The Greek American community returns to the White House on April 4, 2016 for the 30th consecutive time. President Barack Obama is hosting the annual Greek Independence Day celebration. Hundreds of community leaders have been invited to the event, organized by Washington DC lobbyist and community activists Mike and Andrew Manatos.
The reception, complete with Greek food, will be the 30th consecutive time a sitting U.S. President has opened the Nation’s House to Greek Americans to celebrate Greek Independence Day.
“This will be our 30th consecutive gathering with the President of the United States. The Irish-American community (1 in 8 Americans) and we (1 in 250 Americans) are the only ethnic groups that are able to secure an annual event with the President of the United States,” Manatos said.
Prior to the first event in 1986 hosted by then President Ronald Reagan, there were other White House meetings that took place with sitting Archbishops and community delegations, the first dating all the way back to 1929 when the newly-elected Ahepa leadership met with President Calvin Coolidge.
See our album of 87 years of Greek Americans in the White House:
http://www.pappaspost.com/22-photos-87-years-of-greek-americans-in-the-white-house/#slide-18