Leadership renewal at the conference of the Federation of Cypriots

And it was historic because it convened under the shadow of the 50th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus and provided the opportunity for delegates from across the United States to present the work and initiatives they have undertaken to raise awareness and mobilize the community to awaken the political world, Congress, and the White House to the just struggle of Cypriots and Hellenism everywhere for the liberation and reunification of the island.

The reports of President Kyriakos Papastylianos, Treasurer Loukas Georgiou, Chairman of the Audit Committee Michalis Hadjiloukas and the remaining members of the presidency and the board of directors came to prove that transparency and good administration are the hallmarks of the administration of the Federation of Cypriot Organizations of America.

Furthermore, the fact that the recent official dinner held about two months ago at the same event center left a surplus of $70,000 – a record for the time – confirms what we have mentioned above.

The conference began with the election of the presidium headed by the former president of the Federation and current supreme president of AHEPA, Mr. Savvas Tsivikos, and was exemplary both in terms of procedures and organization, as well as in terms of its order and content.

The new Consul of Greece in New York, Petros Dorizas, attended the conference and delivered a speech, congratulating the organizing committee for the impeccable organization of the conference and focusing attention on the support of Greece and Hellenism everywhere in the struggle of the Republic of Cyprus and Cypriots everywhere.

The head of the church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Brooklyn, Fr. Evagoras Konstantinidis, conveyed the blessings of the Archbishop of America, Mr. Elpidophoros, who due to commitments was unable to attend. He also made extensive reference to his ties with Cyprus and to the experiences from the recent AHEPA conference in Cyprus.

Scholarship Award

The vice president of the Federation for Education and Religious Affairs, Margarita Irakleous-Lika, referred to the work of the Scholarship Committee and the criteria by which the nine students who received the scholarships worth a total of $22,500 were selected.

This money comes from the Federation’s Scholarship Fund, as well as from donors Stelios and Elli Aniftou, the Cyprus-American Chamber of Commerce, the Archdiocese of America, Maria Pappa, Kyriakos Papastylianou, Savvas Tsivikos, “Terrace on the Park” and Stamatiki Valioti.

The scholarships, worth $2,500 each, were awarded to students George Vassiliou, Julia Nicole Gifford, Chrysanthi Nicole Frangou, Eleni Dimitriadi, Phoebe – Eleni Chambers, Nikolaos Angelakos, Andreas Sokratous, Andrias Konstantinou and Alexandros Christou.

Election of new leadership

The conference ended with the elections for the president and the new board of directors and the Audit Committee.

The delegates renewed their confidence in the president Kyriakos Papastylianou and in the majority of the members of the board and the council.

The Board of Directors of the Federation of Cypriot Organizations of America is composed of Kyriakos Papastylianou (President), Margarita Irakleous-Lika (Executive Vice President), Despina Axiotaki (Vice President of Philanthropic Activities), Andreas Christou (Vice President of Education and Religious Affairs), Yiannis Christodoulides (Vice President of Culture), Stelios Tsapas (Vice President of Public Relations), Arianna Christou (Treasurer), and Toula Hatziioannou (General Secretary).

The Board of Directors is comprised of Christos Achiillidis, Orestis Anastasiou, Loukas Georgiou, Michalis Hatziloukas, Konstantinos Polydorou, Georgios Varvatsoulis and the president of NEPOMAK, Andreas Lampiris.

Finally, we should note that on the occasion of the conference, the Federation published a special volume, which highlights the activities of the Federation and the member associations and which received favorable comments from the participants.