Tolis Aristeidou

Tolis Aristeidou of Greece will return to Los Angeles February 22-26
as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Gold Stars’ Tour. The International Visitors Council of Los Angeles (IVCLA) arranged his initial visit to Los Angeles in 2009 as an IVLP participant, making connections that included meetings with Justice by Uniting in Creative Energy (JUiCE) and DVA Media + Marketing.

During his return visit to Los Angeles, Aristeidou will reunite with some of the connections that made an impact on his work back home, as well as meet with new professional resources in Los Angeles. In addition, he will visit local high schools to talk about his important work bringing hip-hop to underprivileged youth throughout Greece and the Balkans.

Aristeidou is the director and exclusive organizer of the Balkan Break Dance Competition “Battle of the Year – Balkans.” Aristeidou is well-connected to the youth community in Greece and urban street culture phenomena. He understands and connects to young people, often underserved and inner city groups,
through new and innovative ways. He organizes events to bring together young people from all over the Balkans, promoting mutual understanding and tolerance for other cultures. In his role as director, he is the main developer for break dance events and festivals in Greece and the Balkans. His office also organizes dance seminars, film screenings, dance-theater events, hip hop concerts, graffiti exhibits, and other events related to the hip hop culture.

The counterparts he met in the U.S. in 2009 have almost all become close contacts that he reaches out to for events and ideas. In particular, his meeting with the representative of Hip Hop International (the organizers of the largest and most prominent international Hip Hop dancing competition in the world) resulted in an immediate partnership between the two companies. Within a year after his return to Greece, Tolis organized the first Hip Hop International – Greece competition in Athens, with a record 25 dance groups participating and competing – this included groups from across Greece as well as Cyprus. With the support of the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Tolis brought top American Hip Hop dancers Eddie Styles and King Saso to judge the competition. The top two groups went to Las Vegas last summer to represent Greece for the first time in the Hip Hop International competition. This came just six months after he brought top U.S. breakers Bboy Ronnie and Rockadile to judge a national Greek breakdance contest and lead a workshop that also promoted healthy, drug-free living. His IVLP program also connected him with some of the top Hip Hop impresarios in the U.S. leading to a constant stream of American talent being invited to participate in his events.

The Gold Stars’ Tour is for alumni of the IVLP who made an impact in their community or on the world as a result of their experience in the United States. Aristeidou has been selected as one of two gold star alumni among thousands of nominated individuals. Through this special initiative, IVLP gold star alumni are recognized for their excellence as citizen diplomats through IVLP-inspired initiatives abroad and for demonstrated leadership in their local communities.

About the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)
The International Visitor Leadership Program is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program, connecting current and emerging foreign leaders with their American counterparts through short-term programs to build mutual understanding on foreign policy issues. Nearly 200,000 distinguished individuals have participated in the program, including 330 current and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, and thousands of leaders from the public and private sectors.

About the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles (IVCLA)
IVCLA has been working since 1980 to increase international understanding and communication in the Los Angeles area by arranging personal exchanges between emerging international leaders and the citizens of the Los Angeles region. IVCLA coordinates programs for participants in the U.S. Department of State sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program, as well as other publicly and privately sponsored international visitors. The programs provide the visitors with insight on how we live and work,
and local Citizen Diplomats with a better understanding about the rest of the world.

The featured lecturer will be Dr. Stergios Skarpedas. Dr. Skaperdas is a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Irvine. Born in Greece, he was awarded a BA in Economics from Reed College and both MA and PhD degrees, also in Economics, from Johns Hopkins University. He has received numerous academic distinctions and is a member of many think tanks. His research has been published in various economics and political science journals. Dr. Skaperdas’ recent New York Times article, “ How to Leave the Euro ,” promotes the idea that the sooner Greece leaves the Euro, the better for its economy.

The event starts at 4:00 pm and dinner will be served at 5:00 pm. The lecture will commence at 6:00 pm followed by a Q&A session. Cost to attend the Dinner will be $40. RSVP and tickets are available online at the American Hellenic Council website, or for reservations call 323-651-3507.

HSOC President Mike Begakis (right) with his brother Nick (left)

On Saturday, Jan 14th, the Hellenic Society of Constantinople will hold its annual Dinner Dance at the Wilshire Country Club. This will be the 45th consecutive year that the organization “cut” its vassilopita. The Hellenic Society of Constantinople was founded by a group of Greek Americans who came to the US from Istanbul for a better future. Every year the organization honors a person of Greek descent who has promoted Greek heritage. This year the organization will honor the philanthropist and LTC Properties Chairman Andre Dimitriadis with the annual Yianni Begakis Award. The goal of the Gala is to raise funds for charity organizations of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The cost of the ticket is one hundred and twenty five dollars, and checks may be made payable to The Hellenic Society of Constantinople.

Where:Wilshire Country Club (301 N. Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004).
Date & Time: Jan 15th 2012 – 5.30pm
RSVP: For reservations or more information feel free to call,
Mary Morrison (818)500-0904, Jeanete Benetatos (323)660-5707

Can you sense the sarcasm in my voice? Don’t get me wrong I have lived the whole “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” story with my father working at four different Greek diners and my mother telling me every day of my life to find “a nice Greek boy to marry.” But I don’t think, I can say that every Greek-American reading this believes the same thing, that this is not the way to promote Greece. The person responsible for this brilliant idea is the deputy minister of tourism and culture Mr. George Nikitiadis. His idea goes as follows, to grab a bunch of Greek artists put their work on these placemats, which as well know that these very same placemats get crumbled, doodle and wipe off everybody’s spills and leftover food daily. The sad part is not just the idea but that commercial sponsors from Greece, like ΟΠΑΠ and the restaurant association are giving money for this idea to blossom and come alive.

About 6 million euro’s are being given for 7 million throwaway placemats to be printed and distributed to diners across America. It doesn’t end here also plastic throwaway cups are going to be given to the customers of these diners as well. What happened to posters, art exhibits with various Greek or Greek-American artists, concerts and dance festivals to raise money to promote Greece? You can just shoot a commercial in Astoria, Queens in New York City and you have your promotion right there.

I might be the only one angry and annoyed about this “awesome”, “brilliant”, “extraordinary”, and “wonderful” tourism idea but I believe Greece deserves better than throwaway placemats and plastic cups, especially in the times that we are in now.

The award will be presented in December 2011 at the IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom) 2011 in Houston, Texas. Globecom, the annual flagship conference for the IEEE COMSOC, is the premier telecommunications event for industry professionals, academics, companies and government agencies around the world.

Dimakis is an assistant Professor at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. He has been a faculty member at USC since 2009. He received the Diploma degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece in 2003, and the M.S. and Ph.D. in 2005 and 2008 respectively in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the Center for the Mathematics of Information (CMI) at Caltech from 2008 to 2009. He received the Eli Jury award in 2008 for his thesis work on codes for distributed storage, two outstanding paper awards, the UC Berkeley Regents Fellowship and the Microsoft Research Fellowship. He recently received a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). His research interests include communications, coding theory, signal processing, and networking, with a current focus on distributed storage, network coding, large-scale inference and message passing algorithms.

Alexander “Sandy” Sawchuk, Systems Chair of the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, said: “our faculty join me in congratulating Alex Dimakis for the 2010 IEEE COMSOC Technical Committee on Data Storage Best Paper Award. It is a notable affirmation of the quality and significance of his research.”

Tell us about your Greek roots.

I was born and raised in California. My father is from Kefalonia and my American-born mother has roots in Sidirokastro near Thessaloniki and Simiades near Tripolis. I spent all my summers in Greece, mostly in Kefalonia. The rest of the year, my time was filled with Greek School, Sunday School, GOYA, basketball and more. We went to Holy Cross Church in Belmont. I was also very involved in Greek folk dance, from 4 years-old through college. I got involved with the Greek Orthodox Folk Dance Festival in LA, and for years helped organize the festival. My husband and school would prompt a move to LA, where we now live. For a time I directed a Greek dance group in LA. I’ve taught Greek School at the Saint Sophia Cathedral in LA.

You couldn’t find the invitations you liked. What did you do?

I took some courses at the International Printing Museum in Carson, CA, so I could learn more about this craft. There, they had every single letterpress ever made. It was so cool. I attended classes on weekends, and met someone there who could help me print my invitations, once I designed them. We spent considerable time there, printing 200 wedding invitations – five pieces with two colors each. I really enjoyed the entire process. It was great to see the results of what I’d created. Nothing like this ever existed. I was so excited, so I started the business.

What kind of work are you doing?

I started out doing work for friends, and then began designing Christmas cards, and it took off from there. I’ve met a lot of Greek brides from around the world; a lot of Greek brides in Germany, Singapore. I’ve also worked with quite a few brides who were not Greek, but were marrying Greek, and felt it important to keep the Greek as a part of their wedding.

The website is my portfolio, and all jobs start there. Wedding work is typically all custom. Brides tell me their colors, theme, what they are looking for, then I create something and we tweak it together. I also design invitations for bridal showers, baby showers, baptisms, any sort of invitation desired, as well as greeting cards. When I’m not super busy with custom work, I develop more greeting cards. I sell the ready-made line of greeting cards on Etsy. There you can find holiday cards, thank you cards, and more.

You’re pretty much self-taught.

I have no formal training in design. I always loved to draw and paint, do crafts.

You work in PR too.

As the business is building, I still work part time for a small PR agency in LA. I have a Master’s in Public Relations and a BA in Communications. My clients are all architects and designers, which is a great environment for me.  It’s fun to work with them, since I understand the creative process and what they are going through, how it all works together.

What’s up with Goddess of the Hunt?

A couple of years ago, I was featured on their site, and I kept in touch with editor Dana Siomkos. We’ve developed a line of prints that have to do with the graffiti in Athens. Dana got some photos from Greece this summer and I turned them into line art. We’re selling them in the ‘Goddess’ boutique.

What else is new?

We’re selling a lot of Greek and English Christmas cards. I’m getting a lot of custom orders for photo cards, too. I’ve also developed a line of prints of different islands. They’re maps, 5×7 flat prints. We’re getting a lot of requests to add more islands.

Writing cards is still important.

These days, everyone is sending email or communicating on Facebook and Twitter, however, sending Christmas cards and writing cards is important. Written communication is still very important.

Watch the video of the making of the graffiti prints.

“This event has always has been a draw for residents and visitors seeking a culturally diverse and fun event with a myriad of activities for the entire family. Come visit us and we will wine, dine and spoil you the Greek way!” says Co-Chairman of the event Charlie Christodulelis.

Weekend festivities include live Greek entertainment from the Olympians, and featured special guests Miltos Kranias from Greece, Kostas Skrepetos from NYC and Elizabeth Proios. Other highlights include visual artists from the International Greek Artists Foundation from Fair Oaks, CA; authentic Greek cuisine and pastries; live cooking demonstrations; a live wine chat with Yiannis Sfakianakis of Pavlidis Winery from Drama, Greece; the Olympic Taverna Sports Bar & Cigar Lounge; Greek folk dancing; lectures about Greek history; culture and religion as well as an expanded Kid’s Fun Zone with rock climbing, carnival games, rides and prizes.

The Pasadena Greek Fest is an annual event which brings together thousands of visitors from the Greater Los Angeles area to a weekend pageantry celebrating all things Greek. Proceeds from the event benefit the cultural, educational, athletic and community outreach programs run by Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in Pasadena, CA.

Daren Metropoulos

The Los Angeles Police Protective League’s (LAPPL) Eagle & Badge Foundation hosted a gala to celebrate 10 years of the foundation’s commitment to supporting Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, their families and the children in the communities they protect and serve. The evening paid tribute to the Lakers Organization, including owner Jerry Buss and family, and Coach Mike Brown; Daren and Evan Metropoulos, of C. Dean Metropoulos & Company, of the iconic Pabst Brewing Company; and one of Hollywood’s best-known couples, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. Each of the honorees received the Line of Duty — Legacy Award.

The event took place on August 30th at the JW Marriott, L.A. Live. Leaders from local businesses, law enforcement, entertainment and politics gathered to pay tribute to the honorees and the 2010 LAPD Medal of Valor winners, including:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck
Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti
Los Angeles Councilmember Dennis P. Zine
Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich
LAPPL President Paul M. Weber
Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca
United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
CBS Sports Director Jim Hill
Eagle & Badge Foundation President Arthur M. Kassel
KNX Reporter Frank Mottek
John Rockwell
Norm Crosby
Thomas V. Girardi, Esq.

Daren and Evan Metropoulos, of C. Dean Metropoulos & Company received In the Line of Duty — Legacy Award together with the other honorees. Metropoulos will be at the helm of operating and reinventing Pabst Brewing Company, and are relocating the all-American, iconic brand to Southern California this summer. Pabst is currently the largest and only traditional brewing company that is still American-owned, and Evan and Daren are committed to returning this venerable group of historic Pabst brands, whose U.S. roots go back to the 1840s, to their earlier glory. The Metropoulos brothers have an extensive background of working with their father, Chairman and CEO Dean Metropoulos, in creating and recreating some of America’s top brand names in the food industry, including Stella Foods, Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. and Mumm and Perrier Jouet Champagnes, to name a few. One of the top entrepreneurial and philanthropic families in America, the Metropoulos family is prominent in the Greek-American community.

The red-carpet evening also featured silent and live auctions, a cocktail reception, a gourmet dinner and surprise entertainment.

George Argyros, former United States Ambassador to Spain and one of America’s foremost real estate investors and businessmen talks about the economic situation in Greece. He admits that the newly issued treasury bills targeted towards Greek-Americans are a high risk investment. Ambassador Argyros also talked about US politics, the turmoil in Libya and the 2012 presidential election.

Ambassador John Negroponte

The World Affairs Council of Orange County presented Greek-American Ambassador John Negroponte to a prominent audience of members and guests during its annual Spring Gala Celebrition on May 12 . Ambassador Negroponte spoke about “America’s Foreign Policy in a World in Turmoil.”

Ambassador John D. Negroponte has been ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq. In Washington he served as director for Vietnam in the Nixon Administration and then as deputy national security adviser under President Reagan. He has also held a cabinet level position as the first director of national intelligence under President George W. Bush. His most recent position in government was as deputy secretary of state, where he served as the State Department’s chief operating officer.

The American diplomat was introduced by another Greek-American Ambassador, George L. Argyros. Other special guests included John R. Malott, Robert H. Tuttle, Gaddi Vasquez, Linn Williams and Congressional Delegates. The event was held at the Westin South Coast Plaza and included Greek traditional dancing.

Watch an interview with the president of World Affairs council of Southern California, Dato’ Seri Timor Rafiq.

World Affairs Council of Southern California is a part of World Affairs Councils of America, the largest non-profit international affairs organization in the United States. Its mission is to bring the world to Orange County and bring Orange County to the world. The Council seeks to meet this goal by hosting prominent speakers on topics of international importance at various meetings including our monthly dinner events. As a non-partisan organization, WAC presents differing points of view on current events from all regions of the world.

The Council strongly encourages participation in our events from local high schools, colleges and universities and has a standing scholarship outreach committee for that purpose.