The Greek Olympic Society organized a successful Symposium on April 15th, 2010 at the Greek Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, in celebration of the 10th issue of the Greek Ethos magazine, a publication edited and published by Dr. Ellisaios Paul Taiganides, under the auspices of the Society. Chris Tomaras, Founder and Chairman of the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation was the Guest Speaker. Mr. Tomaras addressed the community and enlightened them of the mission and activities of the Foundation, and also discussed other compelling issues with them.
Mr. Tomaras gave an insightful presentation of the “Greek immigrant experience” of the last 50 years. He emphasized the significant achievements of the Omogeneia that successfully established itself and made great contributions to their new homeland, despite the many adversities they encountered. He added that their greatest accomplishment was providing the best education to their children, and even more importantly, relaying the Hellenic values to them, such as ethos, philotimo, philanthropy, integrity, self respect et al. He added that “only with these values and principles solidified in our children’s characters, will Hellenism continue to thrive and be recognized as a significant part of American society.”
With regard to the work of the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation Mr. Tomaras reminded the audience thatGreek Americans are poised to achieve their dreams and become contributing members of society thanks to their upbringing that combines a solid education with Hellenic values. He stated, “our attention turns to our youth, whom we recognize and reward with our scholarships for their academic achievements. These young Greek Americans, equipped with top education and endowed with the Hellenic values, are poised to distinguish themselves as the leaders and innovators of tomorrow’s society.”
School children receive first taste of scholarship reward
An interesting dimension in this trip was Mr. Tomaras’ visit to the Community’s Greek school. He got everyone’s undivided attention during his presentation together with his offer of $100 to each of the students, age 6-12 that would write out by hand each Hellenic value and its definition 25 times. With the help of the teachers, the assignment will be collected and forwarded to the Foundation and upon evaluation, the checks will be sent directly to the children.
In his address to the students Mr. Tomaras said “this is just a first taste for you, as the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation’s future scholarship candidates. I look forward to the end result of this exercise, as these values become part of your nature, and deeply engraved in your hearts as you thoughtfully and repeatedly write out these few words that embody Hellenism.”
Mr. Tomaras makes frequent visits to various cities and accepts invitations from interested communities, organizations and foundations that would like to schedule a presentation and receive information on the work of the Foundation.
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