SAN FRANCISCO – The Elios Charitable Foundation on September 27 announced the distinguished Greek and Greek-American honorees for this year’s black-tie Hellenic Charity Ball (HCB) on Saturday, November 5: Nana Mouskouri, international singing superstar and best-selling recording artist; Nick Scopas, National Roller Derby Hall of Fame legend; Emanuel Kiriakou, multi-award-winning songwriter, record executive, and music publisher; and Christopher André Marks, acclaimed film director, producer and screenwriter.

The return of the biennial HCB, after an absence in 2021 due to COVID-19, will once again serve as a benefit event honoring renowned Greeks and Greek-Americans from the arts and entertainment and sporting industries. Presented by Blue Diamond Sponsor Theadora Vriheas of AT&T, the HCB will be held at San Francisco’s elegant and iconic Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery Street. Frosene Phillips and Elizabeth Grillos are the Ball Co-Directors.

Anticipated to be a sold-out event, this year’s HCB, the 13th since its inception in 1997, will be co-hosted by Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family television celebrity, journalist, and author Debbie Matenopoulos, and prolific author, television (‘Taxi’) and Broadway star, Marilu Henner. Both Matenopoulos and Henner are past HCB Honorees.

The evening will begin at 6 PM with a lavish cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception followed by a sumptuous dinner at 7 PM and a lively awards show with this year’s honorees. Live dinner music, both during and after, will surely stir everyone’s Greek soul and prompt some enthusiastic dancing. This year’s entertainment will feature Mediterranean Soul with Christos Sarantakis on bouzouki, and later America’s Best Dance Band, and the unbeatable sounds of HIP SERVICE. Opa!

Special to the evening, celebrity auctioneer Liam Mayclem will take to the stage to tempt guests in order express their financial support for the Elios Charitable Foundation’s notable grant recipients.

Elios Charitable Foundation President and Chair John Gumas commented: “On behalf of the Elios Charitable Foundation, it is my honor to announce the details of this year’s Hellenic Charity Ball, an evening that rallies and unifies Greek-Americans while reaffirming the essence of our being Greek, our ‘philotimo’. I’m proud we can celebrate our distinguished honorees and welcome back some of our many past honorees and very special guests from across the country. But of course, the evening is ultimately about raising financial support and awareness of our Hellenic beneficiaries. It is the support of these programs that truly informs our path forward as proud Greek-Americans and Philhellenes.”

More information is available online: www.elios.org.

At the heart of the not-for-profit Elios Charitable Foundation, the group’s mission is to preserve and foster the values of Hellenic culture. Through its grants and sponsored projects and programs, the Foundation strives to position Elios as a leader in the community and to make a positive impact in the lives of Greek-Americans and Philhellenes.

Past and current Elios Charitable Foundation beneficiaries and partnerships include: the Center for Tebtunis Papyri (CTB) at the University of California, Berkeley; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Ancient Art Council and Get Smart with Art program; the Hellenic Heritage Institute; the Hellenic Journal; Hellenic Research Fellowship Program at California State University, Sacramento; partnership with The Heritage Greece/National Hellenic Society; Cappella Romana San Francisco Concert Series; Berkeley/Oakland’s Kairos Music Academy; Los Angeles Greek Film Festival; Loyola Marymount University’s Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies; the Metropolis of San Francisco Folk Dance Programs; San Francisco Greek Film Festival sponsored by the Modern Greek Studies Foundation; and Nemea Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Hellenic Charity Ball 2022 is made possible by the generous support of many sponsors including Blue Diamond Sponsor Theadora Vriheas/AT&T; Platinum Sponsors: George and Judy Marcus Family Foundation; Guy J. Steffens/Bank of the West; Gerry and Jeannie Ranglas; and Tina and Gary M. Vrionis/Vrionis & Son, LLC; Gold Sponsors: Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth Frangadakis; John & Janice Gumas; Patrick & Vanessa Mockler; Anthony & Betty Saris; and Byron & Stephanie Scordelis; and Silver Sponsors: Lonnie & Elaine Frangadakis & Family; Studio Galazio; Angelo K. & Sofia Tsakopoulos Family; and Fennemore.Wendel.

Leadership for the Elios Charitable Foundation includes: John Gumas, president and chair; Patrick Mockler, vice president; Philip Economopoulos, secretary; Michael Kasolas, treasurer; and Frosene Phillips, executive director.

Tickets for this year’s Hellenic Charity Ball on Saturday, November 5, begin at $750 per person and are available online at www.elios.org/hellenic-charity-ball/sponsorships-tickets/.