver the purpose Parochial schools are private institutions.

However, they do not cease to be parochial, since the parish often determines their own development, which we have seen happen to the Greek community with the closure of many of them. Their relationship with the church and the parish is sometimes strong and sometimes not. They are governed by the respective school board in which the presidents, vice-presidents and priests of the parish always participate, and then the parish is governed by the parish council. The Cathedral School is a parochial private school, since the school board includes members of the parish council, and the board directly reports to the Archbishop.

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MidAmerica Productions presents the Oxford Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall Debut with GRAMMY Violinist Maxim Vengerov engagements including its debut at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen in June 2019.

by Matt Herman*

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director and Founder Marios Papadopoulos with GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Maxim Vengerov Music Director and Founder Marios Pap a d o p o u l o s c o n d u c t s t h e O x f o r d Philharmonic Orchestra – praised as ‘excellent’ by Gramophone magazine and ‘thoroughly impressive’ by BBC Music Magazine – in their Carnegie Hall Debut on Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. MidAmerica Productions Founder and General Music Director Peter Tiboris proudly presents the inaugural U.S. appearance of the orchestra, which features GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Maxim Vengerov in a program of Sarasate’s Navarra, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1.

World-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov’s performance with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra follows an extensive collaborative relationship with the Orchestra dating back to 2013. Over an unprecedented four-season collaboration, Vengerov performed with the Orchestra across the U.K. and together they recorded the violin concerti of Brahms and Sibelius as well as Mendelssohn’s Octet.

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The Oxford Philharmonic was appointed the inaugural Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford in 2002, the first T h e O x f o r d relationship of its kind between an orchestra Philharmonic Orchestra and higher education institution. prides itself on making exceptional and unique World-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov musical exp eriences, became the Oxford Philharmonic’s first ever b r i n g i n g n e w a n d Artist in Residence following his remarkable engaging interpretations debut with the Orchestra in 2013. Over an to well-loved works in the unprecedented four-season collaboration, classical repertoire. An Vengerov performed with the Orchestra e n s e m b l e f r o m t h e across the UK, recorded the violin concertos Ju i l l i a rd pre - c o l l e g e o f B r a h m s a n d S i b e l i u s a s w e l l a s division, led by Vengerov, Mendelssohn’s Octet. In July 2018 Vengerov joins the Orchestra for appeared at Cheltenham Music Festival and Sarasate’s Navarra.

Saffron Hall with the Soloists of the Oxford Philharmonic – a tight-knit group of Tickets, ranging from $20 musicians described by The Times as ‘glorious to $175, are available individual players’ and by Jessica Duchen as ‘a beginning today at 11 line-up to match any top-notch international AM, and may be obtained chamber ensemble and probably beat them on b y c o n t a c t i n g their own turf ’.

CarnegieCharge at 212247-7800, visiting the The Philharmonic celebrated its 20th Carnegie Hall Box Office anniversary in the 2018/19 season with a gala at 57th Street and 7th concert at the Barbican Centre in London, Avenue in New York City, featuring a star-studded line-up including o r g o i n g o n l i n e t o long-term collaborators Maxim Vengerov, carnegiehall.org. For Anne-Sophie Mutter and Martha Argerich. more information, contact Molly Waymire at It has also appeared on several recordings 9 1 7 - 5 1 3 - 3 0 8 0 o r including works by Nimrod Borenstein for molly.waymire@piptix.co Chandos, cello concertos by Shostakovich and m. For the most up-to-date COVID protocol, Mats Lidström (Solo Cello of the Oxford including vaccination requirements, visit Philharmonic), both conducted by Vladimir carnegiehall.org.

Ashkenazy, on BIS Records, A Merton Christmas with Merton College Choir, Established in 1998, the Oxford Philharmonic Haydn’s The Creation with the Choir of New Orchestra is dedicated to the highest College, and the Handel/Mendelssohn Acis standards of artistic excellence and musical and Galatea with Christ Church Cathedral integrity, and strives to create bold musical Choir. The Orchestra’s most recent disc The statements with every concert it presents. Its Enlightened Trumpet with soloist Paul c o n t i n u a l s e a r c h f o r e x c e l l e n c e i s Merkelo was released on Sony Classical in underpinned by the uncompromising September 2019. standards of its Founder and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos and maintained by A partnership with J & A Beare provides the some of the finest musicians in the UK. It Orchestra’s distinguished members with attracts some of the world’s greatest artists to opp or t u n it i e s t o p l ay on St r a d i v a r i appear in concert, including Maxim Vengerov, instruments, adding a new dimension to the Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Sir sound of the Orchestra.

András Schiff, Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Nicola Benedetti and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

The Orchestra and its Music Director were awarded the City of Oxford’s Certificate of In addition to its annual concert season in Honour in 2013, in recognition of their Oxford, touring performances across the UK, contribution to education and performance in family concerts, annual Oxford Piano Festival, Oxford. and Chamber Music Series, the Orchestra is proud to present a growing list of international *)This story was first published in musicalamerica.com

Nobel Prize winning novelist Ernest Hemingway begins his account of the Smyrna Catastrophe by attempting to confuse the reader. Who are ‘they’ and who are ‘we,’ and what is the connection between the speaker and the ‘we’ in the harbour, or between the speaker and the events he describes? It is only as the piece unfolds that we begin to understand that Hemingway is describing the plight of the Greek women and children trapped at t he w ate r f ront of Smy r na , absolutely helpless, unable to escape and easy targets for the brutality of the victorious Turkish army.

ON THE QUAY AT SMYRNA: ERNEST HEMINGWAY AND 1922

by Dean Kalimniou*

mere cattle: “You didn't mind the women who were having babies as you did those with the dead ones. They had them all right.

Surprising how few of them died.

You just covered them over with something and let them go to it.

They'd always pick out the darkest place in the hold to have them. None of them minded anything once they got off the pier.” The act of birth, usually a movement from darkness to light, here is a movement into darkness and is in fact, a death.

For it is the plight of the animals that finally moves the dispassionate British soldier, not the slaughtered Smyrniotes at the quay: “The Greeks were nice chaps too. When they evacuated they had all their baggage animals they couldn't take off with them so they just broke their forelegs and dumped them into the shallow water. All those mules with their forelegs broken pushed over into the shallow water. It was all a pleasant business. My word yes a most pleasant business.”

Hemingway never got to Smyrna.

Although he provided detailed, iconic reportage of the Greek retreat from Adrianople, and the plight of the Greek refugees of Eastern Thrace, he arrived in Smyrna too late, yet his short account proved immensely influential. In Hemingway’s Elsewhere he writes: “The worst, he said, writing about the events of 1922, nearly were the women with dead babies. You Nobel Prize novelist Ernest Hemingway everyone is a victim. An elision of couldn’t get the women to give up their ethnicities take place so we are given dead babies. They’d have babies dead for neither significant action nor direction, six days. Wouldn’t give them up. Nothing but simply, endured violence. you could do about it. Had to take Humans and animals all suffer. As them away finally.”

Madame Marie, the proprietress "The worst thing was … how they screamed every of an Adrianople hotel muses: night at midnight. I do not know why they started These laconic, relentless words “They are all the same. The reflect not clarity but rather, as screaming. We were in the harbor and they were on Gre ek s and t he Tu rk s and Thomas Strychacz wrote, “the the pier and at midnight they started screaming."

Bulgars. They are all the same”. terror of events that rupture the boundary of what is rational and Ernest Hemingway, ‘On the Quai at Smyrna,’ “ In Our Time”.

Later, in his “In Our Time,” which comfortably known.” We learn opens with the Quay scene, that the speaker is on a British Hemingway will link the tragedy s h i p, i n S m y r n a h a r b o u r, of the corpses floating in the watching one of the greatest crimes of the water at Smyrna, with the senseless execution twentieth century unfold. As we do so, always did the trick.” In two short sentences, of the six anti-Venizelist officials held Hemingway, interposes between the horror of the final humiliation and dehumanisation of responsible for the Greek military defeat in the massacre, with the banality of army the victims takes place. They are an Asia Minor: “They tried to hold him up functionaries, going about their business, annoyance. Nothing more. against the wall but he sat down in a puddle of completely uninvested in the human tragedy water… When they fired the first volley, he unfolding before their eyes. Hemingway Yet there is despair behind the aloofness and was sitting in water with his head on his renders their discourse in clipped sentences, the sarcasm: “You remember the harbour. knees.”

Woosterian sentences such as: “frightful rage,” There were plenty of nice things floating “the fellow,” “topping,” and “My word yes a around it. That was the only time in my life I For Hemingway then, Smyrna is cruelty and most pleasant business.” For the officer, the got so I dreamed about things," the narrator evil madness, a symbol of the suppurating most immediate priority is not to save the confides. Yet is a despair, not borne of sores of post Great War Europe. innocent, screaming on the quayside from empathy, but rather of having to witness destruction, or to put an end to their suffering. events that disturb his aesthetic. He views the In 1966, American writer John Dos Passos Instead, it is to shut them up. “We used to turn Greek women, pulled on board the British published “The Best Times,” a memoir in the searchlight on them to quiet them. That ship and languishing in the hold, as animals, 50

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which he recalls his 1921 sojourn in Constantinople, reporting on the GrecoTu r k i s h w a r. He av i l y i n f lu e n c e d by Hemingway he wrote: “A grubby little war was going on in Asia Minor… One port on the Sea of Marmara was crowded to the waterline with desperate Greeks, men, women and children, whose villages had been burned by the Turks.

Another was stuffed with Turks in the same plight…The irony was that the Greeks and Turks and their pathetic women and crying children all looked so much alike it would have taken a linguistic expert to tell them apart.”

political background from the Greco-Turkish war and the ensuing Catastrophe, and instead focusing on an immediate event, masters of the art of Omission, where there is an omission from the text of overt descriptions of some crucial matter around which the emotions or themes of the text pivot, both Hemingway and Dos Passos achieve an intensity of focus that uses the fate of t he Gre eks, as a metonym for the plight of the entire world after the ravages of the First Wo r l d Wa r.

Hemingway’s depictions of the Catastrophe as they appear in “In Our Time,” are thus intrinsic to Anglophone cultural conceptualisations of Greece linked as they are to the consequences of violence.

In “The Colossus of Maroussi,” a book that is key to the construction of Modern Greece in Western eyes, Henry Miller acknowledged the key i mp o r t a n c e o f He m i n g w ay ’s The inference is clear: this is not a crime accounts of the Catastrophe in placing the against a particular race. It is a crime against tragedy into its enduring global context: humanity itself and all the innocent are “The Smyrna affair, which far outweighs the victims. horrors of the First World War… has A master of laconic irony in the style of somehow soft-pedaled and almost expunged Hemingway, Dos Passos is scathing in his from the memory of present day man. The oblique condemnation of those who chose to focus on the political, rather than the human dimensions of the calamitous events of the Asia Minor Catastrophe. In his 1927 ‘Orient Express,’ there is a remarkable scene where the Greek Archbishop of Samsounta in Pontus who was Germanos Karavangelis, an earlier protagonist in the Macedonian Struggle, announces to a group of foreign journalists that the Greek population is being expelled from the city: “The archbishop’s full lips are at the rim of his tiny coffee cup. He drinks quickly and meticulously. In one’s mind beyond the red plush a vision of dark crowds crawling inland over sunshriveled hills. The women were crying and wailing in the streets of Samsoun, says the officer. The news must be sent out, continues the archbishop; the world must know the barbarity of the Turks, America must know…Again in one’s mind beyond the plush, and the polished phrases… the roads at night under the terrible bloodorange moon of Asia, and the wind of the defiles blowing dust among the huddled p eculiar horror which clings to this women, stinging the dark attentive eyes of the catastrophe is due not alone to the savagery children, and far off on the heat-baked hills a and barbarism of the Turks but to the supine acquiescence of the big powers… And as long sound of horsemen.” as human beings can sit and watch with hands As David Roessel writes in his chapter on the folded while their fellow-men are tortured and Quai of Smyrna in “In Byron’s Shadow: butchered so long will civilisation be a hollow Modern Greece in the English and American mockery, a wordy phantom suspended like a Imagination,” by deliberately excluding the mirage above a sea of murdered carcasses.”

So many murdered carcasses later, that final hollow mockery of civilisation belongs to Hemingway himself in his poem about the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne: “They All Made the Peace – What is Peace:” “Well what do you boys know this morning?

Oh they’re shrewd. They’re shrewd… … Don’t talk about M. Venizelos. He is wicked.

You can see it. His beard shows it..

Then there is Mosul And the Greek Patriarch What about the Greek Patriarch?”

Never forget the hollow mockery. Remember Smyrna.

*) Dean Kalimniou (Kostas Kalymnios) is an attorney, poet, author and journalist based in Melbourne Australia. He has published 7 poetry collections in Greek and has recently released his bi-lingual children’s book: “Soumela and the Magic Kemenche.” He is also the Secretary of the Panepirotic Federation of Australia.

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The Thalia Potamianos Lecture by Prof. Peter Frankopan The Thalia Potamianos Lecture for The Gennadius Library American School of Classical Studies, Athens will be held on Tu e s d a y M a y 1 0 , s i x o’c l o c k a t S t .

Bartholomew's Church ,325 Park Avenue New York, featuring Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University. The speaker will be introduced by Glen. D. Lowry, David Rockefeller Director of the MoMA and welcoming remarks will be offered by Maria Georgopoulou, Director of The Gennadius Library Dr. Thalia Potamianos lead an exemplary life dedicated to public service. An Epirote, born in Constantinople in 1914, she came to Greece at 8. During WWII she organized food committees and, using her medical practice as a cover, sheltered members of the Greek resistance and Greeks of the Jewish faith. After the war she organized centers for dispossessed families, orphaned children, and veterans. Dr. Potamianos founded Greece’s first alcoholism and tox i c ol o g y t re at me nt c e nte r. In recognition of her service, she was awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of Beneficence.

The Gennadius Library, part of American School of Classical Studies at Athens, is one of the world’s most important libraries with over 110,000 volumes on Greek history, literature, and art from Antiquity until modern t i m e s . It s r i c h l y d i v e r s e collections include rare bindings, manuscripts, and works of art illuminating the Hellenic tradition and n e i g h b o r i n g c u l t u r e s . It s archives hold the papers of important politicians, literary figures, and artists, including archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann.

In the century since its founding, Dr. Frankopan at his home in Oxford (photo by Andy Lo Pò) The Library has built upon the collection of Joannes Gennadius who donated For the lecture reservations you can email the initial 30,000 volumes, “in the confident ReplyGennadius@yahoo.com or call (862) hope that the American School may be 438-528. enabled to become a world center for the study of Greek history, literature, and art.”

around 1864 but his first memories were from Cairo.

At age nine he run away from his father and boarded a French ship. Two years later he ended up in Panama where he worked in the construction of its canal before an outbreak of malaria would force him to move to California. By 1896 Pantages had settled in San Francisco and owned a restaurant at 121 Fifth Street.

In December of that year, he was arrested for smuggling opium, but the charges were dropped after he had established that he was training for a prize fight during the night of the alleged crime.

From the Shores of the Aegean to the Edge of the Pacific

Joining the Yukon Gold Rush in 1898, Pantages moved to Dawson City where he met and eventually p ar t ne re d w it h d anc e r “Klondike Kate” Rockwell in

A tribute to Alexander Pantages (1864/75–1936)

By Ilias Chrissochoidis, Ph.D.

Few Greek-American stories can match the roller coaster life of Alexander Pantages, a penniless boy from the Aegean who built a theatrical empire in the American West before retiring in public humiliation.

As with many first-generation immigrants, Pantages’ early life is shrouded in mist. He was told he had been born “on one of the Dodecanese Islands, off the coast of Greece”

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independent career. (“I have no partners except the wife and children ... I want to direct everything myself. I want to decide everything myself. If I stop, I am lost. It is my way.”)

theatrical enterprises. Later he would claim that his first theater was making $3000 a day for four years, but the half million dollars he made was finally lost in bad deals. With the remaining $4000, he moved to Seattle and bought the Crystal Theatre in 1903. An illiterate man who spoke broken English with a thick accent, Pantages was ridiculed and bitterly fought against by the c i t y ’s t h e a t r i c a l establishment. His inability to book great attractions forced him to branch out opening theatres in Spokane, D e nve r, and Davenport. Several double crossings by his partners led him to pursue a fiercely

Hard work, an exceptional memory, and personal involvement in all aspects of his business brought Pantages quick success and led to an Alexandrian campaign of theater house acquisitions and construction. (“I shall not be happy till I own a chain of houses from the Atlantic to the Pacific—from the Tobaggans to the Everglades.”) During the 1910s his theater circuit dominated the American West and by 1918 he was “the sole owner of $5 million [$94 million in 2022] worth of theaters.”

The rapid growth of the film industry during the 1920s put pressure on his vaudeville empire and eventually led to its demise in 1929. In mid-April of that year, he reached a tentative agreement with Joseph Kennedy to sell his entire chain of 15 theaters and theatrical real estate to the Radio-KeithOrpheum corporation (RKO) for $14 million.

left a man dead and several others injured.

This was followed by his famous arrest on August 9, on charges of attempted rape against 17-year old dancer Eunice Pringle during a meeting in his office. Bad timing (the weeks preceding Black Monday), a foolish attempt on his part to influence witnesses, a hostile District Attorney, a severe judge, and public outcry fueled by William Hearst’s tabloids, led to a prison sentence of one-to-fifty years.

Pantages would remain incarcerated in San Quentin until June 1930, when in the aftermath of several heart attacks and hospitalization, he was released on a $100,000 bond. He finally was granted retrial two years later. This time his brilliant lawyer Jerry Giesler was able to dismiss P r i n g l e’s a c c o u n t a s improbable, to question her moral character and to suggest ulterior motives in her accusations. Although finally acquitted, Pantages was left with legal and medical bills worth $252,095.

Difficulties rose, however, and he finally sold (July 25) only six theaters to RKO for $4.5–5 million and to transfer, on August 7, two theatres, including the flagship on 7th and Hill Road in Los Angeles, to Warner Brothers. Reported at the time as cash payments, his family later claimed that they were paid in stocks of the respective companies, which were soon to be depreciated. Pantages kept to himself only the crown jewel of his empire, the Hollywood Pantages, which would open on June 4, 1930.

The stock market crash of 1929 found Pantages fighting legal battles that ruined his health and claimed much of his fortune. On June 16, his wife Lois caused a car accident that

Pa nt a g e s always maintaine d t h a t Pringle had framed him, and later commentators speculated that Joseph Kennedy had bribed her to compromise the Greek magnate and acquire his theaters at half price.

Ru m or s ab out Pr i ng l e’s confiding her “secret” before d y i ng u n d e r s u s pi c i ou s circumstances are based on the collation of her uncle’s suicide (November 25, 1929) and her disappearance from the public eye (she actually died in 1996). As she admitted in the retrial, she had been pursuing Pantages to book her dance number since May 1929: he could easily have seduced her then (and why would one rape a dance girl that one had refused employment three times?). It is almost certain that Pringle was after money, for the fatal meeting with him came only days after Pantages was reported flushed with millions from the sale of his theaters; even after his conviction and first heart attack she would still attack him with a $1,000,000 damage lawsuit. The absence of evidence against Kennedy is not proof that he may not have taken advantage of the scandal, especially since the Los Angeles Examiner, owned by his friend Hearst, was the forerunner of attacks against Pantages. In hindsight, it could be said that Pantages was a casualty of the brutal corporate wars fought in the motion picture industry during the late 1920s.

and Alexander Pantages is back in the show business—100 per cent. I tried oil, mining and other investments, but my business is the theater and it’s great to be back.” His dream was not to come true this time. He died in his sleep from heart failure on February 17, 1936.

He was survived by his wife Lois, his two sons Rodney and Lloyd, his daughter Carmen and step-daughter Dixie. His estate was reported to be a mere $5,026. Among Hollywood notables attending his funeral were the Skouras brothers, who would succeed him on the Greek throne of Hollywood.

Further reading: • Theodore Saloutos, “Alexander Pantages: Theater Magnate of the West,” The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 57(4) (October 1966), 137–147.

• Taso G. Lagos, “Poor Greek to ‘Scandalous’ Hollywood Mogul: Alexander Pantages and the Anti-Immigrant Narratives of William Randolph Hearst’s Los Angeles Examiner,” Journal of Modern Greek Studies 30(1) (May 2012), 45–74.

Ilias Chrissochoidis (https://web.stanford.edu/~ichriss/) is a Stanford-based research historian, author, and composer. He has pioneered research on Skouras’ life and humanitarian achievements, and has made numerous archival discoveries on modern Greek history.

Pantages ended his retirement on November 21, 1935, when he announced plans for expanding his two-theatre company: “The depression is over. The court tragedy is passed NEWS & NOTES

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Χριστός Ανέστη - Christ is Risen - Христос воскресе!

Pascha is finally here, but our world, as is its wont, is in a mess! The war in Ukraine is not abating, it's intensifying, and no end in this conflict is in sight. Two brother peoples, Orthodox Christians, are killing each other and they couldn't even agree on a cease fire for Easter, our holiest of h ol i d ay s ! T h e Mot h e r C hu rch of Constantinople that gave Slavs their faith, alphab et and intro duced them to civilization, is busy concocting the holy myrrh and it seems she couldn't find the time to make a plea, even through the UN, to both parties to cease hostilities for the holidays! They probably wouldn't have paid attention, but it would be something and it would carry special meaning.

However, the Mother Church isn't free, for everything she has to have the approval of the Turkish authorities, including on whom she will have as Ecumenical Patriarch! According to Turkish law, the Ecumenical Patriarchate is nothing more

than a local religious institution tending to the needs of the “Istanbul Romans”! And it functions under the Prefecture of Istanbul and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. No wonder then why so little if nothing is heard about this war from the Patriarch, especially as Turkey is playing both sides in the conflict, getting huge benefits at the expense of all the others.

Speaking of the ...devil who wears ...Pravda, a few days ago, Turkey invaded full force northern Iraq with the pretext of fighting terrorism! Of course, no international outcry, no live coverage in our infotainment channels.

After all, Iraq is used to getting invaded and Turkey to invade, starting with Cyprus in 1974!

Happy Easter, friends, enjoy and maintain sanity in our insane times in which stupidity is the norm and mediocrity the prevailing order. We won't win, but we won't stop fighting!!!

Vladimir Kara-Murza, OXI Courage Award Recipient Arrested in Russia

criminal prosecution.” He continued, that following the invasion, Putin moved swiftly against "what remained of independent media in Russia."

The Russian government in March enacted new restrictions, criminalizing media from using the word "invasion" to describe the The day before his conflict in Ukraine. Those who violate them a r r e s t , K a r a - could face up to 15 years in prison.

Murza appeared on MSNBC from The day of his arrest CNN aired an interview M o s c o w a n d in which Kara-Murza said: displayed his #OXIcourage by "This regime that is in power in our country f o r c e f u l l y today is not just corrupt, it is not just s p e a k i n g o u t kleptocratic, it is not just authoritarian, it is a against Vladimir regime of murderers."

Putin's repression i n R u s s i a a n d A d ay af te r h is ar re st , t he Hels i n k i i n v a s i o n o f Commission put out a statement expressing Ukraine. As the alarm at Kara-Murza’s arrest and said: Greeks said " O X I ! " t o t h e "[Kara-Murza] is not a criminal but a true N a z i s , K a r a - patriot motivated by the potential of a Murza said "NO!" democratic future for Russia and freedom for Vladimir Kara-Murza is receiving the OXI Courage Award its people. He must be allowed access to his to Putin. from Michael Psaros lawyer and should be released immediately.”

On April 11, OXI Courage Award recipient "Thousands of people are coming out across Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested by Russian Russia to say “NO!” this is not my war, this is According to the Helsinki Commission, "On police in Moscow. The Washington OXI Day Putin’s war, this is not a war conducted by the April 11, Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained Foundation expressed great concern and Russian people. We all know the dangers, the on the street near his Moscow home. He called for his immediate release. Kara-Murza price of being in opposition to Vladimir currently is being held in the Khamovniki has survived two attempts on his life by Putin’s regime...More than 15,000 people were police station in the Central Administrative Russian forces, and both times his wife was detained by police since February 24 for District of Moscow, where authorities have demonstrating against Putin’s invasion of denied him access to his legal counsel in told he would not survive.

Ukraine. I have been twice poisoned [in 2015 violation of his constitutional rights. Reports Yet he returned to Moscow to fight for a n d 2 0 1 7 ] b y freedom. When he received the 2018 Courage o p e r a t i v e s o f t h e Award, Foundation Advisory Board Member F S B ( t h e R u s s i a n Michael Psaros introduced Kara-Murza as “a f e d e r a l s e c u r i t y man who is changing the world.” In his service)…friend and colleague Boris acceptance speech, Kara-Murza said:“ Nemts ov, was “Moral courage can be stronger than military murdere d, gunne d might as the people of Greece showed in down. There is no October of 1940 when the Axis ultimatum was doubt that Vladimir answered with one short word: OXI!” There is Putin ordered that nothing despotic regimes hate more than assassination. This is the price of freedom in hearing this word.

Russia...But we also The award I have the great honor of receiving k n o w t h e r e a r e tonight is presented for courage. I don’t know millions of people in if we are courageous…but what we certainly R u s s i a w h o Vladimir with his wife Evgenia are is unwilling to be complicit in the crimes of categorically oppose at the OXI Day Foundation event Putin’s regime and a regime that claims to everything it’s speak on behalf of our doing, both in terms of internal indicate that he has been charged with an country. We say NO to its repression and external aggression. administrative offense. It remains unclear if he cruelty, to its corruption, to Russia is my country. Russia is my is undergoing interrogation while in custody. its constant lying. And we home and this is where I have to be.

His trial is scheduled for April 12." look forward to one day saying YES to a Russia that Less than two weeks prior to his "Just as Vladimir Kara-Murza paid respect respects the rights and arrest, Kara-Murza testified before and homage to the Greek people's incredible freedoms of its citizens and the Helsinki Commission at a March courage at that pivotal moment in WWII that plays a constructive 29 hearing examining Putin’s war on history, we must pay respect and homage to role in international affairs.

We know that day will Vladimir Kara-Murza truth, where witnesses discussed the his incredible courage at this pivotal moment Kremlin’s use of propaganda and in modern history,” said Washington Oxi Day come. And we will continue to do everything we can to with NEO's Demetrios censorship. He said, “those who speak Foundation President and Founder Andy out against this war are now liable for Manatos. bring that day a little closer." Rhompotis 74

APRIL 2022

NEWS & NOTES