Meet Our 2016 Mistress of Ceremonies: Kiki Vale

May 24, 2016, Chicago, IL – The Foundation is pleased to introduce Kiki Vale as the Mistress of Ceremonies at our annual Awards Ceremony and Gala on June 18, 2016. As a broadcaster, producer, columnist, and motivational speaker, Kiki Vale inspires her audiences to embrace positive energy, or “kefi,” and to live life to the fullest. Vale, who is as lively and joyful in person as she is on-air, has over 25 years of broadcasting experience in Kansas City and Chicago.

Vale is a first generation Greek American who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, after her parents moved to the United States from Corinth, Greece. Growing up Greek in Kansas City, she felt closely connected to her parents’ Hellenic culture, which compelled her to travel abroad and study in Athens in order to complete course work in Modern Greek Studies at the Hellenic American Union.  Upon returning to America, Vale attended Loyola University in Chicago, where she chose to pursue her dream of broadcasting. She worked at several radio stations and interned for The Oprah Winfrey Show at WLS-TV.

After graduating from Loyola, Vale returned to her hometown to begin her career. Kansas City radio offered her the opportunity to work and learn with many different broadcasting genres. Vale eventually made her way back to Chicago, where she became the first female airborne news and traffic reporter at WMAQ & WBBM radio stations. She also earned Omni awards for her voiceover work for Evian and Coca-Cola commercials, and founded Kukla Productions, a broadcast production company which produced The Kiki Vale Show, a Chicago entertainment program, for over a decade.

While Vale is a born entertainer and broadcasting is her life’s passion, she has also used her public platform to educate listeners about diabetes and promote research about the disease. She has organized ten fundraising walks and raised close to $175,000 dollars for the cause. In 2011, Vale was selected to represent Illinois as a diabetes advocate during the Call To Congress Summits in Washington D.C.

Vale currently enjoys energizing audiences through motivational speaking engagements and through her writing.  Her highly regarded “Kefi – That Life Force” column, was published in The Greek Star, Hinsdale Magazine, The Doings, and Suburban Life newspapers. She is a regular contributor to Windy City Greek, and blogs daily at kikivale.com. All of this is in preparation of her first non-fiction book, coming soon to a bookstore near you. Vale and her husband, Brian, live in Hinsdale, Illinois and have four children. 

The PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation’s Awards Ceremony and Gala will be held on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at the Ritz-Carlton, Chicago. The event will be held in honor of our Founder, the late Chris P. Tomaras, with the theme, “Preserving the Legacy.” The Foundation will also honor John S. Koudounis, Chief Executive Officer of Calamos Investments, with the Paradigm Award.

At the gala, a cocktail reception will be followed by the ceremony, where the scholarship winners will receive their awards. Dinner and dancing will follow. The talented Chris Sarlas Orchestra will entertain our guests, and they will be joined by popular local singer and guest performer John Panopoulos.

Tickets are $250 per person and tables of ten are available. Please join us to honor the memory of Mr. Tomaras and celebrate the great accomplishments of our scholarship recipients. Reserve your gala tickets today or call our office at (312) 357-6432. Don’t forget to purchase your raffle tickets for the chance to win $10,000! We look forward to seeing you there!