Featured Speakers at 20th Annual Leadership 100 Conference
Ted Leonsis, one of the country’s premier business entrepreneurs, Peter Diamandis, the celebrated space pioneer, John McKesson Camp II, noted archaeologist, and Michael Psilakis, Executive Chef, are the featured speakers at the 20th Annual Leadership 100 Conference at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, February 24-27, 2011.
Leadership 100 Sunday Observed
Leadership 100 Sunday was observed in hundreds of Greek Orthodox parishes across the country on Sunday, October 17, 2010, its second national observance. Parish Priests read the Encyclical issued by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios on behalf of the Holy Eparchial Synod and members of Leadership 100 spoke of the National Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, for whose support Leadership 100 was founded in 1984.
Mary Jaharis Center Opens at Hellenic College/Holy Cross
The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture was inaugurated October 3, 2010 on the campus of Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios presided over the inaugural ceremonies for the new Center which began with a $3 million donation from The Jaharis Family Foundation two years ago. The Center will serve as a premier international research center for the promotion of Byzantine Art and Culture and will host a series of academic programs including seminars, conferences, visiting scholars, special events and art programs.
100-Year-Old Grandfather Honored With Leadership 100 Membership
Symeon Kefalidis of Alexandroupolis, Greece, who celebrated his 100th birthday this past October, and his wife of 75 years, Kerasia, received a special gift from their daughter-in-law and three of their grandchildren: a new and fulfilled membership in the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund!
George D. Behrakis Honored By Ahepa
George D. Behrakis, Chairman Emeritus of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund, was presented with the 2010 Archbishop Iakovos Humanitarian Award by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) on November 20th at the Northeast Regional Biennial Banquet of the organization at St. Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church in Orange, Connecticut, outside of New Haven.
George Chryssis Named President of Benjamin Franklin Institute
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology has named George C. Chryssis, a long-time member of Leadership 100, as its next president effective January 1, 2011. "George Chryssis is ideally prepared to lead the school into the future," said Board of Trustees Chair, Anne Bailey Berman.
Nicholas J. Bouras Designated Life-Time Board Member
The Leadership 100 Board of Trustees voted unanimously at their meeting in New York September 10, 2010 to designate Nicholas J. Bouras, one of the first members to join, and a member of its Board of Trustees since 1997, “Honorary Life-Time Member of the Board of Trustees.” His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios and Leadership 100 Chairman, Constantine G. Caras, along with Acting Executive Director Paulette Poulos traveled to the offices of Bouras Properties in Summit, New Jersey to bestow upon Bouras the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence for his extraordinary service and philanthropy.
Archbishop Demetrios Presented with Check for Holy Cross Scholarships
Constantine G. Caras, Leadership 100 Chairman, presented His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios with a check for $500,000 for Holy Cross Scholarships at the Board of Trustees meeting September 10, 2010 in New York.
Manatos Family Celebrates 100th Anniversary
The Manatos family recently celebrated three important milestones, including the 100th anniversary of the arrival of their family in the United States. The celebration was covered by US News & World Report, Politico, The Hill, Roll Call and NBC Washington.
Rumpakis Supports Creation of Hellenic Studies Program
E. John Rumpakis, a member of Leadership 100 and prominent businessman, helped establish the Hellenic Studies Program at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. A long-standing supporter of the school, he donated $250,000 to initiate the program last July. The mission of the new program is to strengthen the relationship between the Portland region “and the people, culture and businesses of Greece and the Greek Diaspora” with classes in language, history, culture and current affairs and internships, study abroad opportunities, lectures and performances by visiting scholars, authors and artists.
Harry Wilson Joins Leadership 100
Harry Wilson, a prominent business analyst and investment advisor, who is the son and grandson of Greek immigrants, has joined Leadership 100. Born and raised in Johnstown, New York,and a graduate of both Harvard University and Harvard Business School, his career of assessing institutional investors and fund managers involved stints at Goldman Sachs, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and The Blackstone Group. He was the 2010 Republican candidate for New York State Comptroller.
Chairman Joins Archbishop To Open Exhibit Hall
Leadership 100 Chairman Constantine Caras joined Archbishop Demetrios and other Hierarchs for the cutting of the ribbon at the official opening of the Congress Exhibit Hall at the 40th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on July 4, 2010 in Atlanta. Leadership 100 provided the underwriting for the exhibit area, which featured numerous booths with vendors from the United States, Canada, Greece, and Cyprus and included a ministry pavilion which highlighted the National Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
First Episcopal Assembly Meets
The first Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs in North and Central America met from May 26 to May 28 at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York City. Convened by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, the Assembly was attended by more than 50 Hierarchs and was made possible through a Leadership 100 grant to the Office of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, which underwrote much of the expense. Other funding came from a variety of Pan-Orthodox sources.
Peter G. Peterson Addresses Forum, Presented with Award for Excellence
Peter G. Peterson, the renowned Greek American business leader and philanthropist, addressed a capacity crowd of more than 200 members of Leadership 100 from across the country and their guests at the inaugural Leadership 100 Forum on Business and Philanthropy at the Onassis Cultural Center in the Olympic Tower in New York City on Thursday night, September 9, 2010.
Athens and Tomaras Honored
Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology held their 68th commencement on Saturday, May 15, 2010 and conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities on two prominent members of Leadership 100, Andrew A. Athens, a Founder and its first Chairman, and Chris P. Tomaras, a prominent businessman and philanthropist, Founder of the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation, both of Chicago.
Roumelitoes Appointed by San Francisco Mayor
Stefanie G. Roumeliotes, a Leadership 100 Partner, was appointed to the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority by Mayor Gavin Newsom on May 14, 2010, to fill a seat that expires on March 25, 2014.
New Leadership
The Board of Trustees, meeting at the 19th Annual Leadership 100 Conference, elected Constantine G. Caras of Wilmington, Delaware as Chairman; Charles H Cotros of Memphis, Tennessee as Vice-Chairman; and George S. Tsandikos of Greenwich, Connecticut as Treasurer. Kassandra L. Romas of Short Hills, New Jersey continues to serve as Secretary. The Board also elected Tsandikos along with John A. Catsimatidis and Peter J. Pappas of New York to the Executive Committee and, most significantly, seven new members, representing the greatest diversity to date, were elected to the Board of Trustees.
Financial Crisis Inquiry Continues
The 10-member bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission established in 2009 to examine the causes of the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression continued televised hearings into the near-collapse of the financial system in 2008. Two prominent members of Leadership 100 serve on the commission, Phil Angelides, the former California Treasurer, who was appointed Chairman, and Byron Georgiou of Las Vegas, Nevada who has had a long career in the private and public sector in government service, business and law, and has spent most of the last decade investigating and prosecuting financial fraud.
National Leadership 100 Sunday
The Second National Leadership 100 Sunday will be observed on Sunday October 17, 2010 in Greek Orthodox parishes across the country, according to Constantine G. Caras, Leadership 100 Chairman and the Chairman of the first observance of National Leadership 100 Sunday in 2009. Caras also announced that he had appointed Michael R. Henry, a member of the Board of Trustees, to be Chairman of the 2010 observance.
Helen Nicozisis Honored
Helen Bakalis Nicozisis, a long-time member of Leadership 100, was honored for her leadership and philanthropy last November at the annual Chrysanthemum Ball of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City. A Trustee and Past President of the Board of Directors of Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), she was the first lay person and woman to be elected to that position. 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.