Leadership 100 Celebrates 30th Anniversary at Conference
The Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund marked its 30th Anniversary at its 23rd Annual Conference, February 13-16, 2014 at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples in Naples, Florida. Some 400 members and their guests attended, according to Charles H. Cotros, the outgoing Chairman, who passed the torch of his office to George S. Tsandikos, Vice Chairman, at the Grand Gala on Saturday, February 16. The event featured a special message from His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who commended Leadership 100 for its 30 years of service the Church and acknowledged His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios for his 15 years of service as Archbishop of America. The Archbishop was presented with a crystal encased replica of the design for St. Nicholas Church, which is to be built overlooking the September 11 memorial in Lower Manhattan.
Prior to the festivities, the Executive Committee approved $2,453,833.50 in new grants and prior commitments for 2014, bringing the total of grants distributed by Leadership 100 since its inception to $38,004,511.50. The new grants included for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries Camping Ministries, $270,000; Office of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, $150,000; The Center for Family Care, $95,000 for Renewal of Family Ministry and $20,360 for Seminarian and Clergy Couple Care; Department of Religious education, $80,000; Department of Administration Ministry Updates, $57,042.50; and Orthodox Prison Ministry, $54,310. New grants for the Metropolises included Metropolis of Atlanta Family Life Ministry, $100,000. Other new grants included Fordham University Orthodox Christian Studies center, $33,000; The Ecumenical Patriarchate Youth and Young Adult Conference, $30,000; and St. Photios National Shrine, $8,100. Finally, prior grant commitments included Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology Scholarship Program $1,000,000 and Office of Vocation and Ministry, $30,800; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Strategic Plan Project, $125,000, Office of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, $90,000, Center for Family Care Men’s Ministry Group, $13,750, and Department of Marriage and Family, $60,000; Metropolis of Boston Emerging Leaders Ministry, $100,000; International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) $96,071; The Ecumenical Patriarchate Pastoral Health Care Conference, $35,000; and Retired Clergy in Need, $5,400.
The Conference highlighted the future of the Church and Philanthropy in America and the world with the presentation of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, accepted by Vasili Tsamis, Chief Operating Officer, for worldwide innovative philanthropy; to the Seleni Institute, accepted by Nitzia Logothetis, Founder and Executive Chairwoman, for programs addressing women’s health; and to Greek Orthodox Telecommunications (GOTelecom), accepted by Nicholas J. Furris, Senior Producer/Director, for the 26-program series, “Discovering Orthodox Christianity, funded with a Leadership 100 grant. The Conference also included a Personal dialogue, “A Vision for the Future”, with His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, conducted by Charles H. Cotros; a Business Forum, “A Vision for the Future of Business”, moderated by George S. Tsandikos, featuring George D. Behrakis, Chairman Emeritus of Leadership 100, John Catsimatidis, member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of Leadership 100, and C. Dean Metropoulos, a long-time member of Leadership 100 and the newly-elected President of Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy & Hellenism, all leading businessmen and philanthropists.
In addition to George S. Tsandikos, who was elected Chairman, Argyris “R.J.” Vassiliou was elected Vice Chairman, Tom Jordan was elected Treasurer, and Kassandra Romas was re-elected Secretary. Four new members were elected to the Board of Trustees, including Froso Beys and Justin Bozonelis of the Direct Archdiocesan District; Dr. George Carayannopoulos of the Metropolis of Denver; and Gerry Ranglas of the Metropolis of San Francisco. James Logothetis was appointed as the new Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Photo 1: (L to R) Archbishop Demetrios with outgoing Chairman, Charles H. Cotros and Connie Cotros, and new Chairman, George S. Tsandikos.
Photo 2: Charles H. Cotros presents replica of St. Nicholas Church design to Archbishop Demetrios.
