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Message from Elias A. Iliadis MD, President of GAHSP

February 15, 2023 in General

Dear Friends and Members of the Greek American Heritage Society of Philadelphia,

I have the distinct pleasure of addressing you as the incoming president of the Society. I have been a board member since 2014, since attending the organizing meeting at Haverford College. I have seen the esteem and recognition of the Society grow, and I am honored and excited to add my thoughts and efforts to the distinguished presidents that preceded me, including Nick Yiantsos, Despena Boston, and, recently, Artemis Tsingiropoulos.

Our efforts have focused on preserving the Greek experience. We continue to utilize the electronic format of the website, email, and social media to record noted individuals and groups in our community. We will continue highlighting this through video interviews with our Cosmos Philly partnership. The upcoming year will focus on our young adults, professionals, and Greeks of various areas of the Delaware Valley (ie, Greeks of Suburbs, Jersey Shore…). This will broaden the reach and interest of the Society within the community.

To fulfill our mission, the board and the society have pursued numerous projects that I hope to promote and broaden our community engagement. The committee chose yearly photo exhibits of topics relevant to our community and history, such as “Love your Yiayia and Pappou,” “Greek Music,” and “Axia: a Celebration of Women,” which were broadly acclaimed. This year, the Greek Diners and Restuarant exhibit will occur on March 11th at the University of the Arts. Diner represents the start of the American dream for many in our community. This event is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work by the board and our Chairs, Harry Karapalides, and Chirs Kotsakis,

Our partnership with Cosmos Philly has been an excellent working relationship, and we will continue to utilize their expertise in social media and our ongoing interview series. This robust relationship has led to the GAHSP sponsorship of the award-winning documentary “In Support of Liberty,” an example of recent partnership success. We look forward to growing this relationship to continue to promote the Society.

Furthermore, the archiving project will be more central to the Society as we are entrusted with preserving the rich Philadelphia history, and we must focus a significant effort here. I look forward to working with noted academics such as Drs Kitreoff and Kourelis, who have donated their expertise and time to the Society. The board will focus on physical storage and a permanent home for the Society.

All of us have a story to tell, and we are committed to everyone who wishes to preserve their story through the completion of the LOGIA (the word) project. This project keeps the Greek American experience of each participant in their own words. I would envision the time when our children and grandchildren can hear the story of their grandparents by their grandparents, preserved forever.

Additional outstanding projects have included the Greektown Historical marker, and its establishment will be carried out through the Society and private efforts under the guidance of the city of Philadelphia. I look forward to the day when we celebrate the marker in Philadelphia.

Lastly, I am honored to have an outstanding board of directors. These individuals donate their time and efforts to the community, and I believe future generations will thank them for it:

2023-2025 Board of Directors:

The Board of Directors and I offer our enthusiasm, energy, and focus on our founder, Mary Creticos’ mission for a Heritage Society in Philadelphia. We look forward to you joining us on this journey together.

Regards,

Elias A. Iliadis MD
President, Greek American Heritage Society of Philadelphia

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