The Federation of Hellenic American Organizations of New Jersey held its 3rd Annual Banquet on Sunday, June 10, at the Gray Cliff Manor, Moonachie, NJ, honoring the Chairman of the Board of Pan Gregorian Enterprises of New Jersey and a great activist for Hellenism, Mr. John Sakellaris, with the Alexander the Great Award of Merit. Sakellaris was instrumental in the formation of the Federation and worked tirelessly with Andreas Comodromos, Tassos Efstratiades and the founding Board members to establish a sound and productive organization. Pan Gregorian Enterprises was one of the founding member organizations of the Federation and one of its early supporters.
US Senator Bob Menendez, Congressman Bill Pascrell, State Senator Barbara Buono, Middlesex County Freeholder James Polos and an array of guests and friends took to the podium and praised Mr. Sakellaris’ work as a community activist, business leader and great humanitarian. Consuls General of Greece and Cyprus, George Iliopoulos and Koula Sophianou respectively, also addressed the event and congratulated the Honoree for his multifaceted work. Metropolitan Bishop Evangelos of New Jersey offered the invocation and reflected on the opportunities he had to work with Mr. Sakellaris since assuming his ministry in the Garden State. The lavish banquet was chaired by Stavros Antonakakis and New York Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas MCed.
Dr. Nikos Panagiotou introduced the Honoree.
John Sakellaris was born in the village of Volada in the island of Karpathos and came to the US with the last wave of immigration of the decade 1965-1975. He has been a successful restaurant owner, first with the ownership of Al's Diner in Jersey City and afterwards Lyndhurst Diner, in Lyndhurst. He was also a founding member of Pan Gregorian Enterprises of New Jersey, where he currently serves as chairman of the board of directors.
John Sakellaris was a pioneer in community involvement. He served as president of the Association of Voladioton “Saint Anargyroi” and president of the parish council of Saint Dimitrios Church in Jersey City. He supported the Karpathian Federation, where he served as chairman for two years. During his service, the funds of the Karpathian Foundation were increased considerably, and as a result the foundation purchased the “Karpathian Home” in New Jersey. Mr. Sakellaris was also very involved in the political life of his new homeland. He supported several Philhellene political figures, including Senator Bill Bradley, Senator Bob Menendez and Governor Jim Florio. In 1987, he joined the Michael Dukakis for President Committee, becoming one of the strongest supporters of the Greek American presidential candidate.
John Sakellaris has also served the Greek Orthodox Church in many capacities, including as a member of the Metropolitan Council of the Metropolis of New Jersey. For his efforts, the Ecumenical Patriarch awarded him with the title of the Archon of St. Andrew.
Humble as is his wont, John Sakellaris thanked his family for the love and support they provided him with all these years of ceaseless community involvement and expressed his appreciation to speakers and guests for their warm words and friendship. Visibly moved, he also pledged to continue his work for the benefit of the Greek American community and New Jersey in general, and invited all Hellenes and Philhellenes to join hands in promoting the issues affecting Greece and Cyprus, especially in these trying times for the cradle of democracy and Western Civilization.
Addressing the banquet, Tassos Efstratiades, President of the Federation of Hellenic American Organizations in New Jersey, announced his intention to name an exploratory building committee this fall in order for the organization to have its own permanent home, which will eventually serve as Hellenism’s base in the Garden State.
The event concluded with the presentation of Young Leadership Awards to Natasha Manolas (The College of New Jersey), Konstantina Tsintsifas (Rutgers University), Anna Zalokostas (Rutgers University), Matthew Hadodo (Rutgers University), Pantelis Efstratiades (Rutgers University) and John Papaspanos (Seton Hall University). The students are past presidents of college Hellenic Societies who served in the Federation.
The event was organized by Axiocom, Inc. (Despina Axiotakis, President) and the Stavros Theodorou Orchestra provided entertainment.
