This past December, The Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church of Port Washington, NY, held a Fund Raiser Dinner “A Very Special Evening”, honoring, Chrissa Harris, Gus Rogdakis and Nick Kokkinakis – community pillars, that have been instrumental in developing and advancing athletics and youth programs for the youngsters in the community. All proceeds from the event benefit the construction of a gymnasium for the children of the community.
The event was sponsored by Marathon Energy and The Whitmore Group and was held at the beautiful Woodside Acres Country Club in Muttontown, NY. Making the evening even more special were Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca and former NBA players and St. John’s University Basketball stand outs, Mel Davis and Billy Schaeffer. The evening’s Master of Ceremonies was Manhasset’s own Jack Franchetti. “As the Shea Stadium voice for the NY Mets, I’ve had the distinct honor to introduce Presidents, Governors, Senators, and back in 1985 I had the pleasure to introduce Coach Lou Carnesecca as well,” he said. Coach Carnesecca gave a brilliant and touching speech, talking about the lessons that sports teach our children. “Sports teaches children how to win, how to loose and it teaches them how to pick themselves off of the deck when they fall,” all important lessons to say the least. He further dazzled the crowd when he reflected back on his experiences in the 1980’s meeting the Greek National Basketball team when he was Coach of the St. John’s University Redmen.
A year ago, the community was presented with a challenge: An anonymous donor stepped forward and pledged one million dollars towards the construction of the gym, under the condition that the Archangel Michael Community raise a matching million dollars. A gym committee was formed and led by John Petras and Nikolaos Katopodis. “We have asked the community to step up in a big way for this project, and they did,” said Petras. “The work has been especially urgent since all donations will have to be returned if the goal isn’t met by the December 31, 2011 deadline.”
“I am happy to say and excited to announce that due to the success of the event, we have exceeded the communities matching $1,000,000 responsibility,” declared John Frankis, event co-chair. What was even more telling was the excitement the children and the various youth teams of the community exhibited. “We projected that we would sell approximately 400 raffle tickets, the kids really surprised us all when they sold close to 800 raffle tickets,” commented George Patilis, event co-chair.
According to John Petras, “we should be in our new gym by September 2012. Proof that when a community works together towards a common goal, great things do happen.”
