AHEPA Camden Chapter 69 of Cherry Hill, NJ, celebrated its Centennial along with its Daughters of Penelope Nike 230 celebration of its 75th Year on February 1, 2025. The Black Tie Gala celebration was held at Adelphia’s Grand Banquet Hall in Deptford, NJ,l owned by Chapter member and host Bill Balis. The event was the first of many in 2025 of joint AHEPA and Daughters of Penelope Chapters celebrating their respective Centennials and 75th Year anniversaries together.
A capacity crowd was also treated to an appearance, blessings, and remarks by His Eminence Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey. His Eminence remarked how the AHEPA family has played a crucial role with assistance to many churches throughout the Metropolis, noting these chapters, which have as a home base one of the largest and most progressive church communities in the Metropolis, Saint Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill. He asked that the AHEPA Family continue to assist in its communities, noting it is not an accident that the AHEPA Camden Chapter and Daughters Nike Chapter, hailing from such a large community, are among the largest chapters in the entire AHEPA domain.
The Gala looked like a Supreme Convention Banquet. Chapter representatives came from New York, Newark, Baltimore, Center City Philadelphia, Upper Darby, Trenton, Toms River, and beyond. Amongst the crowd were the AHEPA Supreme Lodge, the Daughters Grand Lodge, the District Lodges of New Jersey and Delaware, District Lodge representatives from the Capital District, Pennsylvania Power District, New York Empire District, and even as far as AHEPA’s European district.
The Gala kicked off with the anthems of the United States and Greece sung by Elena Iliades, the daughter of chapter member Dr. Elias Iliades. Chapter Presidents John Patouhas and Athena Flamporis were introduced by Master of Ceremonies, Past Supreme Governor Demetrios Rozanitis. They went through the history of AHEPA in Cherry Hill, noting that AHEPA Camden started almost 50 years before the opening of Saint Thomas Greek Orthodox Church It was in Camden where the community started with AHEPA’s 69th Chapter. The chapter warehoused the community at the Camden Commercial School it had at first rented and then purchased. It was AHEPA Camden that started the community’s first Greek Afternoon school at the American Hellenic Orthodox Center. That Greek school became the Saint Thomas Hellenic afternoon school, the largest such school in the Metropolis of New Jersey. The building in Camden was sold and from the proceeds came the Saint Thomas church complex, opening in 1967.
District remarks were made by District Lodge Governor Eleni Boyadzis and by her cohort for AHEPA, Lou Stefanou. Their theme was the overwhelming presence at the Gala of the Sons of Pericles and Maids of Athena. Sons Supreme Governor George T. Horiates spoke regarding these two shining chapters and along with Past Grand Maids President Marianna Pantelous brought the greetings of the Supreme Lodges. The SOP Hippocrates Chapter President Dino Klentzeris and Maids Dimitra Chapter Kokolis were recognized for their remarks, thanking the AHEPA Family for helping the Junior orders thrive.
Community leader, St Thomas Church President, and fellow AHEPAN Anastasios Efstratiades offered heartfelt remarks regarding the contributions of AHEPA to its church through to this day. He thanked the chapter members for its Centennial pledges of $10,000 to the church’s building fund, and $100,000 to the church Iconography project. AHEPA Board of Trustees Vice Chair George G. Horiates was brought forward, along with AHEPA Executive Director Basil Mossaides, and also presented with a check of $10,000 to the AHEPA Century Fund, naming a room at AHEPA Global after the chapter in honor of the occasion.
Keynote Addresses were provided by both AHEPA Supreme Vice President Chris Kaitson and Daughters Grand Vice President Antoinette Zachariades-Marousis, presenting the respective chapters’ special commemorative certificates to honor the occasion. Chapter member Past Supreme Governor Chris Diamantoukos also presented the Supreme Vice President an additional $5,000 for the AHEPA Emergency Relief Fund for the California wildfires. AHEPA Supreme Secretary Zenon Christodoulou and Supreme Governor Region 3 Dean Moskos were recognized and assisted with the evening presentations.