New York, NY – The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle is pleased to announce that Archon Christopher Stratakis, Esq. has been nominated as the recipient of this year’s Nicholas J. Bouras Award for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship. A special tribute dinner dance will be held at the New York Hilton Hotel, Friday evening, Oct. 17, as part of the Order’s annual three-day assembly, Oct. 17-19.
Archon George Safiol, Award Committee chairman, said, “Archon Stratakis has exemplified tremendous stewardship of time, talent and resources in support of the Mother Church of Constantinople, the Orthodox Christian Church throughout the United States, and to the mission of the Order of Saint Andrew in which all Christians should be granted religious freedom rights. Our committee deemed it appropriate to recognize his efforts and name him as the recipient of this prestigious Award in recognition of the extraordinary service exemplified by National Vice Commander Bouras.”
Archon Christopher Stratakis, Esq.
Christopher Stratakis is a senior partner of Poles, Tublin, Stratakis & Gonzalez, LLP, a law firm founded in 1957. He has practiced admiralty, commercial real estate and corporate law, and advises clients in connection with their personal legal matters.
Archon Stratakis is a native of Chios, Greece and came to America in 1946, to join his parents who were working in New York. He is a graduate of Drexel University and the New York University School of Law. He and Maro have been married for 55 years and reside in Manhattan, where they are active members of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. They have three children, Sophia (married to Seraphim Huling), John (married to Corina Gerontis) and Erene (married to Nathan Allen), and three grandchildren, Christopher, Henry George and Anastasia.
Throughout his life, Archon Stratakis has shown a devotion to community involvement. He served on the parish council and as president of the Transfiguration of Christ Church in Corona, New York. He guided fundraising efforts to build the School of the Transfiguration, and served as school board president for 11 years. Later he was fundraising co-chairman for the Hellenic Cultural and Educational Center of St. Nicholas Church in Flushing, New York. He acted as the legal adviser to Panchiaki “Korais” Society for over 50 years, and also advised the office of the Greek Consular Harbor Master of New York and the New York Shipping Corporation Committee. He served as the advisory board chairman of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies in Queens College and is a member of the Board of Governors (emeritus) of Drexel University, where he and his wife endowed the Christopher and Mary Stratakis Chair in Corporate Governance and Accountability at Drexel’s LeBow College of Business. He and Maro are members of Leadership 100. Invested as Archon Notarios, he is the longtime legal advisor of the Order, and a member of the National Council Executive Committee.
He has received numerous Hellenic and Orthodox awards, including the St. Paul’s Award and Layman’s Award, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America; Medal of Merit for Greek Diaspora, Government of Greece; member of the Holy Sepulchre, Patriarchate of Jerusalem; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; and several awards from Drexel University.
About the Nicholas J. Bouras Award for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship
The National Council of the Order of Saint Andrew unanimously voted in 2010 to establish the Nicholas J. Bouras Award. The Award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary and incomparable stewardship to the Order, enabling Archons to vigorously pursue securing religious freedom for the Mother Church of Constantinople.
The Award is named after the late National Vice Commander Nicholas J. Bouras, Archon Depoutatos, who himself has demonstrated remarkable leadership as a faithful son of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and exemplary steward of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Churchman, World War II hero, devoted husband of his beloved late wife Anna, Philanthropist, sincere Christian, Archon par excellence and Industrialist are terms that have all described the life of Nicholas J. Bouras.
Past recipients of the Award have included George D. Behrakis (2011), James C. Fountas and John Halecky, Jr. (2012) and Stephen J. Yallourakis, M.D., D.D.S. (2013).
Rooms are available at the New York Hilton (1335 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019) from Oct. 15–19 at a special price of $389 per night. Call 1-800-HILTONS and use code: OSA
