2017 Patriarch Athenagoras I Award - Dr. Miriam Kotsonis

Good Morning - my name is Nicholas Kyrus. I am the choir director at St. Katherine in Falls Church, VA and chairman of the Communications Committee for the Eastern Federation in charge of member recognition, and I am today’s guest conductor.

The Patriarch Athenagoras I Award was initiated by the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians in 1996 as a means of giving recognition within each metropolis to meritorious individuals whose contributions to the music ministry of the Church at the metropolitan level are worthy of distinction. To date there are 24 people in our Metropolis who have received this national award - which is this medal, and they include our national chairman, Maria Keritsis, our federation president, Paul Mavromihalis and many others who are participating in the conference this weekend.

This year’s recipient has been a faithful choir member at Holy Trinity in Westfield, NJ for over 18 years. Her participation in the alto section is a role she takes very seriously as she does with everything she undertakes. She always sings in holiday presentations, Greek folk and patriotic presentations, and all this contributes to the esprit de corp of the choir. Her dedication to rehearsals and service times are exemplified in the fact that on more than one occasion, she has run in the morning in The Race to Cure Cancer and still managed to get to church on time. She is currently our secretary and the coordinator for Continuing Education. Her minutes are detailed and thorough, and she contributes many good ideas for the good of the Federation. She has attended every one of our conferences since 2004 and often attends conferences in other Metropolises. She is busy with Sunday School, scouting, Bible study and her own continuing education, and she is a good example of the adage that if you need to have something done, ask a busy person.

This year’s Patriarch Athenagoras I Award is presented today to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Miriam Kotsonis.

Congratulations!

Read at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, Perth Amboy    October 29, 2017