A Greek-American entrepreneur who fled wartime Greece as a child has spent 30 years giving back by supporting Orthodox missionary work among some of the world’s poorest.
Louis Nicozisis and his wife Helen were recently guests of honor at a fund-raising gala in West Palm Beach, Florida where 300 people saw $150,000 generated to support the work of the Orthodox Christian Missionary Centre (OCMC).
Nicozisis is something of a local celebrity in his hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a series of funny and memorable TV commercials filmed in the 70s and 80s for his Carpet Mart business.
A good sport and unafraid to make an impression, Louis performed as a cowboy, a Ghostbuster and other off-the-wall characters to build up his thriving business helped by his “Hey Lou, what’s new?” catchphrase.
However, the humor masked a serious side which saw three decades’ of commitment to the OCMC’s work in countries including Indonesia, Kenya and Mongolia.
Helen was chosen as president of the Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund for Orthodox Missions in 1981.
Louis Nicozisis was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2002, for his 17 years’ service on the Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.
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