This year’s honorees, all well-known Greek Americans, came from a variety of disciplines. Kalomoira, the young Greek-American who rose to fame in Greece as the winner of the equivalent of “American Idol” was presented with this year’s Spotlight Award. Nicolas Gage, a longtime journalist and author was another one of the honorees. In his acceptance speech, Gage set a more serious tone. “I would like to challenge Greek American celebrities to pay back their ancestors and honor their heritage by using the power of their fame to advance the just causes of the community that nurtured them,” he said. He offered as examples the stolen Parthenon Marbles, the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the occupation of Cyprus, drawing thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
The other honorees were Oscar-winning actor George Chakiris, Michael Chiklis, known for the hot TV series “The Shield,” and TV personality Marilou Henner. The awards were presented by the talented and beautiful actress Maria Menounos and actor John Anniston.
Widely regarded as one of the premiere Hellenic charitable events in the nation, the Hellenic Charity Ball began in 1997 and is presented biennially by the Elios Society, which was founded in 1994 and is comprised of 75 distinguished Greek-Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area. The mission of the organization is to preserve and promote the spirit, values and ideals of Hellenic culture and heritage. Proceeds from this year’s Ball will provide financial support for the presentation in 2010 of “The Eye of the Painter: Ancient Greek Pottery” at the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. The project will include a major symposium; expanded materials for the antiquities gallery; a curriculum on ancient cultures for teachers; the Museum Ambassadors program for high school students; and the Poet in The Galleries program, featuring a professional poet presenting ancient Greek art to students.
“We are immensely proud to be promoting this with the Legion of Honor Museum,” stated Fanis Economidis, President of the Elios Society and Event Chairman. “The exhibit will focus on a lesser known aspect of Greek culture, and we are delighted to be able to facilitate everything connected to it.”
At the event, on hand were political figures like former Governor Gray Davis and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Also present were His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas, Director of the Patriarch Athenagoras Institute, Ambassador Ioannis Andreades, Consul General of Greece in San Francisco, the Honorary Consul General of Cyprus, Nicolaos Theophanous, most of the Tsakopoulos family, including Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, who was recently appointed by President Obama as Ambassador of the United States to Hungary, George & Judy Marcus, long-time supporters of Hellenic Causes in Northern California, as well as a slew of other heavyweights. Ms. Corinna Chopei Fields, the 1964 Miss Universe, who represented Greece in Miami Beach, Florida, also attended.
“On behalf of the Elios Society, I want to thank everyone involved in making this wonderful event such a success,” said Fanis Economidis, who received accolades for the outstanding black-tie evening that was professionally produced featuring IMAX screens, live entertainment and high-profile honorees. “Heartfelt thanks in particular to the sponsors, who through their generous contributions, enable Elios to achieve our mutual goals of celebrating our culture and heritage.”
Alexandros Mizan and Demetrios Rhompotis contributed to this report.
