President Dr. John S. Bailey honored the students and staff that guarded the campus against forest fires during August and early September.

The Mayor of Aghia Paraskevi, Vassilis Giannakopoulos, the Naval Commander of the neigbouring Eastern Mediterranean Military Command and the Captain of the 4th Athens Fire Brigade also hailed the contribution of the volunteers and the College towards protecting Mount Imittos. “It’s the only forest we’ve got left” said Giannakopoulos, who began talks with local educational and research institutes to coordinate activities against natural disasters.

Manos Moschopoulos, the President of the ACG Student Government, stressed the importance of extracurricular activities in creating a sense of volunteerism among the students as well as the initiatives taken by student leaders at Deree to provide aid relief and support for reforestation efforts. Alexander Skouras, a Deree College ambassador, provided with his personal account of the volunteers’ activities.

President Bailey presented the volunteers with a certificate of gratitude and a US Olympic Committee pin to commemorate another great moment for volunteerism on campus in the summer of 2004.