The crossroads of America (IL, IN, WI, MI, beyond)…
By Terry Poulos, Special to the Hellenic News of America
MASTER TREATISE ON EV’S: During his decades-long career, Mike Colias built a resume as one of the nation’s top auto industry journalists. He’s written for such notable outlets as the Associated Press, Crain’s Chicago Business, Automotive News in Detroit, and currently he serves as an auto industry writer for the Wall Street Journal. In February, his first book will be released (available for pre-order on Amazon) and it’s timely, focusing on a game-changing paradigm in the tech and energy space. The title is “InEVitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles.”
LAW, BEAUTY, TALENT: University of Illinois and Harvard Law School graduate Erika Harold is currently serving as Executive Director at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. She first rose to fame in 2003 when she was named Miss America. That same year, this reporter met Erika on the football field at U of I where the Chicago Bears were playing the season while awaiting stadium renovations. She was invited to sing the National Anthem and performed a near-perfect rendition. Since then, Erika went on to become the state Republican Party nominee for Congress and Attorney General and practiced law in the private sector for blue-chip firms. Her father, Bob Harold, played baseball at U of I and is one-third proud Greek. Erika’s platform as Miss America was bullying. She has testified before Congress on the issue.
CAREER POPS AT BOWL GAME: University of Chicago MBA grad Alex Sotiropoulos always dreamed of working professionally in sports. Little did he know his first foray would come courtesy of a breakfast treat. As an undergrad at Loyola University, he served as the basketball team’s PA announcer. After receiving his MBA, Alex accepted a marketing position with the Pop-Tarts brand. In late December, he was squarely in his element, serving as the point person for the brand’s title sponsorship of the Pop-Tarts NCAA football bowl game. The program was a smashing success and Alex was all over TV, radio, and in viral digital campaigns. For icing on the tart, he got to deliver the in-stadium PA play-by-play of a unique Pop Tarts competition that was received with critical acclaim.
FERMI DIRECTOR EXITS: After assuming the position of director of the particle accelerator and research facility FermiLab in Batavia, IL in 2022, world-renowned physicist Nikolitsa “Lia” Merminga stepped down as of January 13. Fermi hired a new management agency and immediately commenced a search for her replacement. Fermi’s board chairman and fellow Hellene Paul Alivisatos sent the following message to staff: “I want to extend deep appreciation and thanks to Lia Merminga. She joined Fermilab in 2018 as the PIP-II project leader, overseeing its successful construction. In her role as lab director, she expanded and strengthened international partnerships for our flagship projects and played a significant role in Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FermiForward) winning the management and operations contract.” A University of Michigan alum, Greece-born Lia became the first woman to hold the title of director at Fermilab.
FILM, SONG, ARTS: In December, I had the pleasure of meeting filmmaker and screenplay writer Barbara Dukas, who also served as director of the prestigious Corfu Municipal and Regional Theater. She was visiting Chicago from Greece looking to galvanize support for various projects. We were introduced by filmmaker Niko Franghias, who now lives in the LA area. While in town, we arranged a meeting with Barbara and actress/songstress Lisa Zane, who since departed for Panama to record her next album. Both Barbara and Lisa are devout fans of Greek mythology and stage plays (Lisa once performed “Phaedra”) and may be cooking up something really cool. Lisa’s parents, Billy and Thalia, got their start in acting with Theater on the Lake in Chicago. Most of our readers will recognize Lisa’s brother, Billy Zane Jr., most famous for his role in the box office smash hit “Titanic.”
NAME HOPPING: Tech mogul Ted Leonsis went on to become one of the most prominent sports moguls in the world, owning the NBA, WNBA, and NHL teams in Washington, DC. He’s also got close Chicago ties as chairman of Groupon and his in-laws are from Lake Forest, a northern suburb… Speaking of Chicago’s northern suburbs, rising TV star Marcus Lemonis, who was adopted by Greek parents, is chairman and CEO of Lincolnshire-based Camping World Holdings. He’s got a new show on FOX called “The Fixer”… If you’re going to be in Chicago and want to stay at one of the most storied hotels, perhaps the downtown Palmer House might suit the purpose. The Hilton-owned property is headed by GM Konstantine “Gus” Drosos…NBC5 Chicago reporter Lexi Sutter was dispatched to the Los Angeles area to help with network coverage of the tragic Pacific Palisades wildfires that were ravaging Southern California…Recent college grad Cory Kashul recently recorded his first Junior Hockey hat trick playing for the Seahawks of the Eastern Hockey League. Proud papa is “The Golf Scene” TV host and former Chicago Bulls pre-and-post-game radio host Steve Kashul, who told us that he’s enjoying his second career as an insurance associate as much as he did his career in sports.
Terry Poulos is a writer, entrepreneur (TheSportsIndex.com), and geometer-artist (Scientiquity.com) who has also covered Greek America for decades for various outlets. He’s co-founder of Chicago’s Greek Media Club and a member of the AHEPA Athletics Hall of Fame selection committee
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