AHEPA now has its own travel website at: www.ahepatravel.com. AHEPAtravel.com is powered by the same websites you normally use to book travel – Travelocity.com, Hotels.com and Cheaptickets.com – giving you the same great features and low prices! The site can take care of all your travel needs, including: plane tickets, cruises, hotels, rental cars and more.

Every time you use a travel website, the travel companies pay big commissions for your reservation. Now, when you book travel on the AHEPA website the organization will receive a portion of the travel commission.

If you don’t already know AHEPA stands for American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. AHEPA is a service organization founded on 26 July 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia its goal is to support Greek-American charities, causes, and communities.It is probably the most well known American organization who promotes hellenism globally.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was trying to change the law that limits the terms a mayor can be in the office. This Thursday he won and the City Council vote, a move that clears the way for the billionaire independent to run again and dramatically changes the city’s political landscape.

By a 29-22 vote, the city council gave officeholders the option of three consecutive four-year terms. The existing law allows only two terms, and Bloomberg’s second finishes at the end of 2009.

The former CEO had said that he would like a third term because he strongly believed that his economic expertise could be very useful for the city in this era of economic hardship that we enter.

These may be good news for the Mayor but not for all those who were hoping to run for office in the next election. Greek-American billionaire John Catsimatidis was one of them who had a very good chance of becoming mayor of New York. Catsimatidis in an interview conducted at his 9th Avenue office for greekreporter.com had stated previously that he liked Mr. Bloomberg and thought that he is a very good mayor. This is what makes us think that he would not run against the current mayor. No comment have been made from Catsimatidis yet.

George Stephanopoulos is currently the Chief Washington Correspondent for ABC News and anchor of ABC’s Sunday morning political affairs program, “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” This past year, Stephanopoulos has interviewed every major Republican and Democratic candidate, and moderated debates for the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.

George Stephanopoulos has a rare insight into presidential campaigns, unlike the majority of mainstream television journalists, since he used to work on the other side of politics, as a senior advisor to Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.

Although Stephanopoulos received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Columbia University, a career in politics seemed unlikely after receiving his Master’s degree in theology from Balliol College at Oxford University in England, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

While Stephanopoulos’s father and grandfather were priests in the Greek Orthodox church, Stephanopoulos made a decision early on not to follow the same path. His father urged him to become a lawyer, but after graduating from Oxford, Stephanopoulos decided to go work for Ohio Congressman Ed Feighan in 1982 as a legislative assistant.

The first presidential campaign Stephanopoulos worked on was in 1988 for Michael Dukakis, who he felt an affinity for since they were both liberal Greek-Americans from Massachusetts. After the campaign, Stephanopoulos worked for House Majority Leader, Dick Gephardt, until joining the Clinton campaign.

Stephanopoulos was a leading member of the Clinton campaign along with James Carville and David Wilhelm. After the 1992 election, he became Clinton’s Communications Director and then Senior Advisor to President Clinton during his first administration.

However, all did not end well between Stephanopoulos and the Clintons. Stephanopoulos resigned from the administration shortly after the 1996 election and wrote a tell-all book called “All Too Human: A Political Education” published in 1999, which became a New York Times #1 bestseller. The book discussed Stephanopoulos’s struggles and clashes with President Clinton and First Lady Hilary during Clinton’s first term and the 1992 and 1996 Clinton/Gore campaigns.

Stephanopoulos made his transition into journalism when he joined ABC News in 1997 as a news analyst for “This Week.” In 2002, he began anchoring “This Week” replacing long-time host, the late David Brinkley, who went into retirement. The program’s title was changed to “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” to reflect this change. Stephanopoulos was named Chief Washington Correspondent for ABC News in December 2005.

Since making the switch from politician to journalist, Stephanopoulos has been criticized for being biased due to his liberal background. In response, Stephanopoulos told Greek Circle Magazine: “I ask people to judge me by my work. The longer I work in journalism, of course, the fewer questions there are.”

However, after the Democratic debate that he moderated with ABC News’ Charles Gibson in April 2008, he received criticism for being too aggressive and asking unfair questions to the Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.

“The questions we asked were tough and fair and appropriate and relevant and what you would expect to be asked in a presidential debate at this point,” Stephanopoulos told the L.A. Times. “The questions we asked…are being debated around the political world every day.”

Stephanopoulos, as influenced by his father, believes his role in life is to make a difference in the world. In his commencement address at St. John’s University in 2007, he explained that “…trying to change people’s lives for the better; it’s what we’re called to do. Not to create a perfect world in a world of imperfect people, it’s just not possible. But a better world.”

As evident in his interviews with the most important world leaders and political candidates, Stephanopoulos will continue to play a role in future presidential elections by asking questions that inform and educate the public about those politicians who have the power to change the world.

Michael Paraskevas  was always around the arts since his  mother worked with Broadway producer Harry Rigby  (Sugar Babies, Irene, No Nannett) when he was growing up. His mother always made it her business to bring Michael and his twin sister along to auditions and rehearsals.

She worked closely with Harry on a lot of shows. She was a strong supporter for Harry. The two of them were very good friends. “I remember a time when I was with my father picking up some frames in a shop and there was this sketchbook. I took one look at that and asked him if he would buy it for me. I thought I could fill that book with ideas and then, well for lack of a better word keep them close to me. It seemed like a nice orderly thing to do. I filled that book up with drawings and you know what? I still have it at our family home in New Jersey.”

At first Michael thought he would be a stage designer. But eventually he didn’t want to depend on such a large community of people to achieve that goal. Hence painting seemed to be a better way to go. Even though now he seems to be back at stage design with all the TV animation he is doing and the puppet show at www.thecheapshow.com.
Michael has been inspired by many artists like Gilbert Stone, Jack Potter, Robert Weaver, Sam Martine and Marshall Arisman. Marshall just happened to have taught him to just keep working at his craft and never give up.  Jack Potter was another wonderful teacher for drawing. Robert Weaver helped Michael to develop the plan for thinking of what to draw. Gilbert Stone was an exceptional teacher who seemed to be bigger than life for Michael. He was the most inspirational artist. “For those who knew him words really can’t describe what one learned from his classes. He taught me that the life of an artist was something special.”

Michel attended the School of Visual Arts a prestigious art college that offered the best in all that is art related. The idea that teachers were all working in the business made it very appealing for him. Michael could not be drawn to professors who just taught to make a living. He wanted ones that worked in the field.

Michael’s mother turned out to be a very talented writer who ended up collaborating with him on many projects. “I always knew she was somewhat different than other mothers. First off she knew a lot more than any of the kids’ mother’s I use to play with. She just didn’t talk like them she was very well read. She was also a good judge of people.”

His mother’s background in theater was a big help to Michael. But her writing of dialogue was superb. Michael was illustrating for a few magazines yet he soon realized that combining their talents, more can be achieved. Hence he approached his mother with an idea of her penning a children’s book and he would illustrate it. Essentially they went on to complete 22 books, three TV shows and one animated special for ABC. Some of the books completed are as follows: The Ferocious Beast, Junior Kroll, The Tangerine Bear, and Shamlanders etc. One of the books also ended up to be adapted to animation for a show on Nick Jr. called “Maggie and the Ferocious Beast”.  Besides that “The Kids from Room 402” was also optioned to be animated but would hopefully be released on DVD with all 22 episodes. The writers on that project were Lisa Kite and Cindy Beagle.

Presently, they are shopping around another project called Leo “Spats” Ratcatcher which Fox showed some interest. Yet they are awaiting a response. In the meantime Michael and his mother were busy working on a show entitled The Cheap Show a puppet show along with a new animated series called Taffy Saltwater for Saban.
When it comes to comparing his work to anyone he tends to leave it to his critics. His work can be viewed at the web site  http://web.mac.com/jrkroll/Land_of_the_Lost_Socks/Gallery.html. 
According to Michael children’s books are not in high demand as they use to be. “Not really. The business has changed. Harry Potter took care of that. Kids seem to grow up faster today and picture books like Hoppy and Joe are hard to get published. Today, it’s either very pre-school or Harry Potter young adult novel picture books. Almost every celebrity comes out with a book. An area they should keep out of.”

Michael admits that being part Greek has always seemed awkward to native Greeks who look at him differently. Yet he welcomes them with open arms. He has marketed the animated series “Maggie” in Greece. His books have been translated and are popular in countries like England and Ireland. His father is Greek and his mother German-Irish. Yet he recognizes his Greek roots wholeheartedly.

Michael and his mother Betty hope to carry this tradition forward and bring some fun stories to all children. Anyone who would be interested on learning more about Michael and his mother’s work can find it at   www.thecheapshow.com or at www.peterpepperpets.com.

Being creative and developing new concepts are the staples in the fashion and beauty industry. One such individual has harnessed these properties and capitalized on them. Artemis’ interest began in college after she taught herself character makeup for a production of The Crucible. She went on to play two characters, Harriet Putnam in Act I & Sara Goode in Act IV and also volunteered to learn how to create the character makeup.

“I fell in love with the creative process, as I believed that it was an extension of all the other creative things I had always involved myself in. I paint, write poetry, sing, and so forth.”

She soon graduated to working with up and commers and celebrities from overseas, like Charlotte Dawson, Annet Artani & Madelin Zero. Artemis derives her inspiration from nature itself. For example a flower, barbed wire, rain, a pattern or even something as simple as a smile.

“I have worked with Annet Artani. She is a singer-songwriter from New York, who is very well known in Greece, and will be releasing an American album shortly. She also happens to be my kid sister.”

When it comes to how women desire to express themselves Artemis believes that women today want to find what looks best on them. When someone asks for a makeup lesson from her they wish to learn how to look their best. There are always women who love to experiment with color and then there are those who are more timid and prefer more natural tones. According to Artemis makeup is an accessory and it is meant to enhance your features so that you look your beautiful best.

“I also find that the most experimental time for beauty is when you are in your teens and early twenties.  After this, life changes and you realize that less is more.  You can tell a woman’s age if she is still doing her makeup & hair in the same style she wore in her youth! You look much more youthful and fresh if you are updated, yet classic!”

Presently, Artemis is working on makeup for photo-shoots, fashion shows and specific events. So there is something new coming up all the time. For her, this is one of the most exciting parts of her career as a freelancer. On the horizon she will be on the Janice

Dickinson Modeling Agency Show on Oxygen at the end of their season. She was on screen working on a shoot for the show. It aired on October 14th.

Artemis has worked with all types of people.  Hairstyling was something she had no intention of working on.  She did not think that she would like to create hairstyles but someone mentioned that she would be able to attract more work. Artemis began to dabble in it right away, fell in love with it, and now she is often hired to style hair alone.

She also admits that her ethnic upbringing had contributed to her success and love for all things beautiful. “Definitely yes! Greek-Americans have this innate desire to create their own success. Greek Americans of my parent’s generation came with little to nothing in their pockets and created businesses that allowed them to buy homes, educate their children, and live comfortably in the United States. They are the realization of the American dream. I come from a community of entrepreneurs.”

Artemis also being a curvy woman herself always admired the beautiful models of the plus industry. Hence she was approached by Plus Model Magazine to be an editor. She was shooting a lingerie editorial for the magazine when the editor asked her if she would be interested in becoming their beauty editor. It turned out they wanted to add a beauty section to their magazine.

“I jumped at the opportunity because other than making faces, I write, and I was very excited about being able to write about beauty! I also love that I have the chance to reach an audience through an outlet that promotes a positive self-image.”

When it comes to achieving her families support it was always a balancing act. The time Artemis made the comment that she wanted to pursue this field after college her family was not for it.

” I had wanted to do this is after college, I was talked out of it.  “We did not send you to college to sell lipstick!” was what I was told.”

Artemis then not mature enough to realize the obvious pursued a different career as a school teacher. Her parents own fears inhibited their ability to comprehend what was possible beyond a hair salon. Then the time came that all concerned realized that Artemis was not happy what she was doing. At that point her family shifted gears and had no choice but support her move.

“When we all realized how unhappy and frustrated I was at being a teacher, I think that they had no choice but to support my decision.  My husband, however, was able to support me whole-heartedly, from the get-go. He was able to see my vision and is still my greatest cheerleader!”

Artemis looks forward to further projects to make everyone look their best.  To view her work visit  www.makeupbyartemis.com .