GAEPIS/HPR-COSMOS FM 91.5 to Honor

Dennis Mehiel with the 2001 Phidippides Award

GALA RESET! -- FEBRUARY 22, 2002

New York – The GAEPIS Board of Directors recently announced, in light of the terrorist attacks on our nation and in acknowledgement of the grief we experience, the postponement of their Eighth Annual Phidippides Award Gala, which was originally scheduled for November 9, 2001.

The 2001 Phidippides Award Gala has been reset for the evening of Friday, February 22, 2002 at 7:30 PM. The gala, a dazzling black-tie affair, to be held at the renowned HILTON New York, will benefit Hellenic Public Radio—COSMOS FM, the only bilingual public radio program broadcasting in the tri-state area on WNYE 91.5 FM, a station owned and operated by the NYC Board of Education.

This year's award gala honoree is top industrialist and philanthropist Dennis Mehiel, founder of 4M Corporation. Mr. Mehiel is a former Archdiocesan Council member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a Leadership 100 member, an education patron, as well as a community and political activist. Mr. Mehiel is also running for the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor of New York. The Phidippides Award Gala will bring together some of the most noted leaders of our local and international Hellenic and Philhellenic communities including representatives of the Greek and Cypriot governments.

The Phidippides Award is bestowed annually to an individual (or organization) who has demonstrated a profound record of promoting and preserving Hellenism, particularly on a global scale. Past recipients include Jules Dassin and the Melina Mercouri Foundation, SAE World President Andrew Athens, world-class composer Mikis Theodorakis, Olympics 2004 Committee Chair Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, philanthropists Dimitrios and Georgia Kaloidis, internationally acclaimed film director Michael Cacoyannis and business leaders and philanthropists John and Margo Catsimatidis.

Hellenic Public Radio—COSMOS FM (HPR) is the flagship radio service of the Greek American Educational Public Information System (GAEPIS, Inc). Founded in 1987, GAEPIS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Hellenism in the U.S. and worldwide through mass media technologies. For fourteen years, HPR has broadcasted quality, non-commercial programming and it is the only daily bilingual Greek radio presence in the New York metropolitan area reaching nearly 200,000 listeners each week. HPR is internationally renowned for providing key news coverage and analysis, enriching cultural profiles and reliable educational features. It is supported in part by the City of New York, the broader New York business community, and thousands of individual members. It is universally acknowledged as a resource that must be preserved and enhanced.

For ticket information, gala reservations and underwriting opportunities call 718-488-9500.

Contact: Eleni Daniels, Executive Director