American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association


The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association is a fraternal organization founded on July 26, 1922, in Atlanta, Georgia. AHEPA was founded with a focus on civil rights, particularly to counteract the Ku Klux Klan. It is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 chapters across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe.
The mission of AHEPA is to promote the ancient Hellenic ideals of education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family, and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism.

History

The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association fraternity was established in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 26, 1922. Its eight founders were residents of Atlanta who were of Greek descent, including Harry Angelopoulos, George Campbell, James Campbell, Nicholas D. Chotas, George A. Polos, Spiro J. Stamos, and James Vlass. Its initial mission was to promote the image of Greeks in America, assist them with citizenship and assimilation into American culture, and combat prejudice. At that meeting Chotas was elected its first president. In its early years, AHEPA worked with the NAACP and B'nai B'rith in order to combat discrimination, particularly against the Ku Klux Klan.
As Greek Americans assimilated into American society, AHEPA's mission shifted toward the ancient Hellenic ideals of education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family, and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism. AHEPA expanded to countries in Europe, including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The AHEPA Family consists of four organizations: the AHEPA, Daughters of Penelope, Sons of Pericles, and Maids of Athena. AHEPA publishes The AHEPAN, which is the second largest Greek American publication in circulation. The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association also maintains ties with a similar Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.

Symbols

The association's colors are blue and white, based on the traditional colors of Greece. It also uses the color red.

Membership

Originally, membership was restricted to only Greeks. At its third meeting, the Order decided to change this, allowing non-Greeks to join. In 1979, AHEPA had over 25,000 members in 400 chapters. By 1989, the number climbed to 60,000, despite an overall decline in memberships of fraternal groups during this period. An estimated 500,000 men have been inducted into the Order of AHEPA over its 90-year history.

Governance

Originally, AHEPA was organized on a lodge system like that of the Masons or Oddfellows. Local units were called Subordinate Lodges, and state or territory structures were called Superior Lodges. Today, it consists of the supreme lodge, districts, and chapters.

Supreme Lodge

The Supreme Lodge is the main governing body of the AHEPA. The Supreme Lodge is headquartered at 1909 Q St NW in Washington, D.C. It is elected at the Supreme Convention of the Order of AHEPA, a session including the majority of the organization's members. It consist of the following officers:
  • Supreme President
  • Supreme Vice President
  • Canadian President
  • Supreme Secretary
  • Supreme Treasurer
  • Supreme Counselor
  • Supreme Athletic Director
  • National Sons of Pericles Advisor
  • Supreme/Regional Governor

    Chapters

Local groups of AHEPA are called chapters. The Supreme Lodge can charter a chapter to a group of at least ten men. The chapter's main officer positions are president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, chaplain, warden, and captain of the Guard. There have been 540 chapters chartered in the United States, sixteen chartered in Canada, thirty chartered in Greece, five chartered in Cyprus, and ten chartered in Europe. Over 400 chapters are active in the United States, Canada, and Europe. There are sister chapters in AHEPA Australasia.

Districts

Chapters are organized into 28 districts. Districts elect officers at annual district conventions, held in May, June, or July. District officers include district governor, lieutenant governor, district secretary, district treasurer, district marshal, district warden, and district athletic director. Current districts include:
NumberNameArea servedReferences
1Mother Dother LodgeGeorgia, Alabama, northwest Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee
2CitrusFlorida
3CapitalDistrict of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
4PowerPennsylvania
5GardenDelaware, New Jersey
6EmpireNew York
7YankeeConnecticut, Rhode Island
8Bay StateMassachusetts
9Northern New EnglandMaine, New Hampshire, Vermont
10AutomotiveMichigan
11BuckeyeOhio, Kentucky, part of West Virginia
12HoosierIndiana
13Blue RibbonIllinois, Wisconsin
14GrainsfieldIowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and eastern Missouri
16DeltaArkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and western Missouri
17Rocky MountainColorado, Idaho, Montana, western Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Ely, Nevada
20El Camino RealArizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Southern California
21Golden GateNorthern California and Nevada
22FirewoodOregon, Washington, and Alaska
23BeaverQuebec, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Islands, and New Brunswick
24Royal CanadianAlberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
25HellasGreece
26CanadianBritish Columbia
27CyprusCyprus
28EuropeanEurope, except for Cyprus and Greece
AustraliaAustralia, New Zealand

Activities

Politics

AHEPA has taken a stand on the Cyprus issue since 1955 when it formed the "Justice for Cyprus" committee to support Cyprus' independence. Through the decades, the organization has continued to advocate on issues relating to Greece and Cyprus in Washington, while also educating the public about these topics.
For each Congress, AHEPA compiles a Congressional scorecard on issues of importance to the American Hellenic community and the organization. The purpose of the scorecard is to educate AHEPA's membership and the community on how engaged members of Congress are on these issues, or at least, their level of awareness.

Awards

AHEPA recognizes distinguished achievements in various categories such as public service, government, law, business, journalism, science, the arts, military service, and humanitarian. Some of its awards include the Academy of Achievement Award, AHEPAN of the Year, and the Pericles Award.

Socrates Award

The Socrates Award recognizes prominent men and women who have emulated ancient Hellenic ideals. This is the most prestigious award AHEPA awards and has been presented at the AHEPA National Banquet since 1964. Past recipients of the Socrates Award include: