Toonies, Loonies and Canadian Bacon...

Spotted: President Marianthe Kolokithas getting stuck in Atlanta, GA for an unexpected overnight stay due to Delta having a mechanical malfunction. 

Yes...that's right my trip started off with a bang...literally.  One of Delta's planes had a little explosion in the cock pit and delayed flights all day!  Instead of visiting Phoenix, AZ as planned I spent the night in Atlanta, GA with some furry friends. The hotel I was staying at was having a Neapolitan Mastiff dog breeding competition.  If you haven't ever seen one of these dogs… let me just describe them for you: BIG and DROOLY! 

 

After this wonderful adventure, I was finally able to make it to Calgary, Canada...my intended destination.  For those of you who haven't been to Calgary...go.  It is beautiful.  I know you are all thinking, 'oh me… did Marianthe wear that crazy zebra hat?' and the answer is no.  Unfortunately, I didn't bring my zebra hat, however it was extremely cold and it definitely would have come in handy.  I wasn't the only cold visitor; Grand Vice President Angela Armstrong attended the weekend as Grand Liaison to Calgary.  This chapter is also fortunate in that they have a Grand Lodge member in the chapter.  Constantina Yannitsos, who previously held the position of chapter president and Grand Governor, now holds the position of Maids of Athena Grand Secretary. 

Friday night we had a mini sleepover in Canmore, a town outside of Calgary close to Banff. It was the perfect setting for the "Mountain Weekend".  The Calgary Maids plan a trip to the mountains each year and I was truly honored that they invited me to attend the girls’ weekend.   This year they planned to support our President's Project, Domestic Violence Awareness, by decorating chapter t-shirts.  The t-shirts were purple in honor of domestic violence.  We were able to discuss this year's projects as well as specific issues affecting girls our age.  It was the perfect way for the chapter to bond and get to know myself and Angela. 

 

Saturday Morning we were able to venture into Banff with Calgary Maids President Penelope Alefantis.  We visited the Banff Springs Hotel… which, by the way, is HAUNTED!  Since Halloween is right around the corner, Angela, Penelope and I decided to find the ghost of the Banff Springs Hotel.   Our adventure started with a tour of the hotel and then eventually ended on the 7th floor which houses the 'missing room'.  You can clearly see where the room has been boarded up.  I only have one word to describe this...CREEPY!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday evening the Calgary community had a Greek dance at their church.  All of the Maids attended and it was a night of dancing and celebration!

This weekend proved to be filled with fun, hauntings and dancing until my feet hurt (partially because I was wearing my 6 inch stiletto leopard high heels, but also because we were having so much fun dancing)!  I would like to thank the Calgary Maids for making Angela and me feel so welcome during the weekend.  I truly had a blast and can't wait to visit Calgary again.

Next up....Albany, NY! 

Love in Pi Alpha,

Marianthe Kolokithas

Greetings from Charleston, SC. Thank you so much for the wonderful response to my first blog post! Unfortunately I had no travels this weekend, however I had a wonderful time in Charleston catching up with friends and family. Look for my travel update next week when I travel to Calgary, Canada! 

November 3-6, 2011, I will be traveling to Washington, DC to attend Pan-Hellenism weekend. The Maids of Athena are a co-sponsor for this event. This will be a fun filled weekend, and includes events such as Greek Nights and Late Night Bouzoukia! For registration and hotel information, please go online to http://www.DCGreeks.com/PanHellenismWeekend. When you register, make sure you designate your registration package towards the Maids of Athena. For those of you on Facebook, check out their page! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166421413439331. We hope you will join us for a fun weekend with fellow Greek Americans is our capital city!




I am not only wearing purple this month because it is my favorite color but also because it is Domestic Violence Awareness Month! One in four women has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime. Women ages 20-24 are at the greatest of nonfatal intimate partner violence. Nearly three out of four Americans personally know someone who has been a victim of domestic violence. A future without violence is what we strive for and the only way to achieve that is through education. Obama recently acknowledged the importance of a future without violence: http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/content/features/detail/1831/. In support of President’s Project, Grand Vice President Angela Armstrong has incorporated an October challenge which includes holding an event to educate your community for domestic violence awareness. The girls can hold seminars or just wear purple to show their support in this cause! If you are holding events or wearing purple this month, please post the pictures to this blog!




Love in Pi Alpha,

Marianthe

What has Grand President Kolokithas been up to??

It is wonderful to finally write to you as the MOA Grand President! This is my first blog posting...so please bear with me! I am so excited about the upcoming year and am looking forward to keeping you all up to date on my life as Grand President of the MOA.

Most of you attended the Grand Governor's Conference in Washington, DC at the beginning of September. It was a great event which included a rooftop BBQ and baseball game with the entire AHEPA family. Our meeting included an initiation ritual demonstration. I felt that this portion of the meeting was the most important. It allowed our members to ask questions about specific parts of the initiation ritual and to obtain first hand knowledge of how to perform the ritual correctly. 


Other general points that were discussed in our meeting included:

• Joint MOA/ SOP National Project, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. (www.jdrf.org)
• President's Project- Penelope House (www.penelopehouse.org) As most of you know, Penelope House has always held a special place in my heart. This is why I chose this as my President's Project. To help start our fundraising efforts for President's Project, I am proud to announce that Past Grand President of the Daughters of Penelope Evelyn Tsiadis has graciously offered to donate $15 to Penelope House for every new initiate the Maids of Athena gets! This means that every new member/ new chapter will generate $15 to benefit Penelope House!
• MOA Growth and Expansion Competition

If you have questions about any of these topics please email me directly! 


This past weekend I was able to attend the Worcester, MA chapter's Lord Byron Weekend with my fellow lodge members Angela Armstrong (Grand Vice President) and Deanna Socaris (Grand Governor). It was a wonderful event that many Maids were able to attend! One of the events that the chapter planned was to go apple picking at a local farm. I have never had the pleasure of going to an apple orchard and being an apple farmer for the day so it was quite an exciting adventure for me! I am thinking about changing my career from make shift paralegal/ attorney in training to apple picking extraordinaire! This event was wonderfully planned....I can't wait to see what this chapter does next! 


Next stop on the visitation train...Calgary, Canada! 


Love in Pi Alpha, 



Marianthe Kolokithas