[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF THE PANPAPHIAN ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ON THE OCCASION 
                       OF ITS ANNUAL DINNER-DANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 2009

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the PanPaphian 
Association of America. Founded more than two decades ago by Hellenic 
Cypriot Americans of Paphian ancestry, it has carried out its vital 
educational, cultural, charitable, and humanitarian mission while 
promoting peace, unity, and understanding on Cyprus.
  The Association is holding the 8th Annual Evagoras Pallikarides Award 
of Merit dinner-dance this month. The Evagoras Pallikarides Award is 
being presented to Panicos Papanicolaou. Born and raised in Nicosia, he 
came to the U.S. after serving in the Cypriot National Guard. He earned 
Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees at the New Jersey Institute of 
Technology (NJIT), then obtained a research position there, developing 
technology for the cleanup of toxic soil. A principal of JF 
Contracting, a Brooklyn construction and engineering firm, he is 
affiliated with the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National 
Society of Professional Engineers, and the Civil Engineering Honor 
Society. The Supreme President of the Cyprus Federation of America, 
Vice President of the Cyprus Children's Fund, and an Archon of the 
Ecumenical Patriarchate, he also serves on the Greek Orthodox 
Archdiocesan Council, the Advisory Board of Queens College, and as a 
supporter of St. Basil's Academy, the Albert Dorman Honors College at 
NJIT, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Prior to becoming the 
Federation's Supreme President, he was Chairman of the Justice for 
Cyprus Committee. A recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, he 
was the 1995 Bronx Businessman of the Year. He is devoted to his wife, 
Nasia, and his daughters, Elizabeth and Elena.
  The PanPaphian Association is awarding the Distinguished Fellow 
Cyprian Award to Elena Maroulleti. Born on Cyprus in Nicosia, she grew 
up in Famagusta before immigrating to the U.S., where she founded ``The 
Vraka,'' a folk-dancing group that later became the Cypriot Emigrants 
Cultural Association. Under her leadership, it mounted live 
performances relating to Cypriot folklore, culture, theater, dance, and 
music. She is an accomplished journalist, having served on the main 
production team of ABC News for more than twenty years. After 
volunteering her time as a host of radio programs pertaining to Cyprus 
and Greece for five years, she founded AKTINA Productions, a non-profit 
cultural and educational organization dedicated to the promotion and 
preservation of the Hellenic cultural heritage through radio, 
television, live performances, and other media. It sponsors AKTINA FM, 
a bilingual radio show, and AKTINA TV, an English language show, which 
reach audiences of hundreds of thousands. Both programs focus on 
Hellenes' rich cultural heritage as well as news and current events in 
Cyprus, Greece, and America. In 2002, Ms. Maroulleti was awarded the 
``Women of Achievement Pace Setter Award'' by the New York City Council 
Speaker Peter F. Vallone, Sr. She is the founder and President of the 
Ethnic Broadcasters Action Committee, which represents all ethnic 
broadcaster-produced programs on WNYE, New York City's publicly owned 
television station. She is happily married to Tom Stouras and devoted 
to Caroline Ioannou, her daughter from a previous marriage.
  The Member of the Year Award will be given to Mr. Nicos Paphitis, who 
was born in Morfou, Cyprus. While serving as an officer in the Cyprian 
military police, he played professional soccer with the team Keravnos 
Strovolou. He came to the U.S. in 1983, earned a Bachelor of Science 
degree in accounting from the City University of New York, and returned 
to Cyprus to work for Laiki Bank until 1998, when he was returned to 
New York to become the Bank's chief representative. Currently a 
Business Development Manager with Piraeus Bank and a 2nd Vice-President 
of the Cyprus Federation, he is devoted to the Hellenic American 
community and institutions like Saint Demetrios School and the American 
Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, as well as his wife, 
Evie, and his children, Andreas and Marilena.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues rise to join me 
in paying tribute to the PanPaphian Association of America and its 2009 
honorees.

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