[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E354-E356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GUS AND FRANCES STAVROS--GIVING BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY
______
HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG
of florida
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 11, 1998
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if any one knows that hard work
leads to success it is Gus Stavros, my dear friend and constituent from
St. Petersburg, Florida.
The son of an immigrant from Crete, his success is grounded in a
strong set of values which have guided him throughout his life, as a
parent, a businessman, and generous philanthropist.
Among the shared beliefs of Gus and Frances Stavros is a commitment
to improving educational opportunities for the children of Pinellas
County, Florida. With a $1 million gift in 1987, the couple spearheaded
a county-wide effort to establish Enterprise Village, a state-of-the-
art learning facility to teach fifth-graders about business and
economics. Since its opening, more than 100,000 students have
participated in programs at Enterprise Village. All fifth-graders in
Pinellas County complete a business course that prepares them for
spending a day at Enterprise Village, which is the key to their
learning experience. There they have the opportunity to run one of a
number of businesses such as a bank, drugstore, newspaper, fast-food
establishment, hospital, or radio station. They are paid with special
currency, with which they can open a checking account for the day, have
lunch, and spend their money at businesses in the Village.
The experience has been such an unqualified success for students,
parents, and teachers that the Stavros family recently announced a new
campaign, spearheaded with another $1 million gift, to establish
Enterprise Village II to allow eighth-graders to have a hands-on
experience in business and economics.
This is just one of many charitable endeavors to which Gus and
Frances Stavros have given so much. They have given to local theaters,
orchestras, museums, and colleges.
Mr. Speaker, Gus Stavros has lived the American Dream. He is the son
of an immigrant, a decorated veteran of World War II, he is a proud
father and husband, he is a successful businessman, and he and his wife
have given back many times over to our community. And in just a few
days, on March 20th, he and Frances will celebrate their golden 50th
wedding anniversary.
Following my remarks, I will include for the benefit of my colleagues
a story by Lennie Bennett from Sunday's St. Petersburg Times which
tells the remarkable story of this very special, and most generous,
couple--Gus and Frances Stavros.
Their story is one that I hope inspires others throughout our nation
to lead by example and give back to their communities to make them a
better place to live.
[From the St. Petersburg Times, Mar. 8, 1998]
Couple Relish Giving Away Millions
(By Lennie Bennett)
St. Petersburg.--Gus and Frances Stavros went out to lunch
for a celebration the day they pledged $1-million in matching
funds to Enterprise Village II last month.
On the way home from Largo to their condominium in downtown
St. Petersburg, they passed by a number of fine restaurants
and private clubs.
Finally they found what they were looking for--hamburgers
and french fries at Wendy's.
That lack of pretension is typical, friends and colleagues
say of the couple, both 73, who made millions when he sold
his company, Better Business Forms Inc., in 1984 and
subsequently have given most of those millions away.
``I don't believe in saving it, and waiting to give it away
after my demise,'' Stavros said
[[Page E355]]
recently at their downtown St. Petersburg business office.
The couple declined to estimate just how much they have
given to the community, saying only that it was ``a
considerable sum,'' but there are few cultural institutions
in Pinellas County that haven't benefited from their
generosity.
He is considered a driving force behind the development of
Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, where he lived for many
years, spending a decade raising funds to build the
performing arts center.
They are major donors of the Florida Orchestra, American
Stage Theatre Company and the Museum of Fine Arts, where
halls, courtyards and galleries bear the Stavros name.
But talk to Gus Stavros for just a few minutes, and it's
clear that even though his motto for giving is ``church,
culture and education,'' his abiding passion is education.
``Of all the ills of the world, the only solution is
education,'' Stavros said.
He would know.
Gus Stavros' father, Anthony, was born on the island of
Crete in 1898. When Anthony Stavros was 9, his family
``sold'' him to a wealthy Athenian businessman who employed
him as a gardener, sending his wages back to Crete. He ran
away after a beating and worked odd jobs, saving enough to
immigrate to the United States in 1912.
``My father came here because he was told--and really
believed--that the streets were lined with gold. When he got
here, he realized that they were lined with opportunity.''
The young man, who spoke no English, worked as a dishwasher
in Greek restaurants, and eventually was able to buy diners
in Elizabeth, N.J., and prospered as a small businessman. He
married another Greek emigre, Elizabeth Kourasmenos, who
helped in the business. When Gus Anthony Stavros, their only
child, was old enough, he worked, too.
But that was after he went to a public school from 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m., then a Greek school from 4 to 7.
``My father taught himself to read and write in both
languages. My mother never learned to read or write. But she
knew how to count. She worked the cash register,'' Stavros
recalled.
``My father had great marketing know-how. He put a big sign
on the highway that read `Free Soup with Meals. All the
coffee you can drink, five cents.' This was during the
Depression. Truck drivers lined up for miles to get in.''
A good student, Stavros received a scholarship to Columbia
University in New York City, and he attended for a year
before enlisting in the Army in 1942.
For three years, he served under Gen. George Patton. During
the final march on Berlin, he was wounded in the head by
artillery fire. He returned home with a Purple Heart, the
Bronze Star and an injury that left him partly paralyzed in
his left arm and hand.
The first call he made from the stateside hospital was to
Frances Shaw, a young woman he had met only twice.
``In high school, a bunch of us formed the Condor Athletic
Club. We'd play basketball, go bowling together. One night at
the bowling alley, a friend came in with Frances. I asked for
an introduction. Later, I said to my best friend, `That's the
girl I'm going to marry.' ''
Gus Stavros and Frances Shaw didn't see each other again
for two years. When he looked her up during one of his Army
leaves, she didn't remember him.
They began corresponding although, as Mrs. Stavros said,
``I wrote to a lot of boys overseas. We all did, so they
wouldn't be so lonely.''
In 1945, when Stavros was released from the hospital, he
returned to Columbia University and graduated with a liberal
arts degree in 1948.
Gus and Frances were married that same year.
Like her husband, Frances Stavros was a child of the
Depression.
``My father worked for the railroad,'' she said, ``and we
never had a lot. But my family, like Gus', valued
education.''
``That is why we feel so strongly about the Pinellas County
Education Foundation and Enterprise Village,'' Gus Stavros
said.
Meaning business
Stavros is chairman emeritus of the Pinellas County
Education Foundation, which was formed 11 years ago by then-
associate superintendent Dr. Howard Hinesley and members of
the business community to develop enhancement programs that
the school system could not pay for.
One of those programs is Enterprise Village. It is a
testament to Stavros' unequivocal belief in the free
enterprise system.
``I'm not an economist. I'm a businessman. Enterprise
Village teaches students about our economic system, which is
the greatest in the world.''
He planned Enterprise Village with a businessman's savvy.
``In 1977, I was involved in an event called Expo '77 for
11th- and 12th-graders, with local business leaders at booths
in the Bayfront Center to help students with career planning.
It didn't work. We held it on a Friday, and the kids came in
the front door and went right out the back, probably to the
beach.
``Then we went into the schools with films to talk about
the free enterprise system. It bored the kids, and they
didn't pay any attention.
``So I sat down and thought, `In the world of business, you
do what the customer wants. Who's the customer here? The
student.' That's how we started with Enterprise Village.''
The facility was modeled after Hallmark Cards Learning City
in Kansas City, Mo., which Hinesley visited in 1987. He
called Stavros, excited.
``I asked him to spearhead it, and he said yes,'' recalled
Hinesley, now superintendent of Pinellas County schools.
``He opened doors that we couldn't. He went with us on
every call. Some people had said no to us, and he got them to
change their minds. I, at first, was just thinking small,
something for $5,000. Then it kept growing because Gus wanted
to do it the right way. I never thought we could raise that
kind of money.''
By the time Stavros finished the campaign, $1-million had
been raised to build the Largo facility.
Stavros secured commitments from local corporations to
replicate smaller versions of their businesses in a mall-like
building with a central meeting space, complete with gazebo,
called Town Square.
Since opening in 1989, more than 100,000 students have
participated.
All fifth-graders in Pinellas County complete a business
course provided by Enterprise Village before their visit.
Then they spend a day working at one of the businesses,
supervised by staff and volunteers. A bank, drugstore,
newspaper, fast-food restaurant and hospital ``employ'' them,
pay them in pretend money and give them time to open checking
accounts, go shopping, have lunch. They meet at the end of
the day for a speech by an elected ``mayor,'' one of the
students.
Students, teachers and parents laud the experience.
``We receive comments from them, and from visitors from all
over the world who want to copy the program, about the
importance of it, and of the importance of continuing this
kind of education,'' said Frances Neu, executive director of
the foundation.
In fact, it has been so successful, it has spawned
Enterprise Village II for eighth-graders.
``It's important that we go beyond an introduction to
entrepreneurism. At Enterprise Village II, we're going to
teach students fiscal responsibility, ethics and career
planning. Ethics, most importantly. We've got to teach young
people that to be truly successful, you must live an ethical
life,'' Stavros said.
Life lessons
Even though he is a decorated war veteran and graduate of a
prestigious university, Stavros could not get a job because
of his partial paralysis. He was advised to stay home and
collect his disability pension. He finally found a job with
Simmons Mattress Co. in New Jersey and worked his way up
through the management ranks, eventually transferring to
Ohio.
But in his entrepreneurial heart, what he really wanted was
his own business. With two partners he started a small
company that printed business forms.
Better Business Forms began with three employees working
out of a Quonset hut.
Stavros, who had moved his family to Pinellas County
continued to work his day job, spending weekends and nights
at Better Business Forms. When the company was sold in 1989,
it employed 550 people and posted sales close to $90-million.
He managed the company's explosive growth with innovative
business practices and a belief that no matter how big the
business got, the individual employee always counted.
``It was the most satisfying thing I've done in my life,
building a company with 550 employees, 550 families,'' he
said.
He speaks of his own family with pride.
``I'm very proud that my son Paul has gotten involved with
the Palladium project.''
Palladium is a private effort to convert the First Church
of Christ, Scientist, in downtown St. Petersburg into a mid-
size preforming arts hall.
``Paul was also the one who got us involved with American
Stage. Our other son, Mark, is a sportsman who races
greyhounds. Our daughter, Ellen, got us involved with the
Museum of Fine Arts when she was a docent. Now she is
executive director of Florida House in Washington, D.C. It's
like state embassy, the only one.''
The Stavroses have attended St. Paul's Lutheran Church in
Clearwater for 40 years, teaching Sunday School, and coaching
basketball and softball.
Moving on
A self-described workaholic and a hands-on volunteer who
rarely relaxed during his adult life, Stavros seems happy to
slow down a little now, though he said he believes that ``the
condition of standing still is the beginning of the end.''
Gus and Frances Stavros, who will celebrate their 50th
wedding anniversary March 20, spend summers in North
Carolina, and they have traveled a bit with family.
He claims to serve on fewer boards. Even so, his plate
remains full of meaty fund-raising commitments such as the
$500,000 still needed to pay for Enterprise Village II (he's
already raised $3-million). He is chairman of the Florida
State University Foundation, and co-chairman of the
University of South Florida's capital campaign, with a goal
of raising $220-million. Not surprisingly, he's met half of
that goal.
[[Page E356]]
He loves speaking to students. ``I tell them the story of
the Pilgrims and the Mayflower Compact, a great document,
which had one defect, that everyone should work for the good
of all and pool their work product. They were starving to
death. Gov. (William) Bradford then gave each man his own
parcel of land for a year. At the end of that year, we had
two great institutions, Thanksgiving and free enterprise.''
He leans forward in a chair in his modest office as he
gives this history lesson.
Surrounding him are hundreds of plaques, resolutions,
statuettes and photographs, tokens of his life in service to
the community.
There on the walls are the Florida Chamber Economic
Education Leadership Award, Commissioner's Award for
Excellence, Liberty Bell Award, National Conference of
Christians and Jews Silver Medallion Award, United Way Award
for Leadership, Friends of the Arts Award, and on and on.
There he is as Mr. Sun, the most prestigious civic award in
St. Petersburg, and as Mr. Clearwater; he is the only person
ever awarded both honors. There he is at the dedication of
the Gus A. Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free
Enterprise and Economic Education at Florida State University
in 1988, and a year later at USF to dedicate a second center.
But he doesn't want to talk about any of those on this day.
He wants to return to the story of his lunch at Wendy's.
``We had the program for the Enterprise Village II ground-
breaking in our hands as we pick up our food,'' he said.
``And our server saw it and said, `Do you know about
Enterprise Village? I want you to know I took off work so I
could volunteer there for both of my children. It's one of
the most wonderful things that ever happened to my kids.'''
Gus and Frances Stavros turned to each other and smiled.
They can't remember having a better meal.
____________________