[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 125 (Friday, August 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE DOURIS

                                 ______


                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 26, 1994

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues the extraordinary life story of a great American and a 
constituent who it is my profound honor to represent.
  George Douris of Astoria, Queens, is a man I like to call ``The Greek 
Cannon Ball.'' He can best be described as an activist, a 
philanthropist, a journalist, and a humanist.
  George has been an inspiration to me over the years. He was my mentor 
early in my career, when I worked for the Hellenic American 
Neighborhood Action Committee. He founded HANAC in 1969, at the 
suggestion of Mayor John Lindsay, who provided $75,000 for a survey of 
the needs of Greek New Yorkers, George and his colleagues wrote a 
report and received funds for an English as a Second Language School. 
HANAC began with $75,000 and seven employees. Today, HANAC has a budget 
of over $50 million and employs more than 3,000 people. HANAC is 
testament to George's unique ability to succeed at everything he 
endeavors to do.
  George served in the Army in Korea in the late 1940's. After his 
father's death in 1947, he returned to New York where he was stationed. 
He worked as a campaign coordinator for Representative (Col.) James Roe 
when he ran and won the congressional seat in the Astoria/Flushing area 
in Queens. that was the beginning of George Douris' illustrious career 
as a political operative. In 1954, George founded the Hellenic American 
Political Action Committee.
  But George's first love was journalism. He worked with world-famous 
columnist Jimmy Breslin at the Long Island Star Journal while they 
attended school together at Long Island University. The two 
enterprising journalists would leave the newspaper at 3 a.m., take the 
subway to Brooklyn, sleep 3 hours in an abandoned car, get up, go to a 
Greek restaurant at the corner for breakfast, and attend class from 
6:30 until 11:30 a.m.
  George continued his career as a sports writer and then a ``People 
and Food'' editor at the Star Journal, a position he held for 8 years. 
He was also very active in the Greek community which he held so dear. 
He combined his two passions by starting the Hellenic American World, a 
weekly newspaper, which he sold 6 months later.
  In 1955, a demonstration took place in Istanbul, in which a number of 
Greek Orthodox priests were killed and the Archbishop's home and 
property were burned. George and his colleagues worked 25 consecutive 
hours and wrote an eight-page tabloid newspaper with the true story and 
pictures of the event. Thanks to his work, the immediate reaction was 
in favor of orthodoxy, and the killing was stopped. In this respect, 
George did nothing less than change world history.
  Following the 1955 earthquake in Volos, Greece, George organized a 
fundraiser to aid the victims, which produced more than $20,000. George 
went to Greece with his wife in 1956 and distributed thousands of aid 
packages in Volos with the help of the organization CARE.
  In the 1960's, George was elected president, lieutenant governor, and 
governor of American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association 
[AHEPA] in New York State. When the Turks invaded Cyprus, AHEPA and 
George were intensely involved in the relief effort. George met with 
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Washington and demanded that the 
United States put a stop to using United States arms to attack Cyprus. 
With the help of Representative Mario Biaggi, George helped obtain $25 
million in emergency funds for Cyprus from the United States allotment.
  George then went to Cyprus and worked on the first documentary film--
narrated by Telly Savalas--about the devastation in Cyprus. When George 
returned from Cyprus, he was met by Mayor Abe Beame, who gave HANAC a 
pier on the west side of Manhattan, from which thousands of tons of 
emergency food, blankets, medical supplies, and a mobile United States 
medical operation were transported to Cyprus.
  In 1966, when John Lindsay was elected mayor, George who was the 
first Greek-American elected president of the New York Press Club as 
well as the prestigious Inner Circle, was assigned to room 9, the city 
hall press room. Mayor Lindsay had a ``hot room'' in the basement where 
citizens came to lodge complaints about services. Many Greeks arriving 
from Greece could not speak English, so the mayor asked George to help 
out, which he did. After the Long Island Star Journal closed in 1967, 
George went to the Long Island Press and worked part-time for the 
United Press.
  In 1969, George founded HANAC and started its senior center. Mayor 
Lindsay later gave George the City of New York Medal for his 
philanthropic work.
  After the Long Island Press folded in 1977, George took a job as a 
public relations consultant for the Police Benevolent Association and 
opened his own public relations firm.
  During his PBA days, George saw two police officers slain in a 
Bedford-Stuyvesant hospital. George swore to do something about it, and 
started a campaign to raise $2 million to put a bullet-proof vest on 
every police officer. As in most every other venture in his life, 
George succeeded. New York's Finest are deeply indebted to George to 
this day.
  HANAC has thrived, George's business has boomed. He has received 
numerous honors, dinners, and medals throughout his life.
  But he is most proud of his son Thomas, his daughter Litsa and her 
son Naki. He loves them deeply. And, Mr. Speaker, nearly everyone who 
has ever known George loves him deeply as well. Thank you.

                          ____________________