Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (Order of AHEPA) has announced the cancellation of its 98th Supreme Convention that was scheduled for July 19-26 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

“Protecting the health, safety, and well-being of our delegates, members, and guests and their families, is our priority and has led us to take this unprecedented measure,” AHEPA President George Horiates said in an announcement.

“We recognize canceling the world’s largest week-long annual meeting of Hellenes and philhellenes impacts many of you in many ways. We want to acknowledge the tremendous volume of reservations that were made by members of the community. Room reservations were literally oversold,” Horiates said of the convention, which attracts thousands of people from throughout the world.

This year marks the first time in the organization’s 98-year history that a Supreme Convention will be canceled. During World War II, the event was suspended from 1943 to 1945 and replaced with smaller National Conferences in Washington D.C.

Since the beginning of the United States’ coronavirus outbreak in March, AHEPA’s leadership in Washington DC has coordinated various activities on the local, regional and national levels. Dozens of chapters from across the AHEPA family participated in charitable efforts including food support for homeless populations and healthcare workers.

Many chapters donated supplies to area hospitals and some even organized blood drives when the hospitals experienced shortages.

Photo: From the archives of Gregory C. Pappas showing Basil Aronis (Warren, OH), Peter Betchunis (Youngstown, OH), V.J. Harris (Cleveland, OH) and Theodore Constantinopoulos (Akron, OH) at an Ahepa function in January 1934.