A friend said to us at the start of this venture, “It’s not easy; you’re not going to get rich. It’s a tough business.” And it is. But the reward is that you shine the spotlight on people who richly deserve it—the superstars of the previous generation such as Brademas and Sarbanes—and show how the new generation has taken up the torch and carried on the tradition of service and accomplishment: John Sarbanes is the spitting image of the young Paul Sarbanes, who TIME Magazine once called one of the up-and-coming public figures of his generation.

John Sarbanes was our first annual NEO Person of the Year and there was no more worthy recipient. As we said in our tribute, “After an Ivy League education and a job at a powerhouse law film, John Sarbanes could have settled into the fast track to a partnership and the advantages provided to him by his famous name.” Instead, he chaired committees on health care, worked part-time in public education, and did pro bono work for years to help community organizations throughout Maryland. “That’s because I cared about those issues, and frankly, I was willing to forego some compensation in order to do that,” says the freshman congressman, who is leaving his mark on the Congress as his father once did.

Ike Gulas, the dynamic young head of AHEPA, was our most recent Person of the Year and another of the figures that we spotlighted for bridging the generation gap. A skilled lawyer who grew up in Alabama from a large extended family that ranged over the South, he has made his mark defending ordinary citizens in the largest civil litigation cases in the country. “It is hard not to become affected by someone’s catastrophic loss,” he says.

But he’s also embraced his parent’s commitment to his community and to organizations like AHEPA. “I would travel with my parents to most of the AHEPA conventions around the country where I would meet other Greek American youth from other cities,” he remembers. “Seeing how they embraced their heritage and the common similarities we shared made me that much prouder to be Greek American.”

In our own small measure in the past three years, we have tried to acknowledge the continuing ties of the generation and their common believe in our heritage and public service. In our next three years, and hopefully beyond that, we intend to continue the NEO tradition of bridging the generation gap and ask you to join us to make the magazine your forum. A magazine is a living extension of its readers and without you we have no voice. We made the brave attempt, you joined us on this journey, the road is very long, but the people along the way are fascinating, and these people are just like you. They are both an inspiration and a challenge to our own dreams.

Thank you for sharing the journey with us these past three years—you’ve been wonderful company—and we can’t wait for our future adventures together.

Dimitri C. Michalakis