Ross Gallabrese READY TO CELEBRATE — Jim Antoniou, president of Weirton's AHEPA chapter, left, and Nick Tranto, committee member, discuss plans for the May 26 banquet that will commemorate the organization's 100 years of service to the area.

WEIRTON — A special organization is preparing to celebrate an important anniversary.

AHEPA Hancock County Chapter 103, based at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Weirton, will celebrate 100 years of service to the community May 26 during a recognition dinner in the church’s social hall.

Nick Tranto, one of the event organizers, said the theme of the evening will be “Celebrating 100 Years of Perseverance, Preservation and Resilience.”

“Part of my welcome is how we have managed to still be here after 100 years — through the Depression, through world wars, through economic downturns with the closure of the steel mills — and then we were hit with COVID, which almost shut the country down,” Tranto explained. “And guess what — we’re still here. They haven’t extinguished us.”

The local chapter was founded in the city’s North End on May 9, 1926. That was just four years after the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association was founded in Atlanta as a way to help Greek immigrants assimilate into American society and in response to bigotry led by the Ku Klux Klan.

“The beauty of that is that as the organization grew, it became a fraternal organization of Greek Orthodox Christians,” Tranto said. “It was a place where they could feel welcome, safe and they were able to express themselves through what their values were, which were education, family values, philanthropy and doing good through civic organizations.”

Originally made up of 15 men, the local group added 47 members two months later. That membership has continued to grow, Tranto explained.

“Of all the places in the United States, where did they start a chapter? In this little town of Weirton,” he said. “Here we are, more than 100 years later, with 105 members and still going strong. That’s an incredible thing.”

It’s a roster that includes 16 life members whose service in the organization ranges from 50 to 72 years.

Membership stability — and growth — is unusual in fraternal and service organizations today. There are a couple of reasons why Weirton’s AHEPA chapter has been able to go against that trend, Tranto and James Antoniou, its president, said.

“We are able to attract people,” Antoniou said. “A lot of people will come up to us and ask us to tell them a little bit about the organization. They say they see us in the newspaper and they see us all over Weirton doing things — they ask us to tell them a little bit more about us. Next thing you know, they ask, ‘What does it take to be a member?’

“You don’t have to be Greek anymore,” he continued. “Membership has been expanded to a wide range of people. A lot of people might not know the name, but they know of us. Once they find out who we are and what we do, there are a lot of people who say they want to be a part of the organization.”

Tranto agreed and added that strong leadership is important.

“I’ll tell you what the secret is — you have to have dynamic leaders,” he said. “We can have 50 or 60 volunteers, but you have to have leaders with vision who are willing to take on projects and perform them at a high level of excellence.”

Support for local groups runs deep, including assistance for organizations like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, toy drives at Christmas, Darla’s Dolls, the Community Bread Basket and the Weirton Christian Center. Members also support a termite basketball team, and they help feed hundreds of residents in the city. The club also stepped up to help area residents affected by last June’s flooding.

“This will be our 20th year feeding people on Thanksgiving,” Tranto said. “We do 500 meals in partnership with the Weirton Ministerial Association and the Weirton Heights Rotary Club. We cook for senior shut-ins in the high rises and the Weirton Senior Center.”

Members also feed about 200 children from the Christian Center, he added.

And it’s all accomplished out of the kitchen in the basement of the church at 3528 West St., which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017.

Antoniou and Tranto added that the local chapter is looking to expand the number of organizations it can support, noting the group does not hold onto money earned through fundraising events — it gives it back to the community.

“That’s what draws people in,” Tranto said. “We are able to extend ourselves out into the community. We are a fraternal organization that focuses on helping not only our local community, but beyond. That makes us vital and important to many families in need.”

Nationally, AHEPA maintains a bone marrow registry, raised more than $363 million during the War Bond Drive of World War II and donated $612 million to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Restoration Project (the largest donation of any ethnic-led group in the nation). During the 1930s and 1940s, it built more than 300 Greek Orthodox churches across the United States.

Weirton’s chapter is one of 450 operating around the country. Its expansion over the years included the formation of a ladies auxiliary — the Daughters of Penelope Pallas Athene Chapter 2 — on Oct. 30, 1954.

Local members also have had the chance to serve in regional and national leadership roles. The chapter has produced two national supreme presidents — the grandfather-grandson tandem of George E. Loucas in 1959-60 and George E. Loucas in 2016-17. Three supreme governors have also come from the chapter: Matthew Melonas (1974-75), Mike Giannirakis (1970-1980) and John Alatis (1987-88).

Joining Antoniou as club officers are Vice President James Makricostas, Second Vice President Rodney Summers, Secretary Gary Mastromichalis and Treasurer Ernest Nicholas III. Joining Antoniou, Tranto, Makricostas and Nicholas on the banquet committee are George Adams, Harry Brown, Nick Proakis and Steve Psaros.

The May 26 banquet has been sold out, organizers said. A reception at 6 p.m. will be followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Among national officials expected to attend are Supreme President E. Chris Kaitson, Supreme Secretary Themistocles P. Frangos, Executive Director Basil N. Mossaidis, Region 2 Supreme Governor Alex Barlamas and Region 5 Supreme Governor Craig Theros.

Greeks, Antoniou and Tranto said, have a special bond with their culture.

“As industry has left, our children can’t come back here and get jobs in the mill when they graduate,” Tranto said. “Here’s the legacy — they join AHEPA in the cities they wind up in. They have those lessons learned from their grandfathers. They will take that legacy of whatever they learned in the Ohio Valley and take it wherever they go. They have been instilled with the spirit of giving, that spirit of community service through this organization.”

Antoniou sees that spirit in how former area residents always come back to Weirton to help with festivals and dinners.

“Our kids move away because there’s nothing left in the Valley,” he said. “But when it comes to the festival or Thanksgiving dinner, they all come back. They all have that dedication and pride in their heritage. Yes, they moved away, but when the church says, ‘Hey, we’re doing this,’ that’s their church — they’re coming back to help. That’s proof of the dedication that our children have.”