The AHEPAN - Summer 2014 - 27

BEST PRACTICES

Membership
One Chapter's Approach
Joe Keane, AHEPA National Membership Committee
Membership initiation into AHEPA for the Evzone 405
Chapter in New Rochelle is a meaningful and memorable
experience. We try to recapture the grandeur and symbolism
of the ritual ceremony established by our founders, many
years ago, and transport it into a formal, opulent, contemporary model. For our new members, and for all attendees, we
strive to make it an unforgettable experience.
First impressions last forever. The ceremony was intended
as a dramatic, even theatrical, performance. We try to do it

District 6 Gov. Thomas Dushas, Chapter Membership V.P. James
Zafiros, Guest of Honor John Daskos, Executive Committee Member
Zachary Marantis, Supreme President Anthony Kouzounis, Chapter
405 President Joe Keane.

justice. The Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, is the
perfect venue. This landmark Club has a championship golf
course with a world class kitchen. We set the stage with all
the AHEPA regalia: the Chapter's banner, Bible, flag, jewels,
Hellenic symbols, and a sword. We have added: flowers on the
www.ahepa.org

tables and with the degree team sporting a red rose in their
lapels, creative lighting, and music. It is extremely important
to pay attention to casting the degree team- articulate readers
whose voices project. The AHEPA uniform is on prominent
display - white shirts, red ties, blue blazers, grey slacks,
replete with our AHEPA pins. Other Ahepans are invited by
written invitation. There is a tremendous amount of interest
in a formal, stylized, ritualistic AHEPA initiation ceremony.
Neighboring Chapters, Districts, and even the Supreme Lodge
members have always expressed interest in our initiation luncheon, with a full complement of their officers attending. The
Supreme Vice President usually delivers a special message on
the meaning and value of membership, while the Supreme
President usually addresses the brothers and Phil-Hellenes at the luncheon.
The Chapter has monthly informal
dinner meetings, where we will invite
prospective members to allow the brothers to get to know them. The prospects
can then get an insider view on the kind
of educational, Hellenism, and community outreach activities we offer. If they
like what they see and if they pass
the scrutiny, they are invited to our
December initiation luncheon.
Our Chapter created a "Legends"
program. Hollywood has its "Oscars,"
Television its "Emmys," Broadway its
"Tonys" and advertising its "Cleos," with certainty then, the New
Rochelle Chapter is entitled to its "Legends." They embody a lifetime of achievement dedicated to the principles of Hellenism,
service to the church, AHEPA, and the larger community.
The "Legends" program, created in 2002, is Evzone's
signature event. The selection committee, composed of past
Legends, meets every spring and selects the next honoree. The
"coronation" takes place in early December. The initiation class
is named in his honor and he is lauded at the luncheon. It represents a Lifetime Achievement Award for the honoree and his
family. The following May, on AHEPA Sunday, the honoree is
recognized from the altar and presented with a picture album
encapsulating all initiation and luncheon participants that
were taken by a professional photographer. This completes the
Legend's term and now the buzz begins speculating on next
year's honoree. A Legend program takes a lot of work, but it
casts the AHEPA in a favorable light - that of a few good men
doing lots of very good things!
Summer 2014 · THE AHEPAN

http://www.ahepa.org

The AHEPAN - Summer 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN - Summer 2014