Inaugural Address by Bro Ken Matziorinis

Ahepa Family Installations
October 4, 2009
Inaugural Address by Ken Matziorinis
President of the Montreal Chapter of Ahepa

Fellow Brothers and Sisters, Ahepa Canada President Nick Aroutzidis, Distinguished Guests and Friends of Ahepa, I welcome you to our Installation Ceremony and I thank you for being here among us to witness the taking of our Oath of Office. I am sure that our Late Bro. Nicholas Logothetis is also here.

AHEPA is the largest volunteer organization of Greeks of the Diaspora. It represents the interests and serves the needs of Hellenes outside Greece. Founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, it has successfully laboured for over 87 years, 81 years in Canada and for 80 years here in Montreal. With Chapters all over the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus and Greece, it counts more than 15,000 members among its ranks that includes not only individuals of Greek descent, but Philhellenes as well. Originally founded to protect Greek immigrants from the discrimination that was then rampant in the South of the United States, it has played a leading role in the civil rights movement in America, and has helped succeeding generations of Hellenes integrate in their host countries and participate in the civil, political and economic affairs of their adopted homelands.

The mission of Ahepa is the promotion of education, Hellenism, civic responsibility, philanthropy and individual and family excellence. It embodies the ideals and spirit of Classical Greece, which it nourishes, honors and promotes. AHEPA stands for education, Hellenism and progress, the progress that comes from the pursuit of liberty, respect for the individual .the anthropos- , and a sense of responsibility toward the community .the synanthropos- , the high ideals and qualities that made Hellas the birthplace of democracy and the fountain of Western Civilization. I am very proud to be an Ahepan and so, I am sure are you.

The Ahepa Family is an organization in structure and a fraternity in soul. It is a brotherhood and sisterhood of like minded men and women who join together for a common cause, the cause of Hellenism and progress. In Ahepa we strive to conduct our affairs in unity, mutual respect and cooperation. Our compass is the good of the community to help where help is needed. In Ahepa although we have ranks and offices we treat each other with tolerance, temperance and respect and we work together as equals. In Ahepa there are no bosses and no followers, but free willing individuals who volunteer our time and energy for something greater and higher than our own self-interest. Ahepans work very hard for the good of their community. Anybody who has been involved in organizing a charitable activity knows and understands how much time, money, effort and self-sacrifice goes into mounting a successful event. And yes, working in Ahepa is not only about giving of yourself, it is also about meeting people, making friends, learning, developing new skills and having lots of fun in the process. I have been a member for over 20 years and I am speaking from experience. Ahepa has become my extended family. Ahepa is about dreaming, striving and achieving, and leaving something behind that make us all feel proud of our accomplishments.

This year we have many challenges to meet, many objectives to achieve. Let me begin with the objectives. Our Montreal Chapters have been entrusted by the Supreme Lodge to host and organize the 88th International Supreme Convention of Ahepa in July, 2010. The Supreme Convention Organizing Committee has already been formed and is enthusiastically hard at work planning the activities of this international gathering of Ahepans from around the world. The Executive Director of the Supreme Lodge Brother Basil Mosaidis will be flying in from Washington, D.C. this week to confer with the Committee on the plans for the event. It has been half a century since the Supreme Convention was held in Montreal back in 1960 and it is an honour for our Chapters and for our beloved Ville de Montréal that this gathering will be held here again. Brothers and Sisters, just as the previous generation of Ahepans under the leadership of Bro George Adamakos staged one of the most successful supreme conventions of its time, let us, the sons and daughters of that generation do the same once again. Let us repeat the success of the past and even try to do better, for this convention will be remembered for many years to come by our own generation and that of our children and grandchildren.

For ten years now, Ahepa has been organizing St-Valentine’s Ball with great success. We have raised tens of thousands of dollars for the benefit of various worthy causes. St Valentine.s Ball is now part of the social calendar of the Montreal community and has greatly contributed to elevating the status of Ahepa and our community in Québec. In recent years much of our fund-raising focus has been centered in supporting the Shriner’s Hospital and the new facility that is being planned at Glen Yards where the new super hospital of the McGill University Health Centre is to be built. We are very close to meeting our goal of raising a quarter of a million dollars which in addition to helping children from all over the world will also carve in stone for eternity the name of Ahepa and the Greek flag in the Education Room of this Hospital. Just as everybody speaks of the Ahepa Hospital in Thessaloniki, so will people speak of the Ahepa Education Room at the Shriner.s Hospital here in Montreal. For those who say that more of our fundraising effort should be aimed at the needs of our own community I say you are right. But let me also tell you that had Ahepa not chosen a high profile cause like the Shriner.s Hospital which everyone knows and respects, we would not have enjoyed the same success in raising funds of this magnitude either. Nor as Ahepans should we be limited to ethnic causes, because so many other causes, whether fighting bigotry, thalassemia, or autism in children are universal causes and touch the Greek community as much as they touch every other community. In February, 2010 we will be staging again this event and our Orders need your help to continue this tradition, fulfill our pledge and make it another memorable and successful event.

I do not want to take too much of your time, but I will mention in brief the other major events we have planned for this year: The Christmas Party in late November, Ahepa Day in May, The 19th Annual Invitational Golf Tournament in July, our Invited Speaker Series at our Chapter meetings and yes the sponsoring of the Speaker Series on issues of Hellenism at the Hellenic Studies Unit of Concordia University, along with our continued support for the Hellenic Community of Montreal and its Schools.

But to be truthful and fully transparent, I also need to speak to you of the challenges we face. AHEPA is not a rich organization, nor is it composed of wealthy individuals. All the work is performed by volunteers and we do not receive even one cent in government support. We have no paid employees doing the work for us. Staging these events extracts an enormous amount of time and money from our members that often leaves them depleted and overworked. We need to broaden the involvement of existing members and widen the participation by attracting new members. I will invoke the powerful words of President John F. Kennedy by repeating what he told Americans in his inaugural speech back in 1961: “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For Your Country”. What we need to do is ask : What can we do for Ahepa, not what can Ahepa do for us. If Ahepa is perceived as an association of well-to-do Greek-Canadians it is not because we are busy making ourselves rich, but because we devote our time making our community rich. Wealth is not how big our bank account is, but how big our heart is. Yes, Ahepans are rich in their heart.

Before closing, I want to touch on two important and intertwined issues, two issues that are dearest to my heart. These two are Education and Hellenism. As you know, I have been in the field of education and consulting all my life. I have been teaching for over thirty years, I have been involved in the Greek Saturday Schools of Platon-Omeros for many years for the benefit of my daughters, so they can learn to speak and write the language of their parents and grandparents. I have served on the boards of McGill University, John Abbott College and for the last eight years on the board of Trafalgar School for Girls where I continue to serve. Education is the most precious gift you can give to an individual and by extension to the world around you. In Ahepa, we need to do more to elevate and expand our mission in this area. This past Friday Bro Andre Michalopoulos sponsored a successful fund raising event, Enosi09 that raised funds to fulfill our Chapter.s pledge to support the Hellenic Studies Unit at Concordia University where 1,500 students of Greek descent study. I salute Bro Andre.s initiative and determination in making this happen. We need to do more to further education and Hellenism in the colleges and universities and see to it that the Chair of Hellenic Studies at McGill University becomes fully funded and that we create a parallel Chair at Concordia University as well. As Greeks we have been blessed by God to be the fountain of science and civilization. We are proud of the achievements of our forefathers. But with this blessing, also comes an enormous burden that we must carry. The burden of which I speak of is the responsibility for the preservation and continuation of this tradition and glory, the preservation and continuation of the Greek language, ideals and civilization. This is what Ahepa stands for, well I say, Yes, We Can and Let.s Make It So!

Thank you for listening and thank you for being here. Merci! Ευχαριστώ!