By Terry Poulos, Special to the Hellenic News of America
CHANGE AGENT Our community is mourning the loss of Elmhurst, IL native George James Andrews, JD (1949-2024) a trailblazer for future Greek sports agents. Around 1980, Andrews was arguably the most prominent player agent in the world, boasting a blue-chip client roster featuring – among many others – NBA Hall of Fame players Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Isiah Thomas, as well as Evelyn Ashford, the top female track star in the world at the time. In the 90’s, Andrews switched sides to take a position in NBA management with the expansion Memphis Grizzlies. He continued representing players and coaches in recent years, and was a board member of the National Hellenic Invitational Basketball Tournament. Andrews also mentored up-and-coming Greek American attorneys who were aspiring agents and helped Greek American players land spots on pro teams in Greece.
TRACK COACH SAVES LIFE York High School (Elmhurst, IL) track coach Nicholas Karavolos is being hailed as a hero for administering CPR and saving the life of a girls track runner. He was featured on ABC7 Chicago.
HEALING HEROES Chicago-based Dr. Chadwick Prodromos recently opened a stem cell institute in Greece. Dr. Prodromos, a prominent knee surgeon, is a former NFL and Arena League team physician…Dr. Peter Petrovas of Chicago was lauded by former Chicago Bears Super Bowl quarterback Jim McMahon in a New York Times article for helping him manage years of orthopedic pain from his football days via chiropractic therapy.
MUSEUM GALA The National Hellenic Museum hosts its annual gala Saturday, September 28 at the Hilton Chicago Hotel…Museum board member Andrea Darlas, a former longtime WGN radio and TV anchor/reporter, just finished her 100th episode of “Show and Tell,” a podcast produced by WLS radio…Museum PR coordinator Elizabeth Niarchos Neukirch is also covering new book releases at Third Coast Review.
MENTORING KIDS The Chicago-based PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation, founded by the late Chris Tomaras, has been doing a fabulous job of not only raising big bucks to grant scholarships for Greek American students, it’s also been innovative in offering year-round programs to engage youth and bring in successful professionals to mentor kids. Two recent additions include Nadia Kountoures a Boeing 737 First Officer and United Airlines pilot instructor, and Alex Saratis, co-managing director at prominent sports agency Octagon and personal agent for NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo…
’24 GREEKTOWN OWL ART A parliament of ornate and artistic owls flocked to Chicago’s Greektown this summer and will be on exhibit on Halsted Street throughout the next year. Among the sculptures, your cordial Hellenic News of America Midwest correspondent was again honored to paint one of the 28 sculptures that are designed to beautify the neighborhood, inspire pedestrians, and hopefully draw more traffic and patrons into local establishments. The exhibit is sponsored by the Greektown SSA #16 and the theme is titled “Wise Little Owls,” an ode to the mythical Greek goddess Athena. For a glimpse of my own “Bird of Trey,” as she’s called (Owlive is her nickname), visit the Greektown Chicago website. Organizer of the exhibit is arts patron Eve Moran, also a Greektown merchant. Eve was a guest on WGN-9 TV, which recently aired a segment showing most of the owls.
USA HOCKEY AWARD Accountant John Koufis received USA Hockey’s 2024 Adult Player of the Year Award. He and friends formed the Chicago Sharks club team and won multiple national titles in their 30’s and 40’s. A dual citizen, Koufis played in five IIHF Division III Men’s World Championships for Greece. He’s also majority owner/CEO of the Johnstown (Pa.) Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League.
MISC: Businessman and disabilities advocate Constantine Zografopoulos recently was honored with delivering the official game ball on Chicago White Sox Greek Heritage Night…Former star college softball star Laurie Markatos of Palos Hills, IL was selected to be an assistant coach for the National Team of Greece. She’s currently teaching in the UK…Effie Koliopoulos recently joined the Chicago Sun-Times as a reporter…Chicago native Olivia Karas, a former U. of Michigan standout gymnast, is now a Big 10 Network broadcast analyst…Sophia Liston earned her MBA and was class valedictorian at DePaul University’s graduate ceremonies this Spring…Chicago-based producer Spiro Frentzas just reported that the second film he’s involved with, “Canyon of the Dead,” was recognized in May at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France. Director is Coerte Voorhees, also co-director of “The First Line” about the Parthenon marbles…Jim Kostopoulos recently published his first book, “Get Found: Local SEO Strategies and Google Business Profile Optimization”…Author Alexandra Apostol, noted for her series of children’s books, has now published “My Little Island Life” set in Hawaii…Park Ridge, IL native Bill Vergos was named one of the top Indie Power Players for 2024 by Media Play News. Bill is an executive at Freestyle Digital Media in Los Angeles…Architect and Chicago Greek Film Fest president Art Andros has been bringing in a steady stream of great guests on his weekly WCPT radio show “Where Are They Now,” co-hosted by Bobby Drell.
Until next…
Terry Poulos is a writer, entrepreneur (TheSportsIndex.com), and artist (Scientiquity.com) who has also covered Greek America for more than two decades for newspapers, magazines, and web portals. He’s co-founder of Chicago’s Greek Media Club and a member of the AHEPA Athletics Hall of Fame selection committee
