On April 19, an event was held with particular success at the residence of the Greek Consul in New York for the presentation of the book by the President of the political consulting/lobbying company “Manatos &Manatos” Andy Manatos entitled (“The Extraordinary Greek People: Their Remarkable Achievements andPhilosophy for Living from Ancient Times to Today”).
The Andy Manatos’ book presents the course andtimeless values of Hellenism and Orthodoxy while also referring to the separate stories of 60 important Greeks who excelled in the USA throughout time.
During his greeting, the Consul General of Greece in New York, Mr. Dinos Konstantinou, describing the four generations of the Manatos family’s history as the epitome of the American dream, he said that AndyManatos’ book is a reference point and a legacy that will help younger generations of Greek Americans learn about the history and values of the Greek American community in the US through the personal historyof 60 prominent Greek-Americans, who, despite the adverse conditions they faced, managed to emerge inthe business, religious and political spheres of the USA. It is our duty and obligation to preserve and pass on to the next generations the stories and values of thegreat Grrek-American community of which we are all proud, Mr. Konstantinou also emphasized.
On his remarks Andy Manatos’ son Mike Manatos emphasized that the values of Hellenism and Orthodoxywere those that contributed to the successes of the prominent Greek-Americans. In his speech, the author of the book, Andy Manatos, underlined the importance and role of Greek culture,stressing that Hellenism is not inferred and is not simply a consequence of someone’s birth in Greece, but asystem of values and a mindset that helped, for example, the ancient Greeks to measure with remarkableaccuracy the circumference of the earth using simple means. Andy Manatos also referred to the influence of Greek culture on the Founding Fathers of the AmericanRepublic such as President Thomas Jefferson who spoke and wrote Greek. He then noted that despite thevery harsh adversities faced by the first generations of Greek immigrants, they managed with hard work tosurvive, to be educated and to excel quickly within a single generation. He also referred to the heroic effortsof the Greeks during World War II, especially the Battle of Crete, as well. Finally, he referred to thepolitical career of prominent Greek-American politicians such as Mike Dukakis and Paul Sarbanes.
The event was attended by the businessman John Catsimatidis, the President of PSEKA, Philip Christopher,the Vice President of PSEKA, Tasos Zambas, the senior executive of ALMA Bank, Nancy Papaioannou andother prominent Greek-Americans. Archbishop of America Elpidophoros was represented by Archimandrite Nektarios Papazafeiropoulos.
SOURCE; PERMANENT MISSION OF GREECE TO THE UN – PUBLIC DIPLOMACY OFFICE IN NEW YORK
