25th Annual Conference Convenes In Scottsdale, Arizona
The 25th Annual Leadership 100 Conference, which convened from February 18 to 21, 2016 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, began with a Trisagion Service on Thursday, February 18, conducted by His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco in memory of Michael E. Jaharis, a Founder of Leadership 100, Vice President of the Archdiocesan Council and leading businessman and philanthropist who passed away in the Lord on February 17.
The Opening Forum was led by the new President of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology, the V. Rev. Christopher T. Metropulos and was followed by the traditional Bible Study conducted by His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh in place of Archbishop Demetrios, who returned directly to New York to be with the Jaharis family.
The Thursday afternoon Hellenism Forum featured a special presentation on the Benaki Museum by Pavlos Yeroulanos, who served as Greece’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, and included two rooms of Exhibits from the Benaki Museum, a prelude to a tour of the United States. The Exhibits opened with an Agiasmos Service conducted by Metropolitan Gerasimos.
Some 375 members and guests attended the event, which included the annual meeting of the General Assembly on Friday, February 19, following meetings of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. Chris Caras of Palo Verdes Estates, California, a long-time member of Leadership 100 and outgoing member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees was recognized for his distinguished service at the General Assembly.
Another highlight of the Conference was the “Symphony at Sunset” concert conducted by Leadership 100 member Peter Tiboris on Thursday evening, through the generous support of Michael and Kay Johnson. Tiboris dedicated the concert to Michael Jaharis, noting that Archbishop Demetrios accompanied by Jaharis, often visited him backstage at his concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
The program on Friday included a lecture delivered by the Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne, on the forthcoming historically significant Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church to take place in the area of Chania, Crete, June 16-27, 2016.
The Business Forum, also on Friday, featured a prominent member of Leadership 100, James M. Orphanides, Partner and President of Centurion Holdings LLC. The Saturday Forum was conducted as a dialogue between Mike Manatos, a member of the Executive Committee and the featured speaker, Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, who has published a book on her experiences in that post. Golf and Tennis Tournaments and Awards, and a Walk/Run filled out the day’s activities. A program of youth activities was organized by Maria Behrakis and Elaine Cotronakis and included a session on the work of International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and on iconography, the latter organized by the staff of the Benaki Museum.
At the Grand Banquet on Saturday evening, the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence was presented to the Benaki Museum, accepted by Yeroulanos, and to Ambassador Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis. Prior to the Banquet, new and fulfilled members were recognized with the presentation of Icons and Obelisks.
