AHEPA Honors AHI President with Inaugural Outstanding Public Advocacy AwardWASHINGTON, DC —American Hellenic Institute President (AHI) Nick Larigakis received a national honor from the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) before an audience of 200 prominent Greek American and community leaders on Capitol Hill, March 28, 2012. President Larigakis received the inaugural AHEPA Outstanding Public Advocacy Award at the AHEPA “Salute to Civic Responsibility” Dinner. The AHEPA Outstanding Public Advocacy Award, which was presented by AHEPA Executive Director Basil Mossaidis, recognizes individuals who demonstrate unbridled passion in the course of advocating for a public policy issue or cause. AHEPA cited Larigakis’ steadfast advocacy on Capitol Hill, in the grassroots, and in the op-ed pages of influential publications as the basis for his honor. In acceptance, AHI President Larigakis spoke about the importance of defending our proud Hellenic culture and the influence his parents had upon instilling these values in him as a teenager. He said, “I take exceptional honor and humility to receive an award tonight with such distinguished honorees…There is special meaning for me to receive this award tonight, the first of its kind, from AHEPA and to receive it on Capitol Hill because when the American Hellenic Institute was founded in 1974, its number one priority was that invasion of Cyprus. “With AHEPA’s money we were able to put into place an embargo against the Republic of Turkey for its illegal invasion of Cyprus against extraordinary odds at the time. It is not something anyone of us should take lightly that victory.” Larigakis called on the Greek American community rededicate itself to the issues and challenged the community to start resolving them, moving past the introduction of congressional resolutions. He also thanked the AHI staff for the support it provides to him as AHI president. Also honored along with President Larigakis were: U.S. Congressmen John Sarbanes (D-MD) and Ed Royce (R-CA), both of who received the AHEPA Pericles Award; and Cyprus Federation of America President Panicos Papanicolaou, who received the inaugural AHEPA Excellence in Leadership Award. A video of the AHEPA awards dinner can be viewed by clicking here.
The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community. ### For additional information, please contact Demetra Atsaloglou at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org. |
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AHEPA Honors AHI President with Inaugural Outstanding Public Advocacy Award
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