Trenton AHEPA Chapter 72 held its 71st annual awards program this year at the St. George Community Center in Hamilton, New Jersey, honoring high school, college, and post-college graduates from the local community.
According to The National Herald, the program began in June 1955, when the Trenton chapter, under the leadership of Past Supreme President Xenophon Microutsicos, held its first awards program for graduates of the St. George community. The first event took place in the old Community Center in Trenton.
This year’s program was held under the leadership of Chapter President Peter Tsilimidos and Scholarship Chairman Andrew Metropole. About 200 people attended. Fr. Anastasios Kousoulas offered the opening and closing prayers.
Certificates were presented to 18 graduates from 12 high schools. Eleven college and post-college graduates received business bags.
Scholarships were awarded to 12 graduating high school seniors: Alyson Michaels, Katerina Tarasov, Sophia Knicos, Zoe Angelakis, Demitra Zimnis, Michael Carrick, Evan Coleman, Andreas Kousoulis, Lina Papadakis, Simon Silverdis, Demetri Tarasov, and Evangeline Walker.
The awards included the Herbert Allen Memorial Award, the Maia Passalaris Memorial Award, the Spiros Livanis Memorial Awards, the Emmanuel Perris Memorial Award, the Nicholas and Bessie Mamolou Memorial Award, and the Trenton AHEPA Scholarship Awards.
The memorial awards give the program much of its local meaning. Each name points back to people and families remembered by the chapter, while each recipient brings that memory into the next generation.
For Trenton AHEPA Chapter 72, the awards program remains a steady community tradition: honoring graduates, recognizing family effort, and keeping the St. George community connected across generations.