The newly elected Officers and Board of Directors of the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire. In front (l. to r.); Dr. John Rouman, Prof. Nina Gatzoulis, Bill Gatzoulis, Chris Papoutsy, Mary Papoutsy, and George Kitsis. In back (l. to r.); Dr. Richard E. Clairmont and Cosmos Marandos. Dr. John Rassias was absent when the photo was taken.
Paideia To Etch Greek in Granite

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With a grant from the Christos & Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation and a unanimous vote from the founding Board of Directors, "The Hellenic Society Paideia of New Hampshire" was formally established and launched in the Granite State at a meeting held at the Athens Restaurant in Manchester, NH on December 6, 2001. The Hellenic Society Paideia of New Hampshire is the newest branch of The Hellenic Society Paideia, which was formed in 1977 at the University of Connecticut at Storrs and now has numerous branches in the US, Greece, and Brazil. The Hellenic Society Paideia is a non-profit educational and cultural organization with the mission of preserving and promoting the Hellenic heritage, history, language, art, culture, and religion. It aims to assist in any way possible universities, colleges, schools, churches, organizations, and individuals in resources, research and guidance, especially pertaining to Greek language, history, culture, art, and religion. The Hellenic Society Paideia also intends to promote the furtherance of the principles and ideals of Hellenism as a living philosophy, to encourage the study of the classic arts and the Greek language in local public schools, high schools, colleges and universities and to establish an awareness of the special relationship between the principles of Hellenism and the basic tenets of Western democracy.

Immediately after establishing the Granite State branch elections were held for officers and directors of the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire. Bill Gatzoulis from Dover, NH, was elected president, Mary Papoutsy from Rye, NH, internal vice-president, Cosmos Marandos from Nashua, NH, external vice-president, Prof. Richard E. Clairmont from the University of New Hampshire, secretary, and Prof. Nina Gatzoulis from the University of New Hampshire, treasurer. Also elected to serve on the Board of Directors were Prof. John C. Rouman from the University of New Hampshire, Prof. John Rassias from Dartmouth College, Mr. George Kitsis from Manchester, NH, and Christos Papoutsy from Rye, NH.

The Board of Directors then took the first step towards Paideia's mission and approved two $500.00 scholarship awards to worthy students taking first year Modern Greek at the University of New Hampshire. One scholarship is for the fall 2001 semester and the other will be for the spring 2002 semester. A tie resulted for the fall 2001 scholarship and therefore two students who excelled in their first year Modern Greek studies at the University of New Hampshire, Caitlyn Corson and Jessica DePontbriand shared the $500.00 award.

Bill Gatzoulis stated that he is extremely proud to be the first president of such a worthwhile organization and to be flanked by such noted members on the Board as three professors of the Classics and Modern Greek from the University of New Hampshire, Prof. John C. Rouman, Prof. Richard E. Clairmont, and Prof. Nina Gatzoulis; philanthropists and major contributors to many Hellenic and Greek Orthodox causes, Christos and Mary Papoutsy; world known linguist and educator at Dartmouth College, Prof. John Rassias; a member of the National AHEPA scholastic program, Cosmos Marandos; and an educator of the Greek language and culture for many years in the Manchester, NH Greek community, George Kitsis.


Chris and Mary Papoutsy give a grant from the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation to President Bill Gatzoulis (center) to launch the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire.
Gatzoulis also noted "Although we are just getting started, some exciting events are already taking place in the state of New Hampshire. Through efforts of the Greek communities in Manchester, NH and with some assistance from Paideia, the Manchester school board recently approved to offer a Modern Greek course in their high schools. Paideia intends to work with the Manchester Greek communities and the school administration for the success of this program by assisting in the enrollment of students in these classes and to assure qualified teachers are available. The study of the Greek language is very important not only to those of Greek ancestry but to all students for learning the English language since approximately one third of the English words have derived from Greek words. The importance of the Greek language is amplified for those students who will be pursuing studies in law, medicine and the sciences since the percentage of the English words that are derived from the Greek language in these fields is much higher. Because of the importance of the Greek language to all students, Paideia intends to work in other communities to have the Greek language offered in as many public schools in New Hampshire as possible. "

The next major step is their membership drive. There are no annual dues for membership in the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire. Any person is eligible for membership who is at least eighteen years of age without regard to race, ethnic origin, color or religious beliefs and who is interested in and supportive of the purposes, principles, programs, and policies of the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire. The Society does, however, accept donations for support of its programs. The Society is organized exclusively for one or more purposes as specified in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and as such all donations to the Society are exempt from taxes.

Reflecting the sentiments of the Board, Gatzoulis said, "We are embarking on a 10 to 20 year program that will require not only the efforts of Paideia, but the efforts of many others in the State of New Hampshire. We do not intend to be in competition with any other organization, society, or church group in New Hampshire but intend to work with all to achieve our mission. Sometimes we will be the leaders, sometimes coworkers, and other times the followers. We will ask for help from others when we need it and we will provide our help to others when called upon and we can give. It is our mission that is important and together "we WILL etch GREEK in the GRANITE."

Paideia plans to sponsor lectures, concerts, dances and other events in the near future that will be enjoyed by all and will aid in the preservation of the Hellenic heritage in the State of New Hampshire.

The Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire invites you to visit their web site at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/paideianh/ or to contact them by E-mail at: paideianh@attibi.com , by regular mail at: 25 Rogers Street, Dover, NH 03820 or by Tel./Fax (603) 742-0466.
University of New Hampshire students who excelled in Modern Greek studies, Caitlyn Corson (left) and Jessica DePontbriand (right) receive their scholarship award from the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of New Hampshire. Making the presentation is President Bill Gatzoulis (extreme right) accompanied by Board members (l. to r.) Dr. Richard E. Clairmont, Prof. Nina Gatzoulis, and Dr. John Rouman.