Alex Spanos honored by President of the Hellenic Republic
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Monday, Apr 07, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com
Over the years, Chargers Owner Alex Spanos has generously given his time and finances to help others both home and abroad and regularly been recognized for his generosity.
Three weeks ago he received an extremely prestigious honor for his work in his country of heritage, Greece.
On March 17, Spanos was awarded by the Medal of the Commander of the Order of Honor by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias. Spanos is extremely proud of his Greek heritage, and the honor came in recognition of his assistance and humanitarian contributions to Greece.
The presentation of the award was made by Ambassador Xenia Stefanidou, the Greek Consul at the Greek Consulate in San Francisco and took place in Spanos’ home in Stockton, California in front of family and friends.
During the award ceremony, Stefanidou recounted in detail the many ways Spanos has generously supported her country. Most recently, the list includes a $1 million pledge to the Greek Fire Relief Fund established by the Archdiocese. Several years ago when the Kalamata earthquake rocked the Southern Grecian city, Spanos made a substantial financial contribution to aid relief.
Like he has in Southern California, Spanos has shown a strong commitment to education in Greece. He’s funded a scholarship at Anatolia College in Greece and established the Spanos Scholars Program within the Fulbright Foundation in his country of heritage. Spanos has also made contributions to improve a handful of schools, including the local school in Eva, Messinias, Greece, his ancestral home. He also paid for the renovation of the Church of the Taxiarchon in Eva.
In 2004, Spanos gave the commencement address at Anatolia College in Thessaloniki, Greece and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the university. Two years earlier he made a financial commitment to help build a new library at Anatolia’s American College of Thessaloniki.
Spanos has financed projects focused around Greek history. In 2004, MacGillivray Freeman Films announced Spanos the Executive Producer of the IMAX film Greece: Secrets of the Past after Spanos provided major funding for the production. A year later, he underwrote the production of the 70-minute documentary “The 11th Day” on the battle of Crete and the Cretan resistance effort during World War II. In 2002 he underwrote the PBS production “American Homelands: Greece.”
Spanos has been an unofficial ambassador for Greece-U.S. relations for several years. In 2004, he hosted a luncheon for the newly-elected Prime Minister of Greece, Kostos Karamanlis, during his first official visit to the United States. He has hosted numerous dinners for Greek dignitaries during their visits to the U.S.
In 2006, Spanos was honored at the Fifth Annual Business Conference on Greece-U.S. Relations hosted by the Hellenic-American Heritage Council and the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce. In 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Alex and Faye Spanos to the U.S. Presidential delegation to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In 2002, Spanos became the Grand Marshall of the annual Greek Independence Day Parade in New York City.
Chargers Owner Alex Spanos, joined by his wife Faye (right), is presented the Medal of the Commander of the Order of Honor by Ambassador Xenia Stefanidou, the Greek Consul at the Greek Consulate in San Francisco.
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