By: Aphrodite Kotrotsios, Co-Publisher
On Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Colonial Marble & Granite organized its first ever Golf Outing to benefit St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Upper Darby, PA at Penn Oaks Country Club. The Papadopoulos Family, owners of this world-renowned establishment have been members of St. Demetrios Church ever since their families migrated to the area. St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church will soon be celebrating its 75th Anniversary at their location in Upper Darby. It is one of the largest Greek Orthodox Churches in the Greater Philadelphia region.
“St. Demetrios is very special to my family. From my parents’ generation, to my own and now my children’s, we all have been raised in this church. I spent the majority of my youth attending St. Demetrios’ Greek School. The education I received has been the very backbone that helped me prosper into the family man I am today. It has helped me to appreciate our Greek culture and traditions and pass this onto my family. Raising funds to support our church was the least we could do for all it has given us, and our Greek community, “ said Nikos Papadopoulos, President of Colonial Marble & Granite.
There were over 124 golfers and 200 attendees at the inaugural event. Colonial Marble & Granite invited all their sponsors, friends, family, and supporters from all over the area to unite for this incredible cause. “I am proud to say that we have raised over $175,000 for this event with proceeds over $135,000 to the church! Nothing short of spectacular,” said Nikos.
The parish council couldn’t be happier with the support and proceeds raised by this heartfelt event for St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. The President of the Parish Council, Philip Nicolaidis commented, “We are thankful to the Papadopoulos family and Colonial Marble’ associates for their tremendous generosity.” Several members from the Parish Council were present to help out with the event such as the Mylonas brothers Frank and Antonis, Kostas Kravaris, and John Stergiou. Steve DiMarco, Managing Director of Penn Oaks Country Club was enthused with the high level participants and spent the entire day with the crowd.
Nikos Papadopoulos shared with the Hellenic News, “I’d like to first and foremost thank my parents, Tom & Pamela. If it weren’t for their continued efforts to always give back and teach me the true meaning of love, we wouldn’t have accomplished all we have in life today. I would like to thank them the most. The church was absolutely magnificent in how hard they worked to ensure everyone who showed up to support the event were left satisfied. Their gratitude and appreciation from everyone was without question well received by all. I cannot forget to mention a special thanks to all our sponsors and friends who showed up. There are too many to list, but I thank you all! A special thanks to Penn Oaks Golf Club for allowing us host this event at their club and working with us in such short notice to prepare and guarantee our guests would have a day to remember. Absolutely incredible! Lastly, to all the members of Colonial Marble, especially Chris Franzini, who helped organize this entire event and follow through on every detail to ensure it was perfect! What can I say, we are surrounded by so much love and this feeling is indescribable! I can’t wait for next year’s outing! This was our first Colonial Golf Outing ever and what made it special for my family and me was that we were playing in benefit of St. Demetrios. The overwhelming amount of support we received to raise funds to benefit the church, is something that my family and the church will cherish forever.”
Founded in 2008, Colonial Marble and Granite is a family owned business providing design and fabrication of stone products for residential and commercial properties. Colonial Marble & Granite has its headquarters in King of Prussia, PA with four other locations including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New Castle, Delaware and Edison, New Jersey.
