Last Friday night The Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) recognised and honoured the best and brightest of the Hellenic Australian community, with the 2016 HACCI Excellence Awards, which were held at the Grand Hyatt Savoy Ballroom in Melbourne.
Known as the leading business and community awards for the Hellenic Australian community, the HACCI Excellence Awards acknowledge and reward organisations and individuals that have achieved distinction within their industry and contributed largely and selflessly towards the Greek community.
It was a fabulous evening of dining, dancing, mingling, honouring, as well as celebrating the following individuals for their very well deserved achievements →
The Spiros Stamoulis Award for Lifetime Achievement was given to Greg Gavrilides, property developer and long-time supporter of the Greek Australian community-at-large.
The Award for Sporting Excellence, awarded by the South Melbourne Football Club went to Ange Postecoglou- the Socceroos head coach, who recently steered the Australian side to victory in the AFC Asian cup, and has played a role in transforming the way Australians play and perceive football.
The Delphi Bank Award for Business Excellence was honoured to Kathy Tsaples- former investment banker, cancer survivor, turned cook book author and owner of Prahran Market’s Sweet Greek.
The Award for Community Service, awarded by Security Plus Shutters and Blinds was given to Helen Zahos, emergency nurse and humanitarian volunteer, who recently returned from Greece, where she had been working to provide relief to those caught up in the refugee crisis.
The Award for Professional Excellence, awarded by Doncaster Jaguar Land Rover (joint winners)-
Con Mylonas, former neurosurgeon, now barrister, Board member of Austin Health and chairman of the Audit committee, and founding member and present Chairman of the Spinal Research Institute.
Joint winner was Professor Dennis Velakoulis, Head of Neuropsychiatry at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, who has developed an international reputation for neuropsychiatry research, especially in the area of schizophrenia research.
Finally, the Award for Young Achievement went to Fotini Karakitsos- a geologist, microbiologist, and researcher with Rio Tinto.
“We are incredibly proud of this year’s winners,” said HACCI Chairperson Georgegina Poulos.
“None of them has sought the limelight but through their endeavour and tenacity, they represent the best and brightest of our community. They embody the excellence we seek to recognise through these awards,” she said.
*The Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) was established in 1964 to represent the Hellenic Australian business and professional community and to promote bilateral trade between Greece and Australia.
