By John Kokolakis
Hermes AHEPA Chapter 186 kicked off its first 2020/2021 monthly meeting on September 29, 2020 virtually via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter is part of the Astoria AHEPA Family, including Daughters of Penelope Ilion Chapter 135.
President John Kokolakis, Secretary Peter Argyropoulos and the Hermes AHEPA Chapter 186 board initially attempted to find a physical location to hold their meeting but faced with certain challenges and prioritizing the health of its members prudently decided to hold a virtual meeting, as they have been doing since March 2020.
We are all faced with unprecedented times, but either in person or virtually Hermes AHEPA Chapter 186 shall continue to explore the tenets of AHEPA and pivot in response to the demands of these current times by, among other things, confronting our American values and our continued progressive development within our government, our businesses, education and the arts.
Discussing the pandemic and social distancing measures, President Kokolakis stated that “we must navigate our current situation by balancing the impact upon our members and their families against moving forward with our initiatives”.
The members in attendance thereafter continued to discuss one of their initiatives, that was previously put on pause due to the pandemic, of holding business network events whereby the Hermes AHEPA members have the opportunity to share business information and contacts. Ideally, the business networking events are to be held in person and the discussion on this matter concluded with the understanding that if a physical location cannot be located that is safe and respects the health concerns of its members then the events will be held virtually.
In attendance, was District 6 Secretary Chris Pappis and AHEPA District 6 Director of Culture & Arts Billy Chrissochos. The unanimously re-elected officers for 2020-2021 are President John Kokolakis, Esq., Vice President Billy Chrissochos, Secretary Peter Argyropoulos, and Treasurer Demetrios Lambos.
