The National Hellenic Society honored  NHS member Helen Bakalis Nicozisis with the prestigious Ariston Award for Excellence at the 2021 Heritage Weekend and Classic, October 7-10, in Las Vegas. The weekend was dedicated to the memory of the beloved Dr. George Korkos. Nicozisis, along with her husband, Lou, are long-time members of Leadership 100. Dr. Korkos was also a longtime member.

Helen Bakalis Nicozisis was the first lay person and woman to be elected  President of the Board of Directors of Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). She served on the organization’s board for more than two decades and chaired its capital campaign for some five years, which led to the construction of the Archbishop Anastasios and Archbishop Demetrios Missionary Training and Administration Building, its new headquarters in St. Augustine, Florida.

Born and raised in Manhattan where she worshipped at St. Spyridon parish in Washington Heights, she graduated from the Greek- American Institute of Zoodohos Peghe in the Bronx, New York and attended the Bronx High School of Science and City College of New York where she majored in Mathematics and Science. She also attended Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, studying accounting.

She and her family have been active members of the parishes of St. Paraskevi in Greenlawn, Long Island, St. Nicholas in Flushing, New York, St. Paul Cathedral in Hempstead, Long Island, and the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Lancaster, PA, where she moved with her family in 1971 and remains an active member. She was elected as the first female President of its Parish Council. She has also supported the Greek Orthodox parishes of Reading, York, Camp Hill and Bethlehem, PA. and is currently a member, with her husband, Louis, of  St. Mark’s in Boca Raton, FL. Together, Helen and Louis Nicozisis have hosted a Leadership 100 Annual Conference and have been active in the organization’s activities. Louis Nicozisis has been a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees of Leadership 100. Helen also served on the Metropolis of Pittsburgh Council, the Ladies Philoptochos Society of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and the Daughters of Penelope.

In her capacity as President of the OCMC Board of Directors, she accepted the 2003 Athenagoras Human Rights Award of the Order of St. Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on behalf of OCMC, whose missionaries and ministries have been to over 35 countries. In addition, she received the Humanitarian Award of the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) in Washington, D.C. for her involvement in the Mission movement and the St. Paul Medal, the highest award given to a lay person by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.