As part of its Lifetime Achievement Award Banquet Oct. 6, the Alpha Omega Council of Boston voted unanimously to honor 26.2 Foundation executive director and founder Tim Kilduff with the 2018 Philhellene Award.

   The Philhellene Award, first established in 2017, is given to an individual or organization that promotes the ideals of Hellenism — the principles, ideals, and pursuits associated with classical Greek civilization.

   According to the Award Banquet program, the 26.2 Foundation’s mission is to promote and support the sport of marathoning, as well as health, wellness and economic development initiatives through strategic investments in innovative, multi-generational programs on local, regional, national and global levels. Kilduff was recognized for his enthusiastic support of Alpha Omega and for programs which recognize the contributions that Greece has contributed to the world.

   “Tim and the 26.2 Foundation have been instrumental in helping the council, through its critical participation in the annual Wreath Ceremony conducted by the Consulate General of Greece and on the Marathon Education Committee, to educate the greater Boston community, and beyond, on the Hellenic roots of the Boston Marathon, the defense of democracy by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon, and on the value of that history in promoting civic education in the U.S. today,” read the Awards Banquet program.

   The program also cites Kilduff’s tireless work in the U.S. and in Greece to honor and promote the legacy of the 1948 Boston Marathon winner Stylianos Kyriakides, who created the concept of the charity run that has provided the framework for some of the noblest of all human activities associated with marathoning today. In addition, the 26.2 Foundation has partnered with the council in supporting the Examined Life-Teaching Greece Program by providing scholarships that allow teachers to receive education and training to effectively teach the Ancient Greek classics to middle and high school students.

   Kilduff received his award at the same banquet that recognized Ioannis Miaoulis, Ph.D., as the honoree for the 2018 Alpha Omega Council Lifetime Achievement Award.

   “I do not often pass on information about personal recognition,” said Kilduff. “However, I am very proud of receiving the Philhellene Award. It was a privilege to be part of a program that recognized the many accomplishments of Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis, the president and director of the Museum of Science in Boston.”