Oakleigh Community and Grammar to herald Greek business leaders

Oakleigh Grammar’s first naming rights sponsorship deal signed. (From left to right: Mark Robertson, Principal Oakleigh Grammar; Spiro NikolakakisDirector Nikpol; Father Stavros Kakavas, Oakleigh Grammar Chaplain and Parish Priest Sts Anargiri; John Nikolakakis, Director Nikpol; Chris Damatopoulos, Oakleigh Grammar Board President and Chairman. Photo supplied.

Next year the Greek Orthodox Community of Oakleigh and District plans to celebrate its 60th anniversary and Oakleigh Grammar will celebrate its 40th anniversary. As part of the celebrations on Wednesday the community announced that ten buildings on the Oakleigh Grammar School grounds will be named after successful Greeks migrants in Australia.

“These significant anniversaries present a fitting opportunity to celebrate our School’s Hellenic foundation by honouring Hellene leaders that have positively impacted our local community and our Australian nation more broadly,” said Chris Damatopoulos, the president and chairman of the Oakleigh Grammar Board.

“By naming our School buildings after inspirational leaders and members of our community, we hope to inspire thousands of students and families for generations to come.”

The first building to be baptised with a new name is the Centre for Academic Excellence which is still under construction and scheduled for opening on the Feast Day of Sts Anargiri on 1 November. The building will be called the ‘Nick and Poly Nikolakakis Foundation Centre for Academic Excellence’ as part of a partnership with the Nikolakakis family.

Nick and Poly Nikolakakis established their business Nikpol as a small operation in 1978, which is now an Australian market-leaded in renovation and commercial joinery. It has secured distribution deals with Europe’s leading manufacturers including Grass, Egger, Motivi, Renolit and Metakor.

“Nick and Poly Nikolakakis have been faithful parishioners of our Church since its inception, and they were outstanding and inspiring role models for their family and our community, so it is a fitting tribute,” Mr Damatopoulos said.

Sons, John and Spiro Nikolakakis said the decision accept naming rights was an easy one.

“Our parents were strong advocates for Oakleigh and the School, and we know they would have been really pleased for us to be involved. My mother especially would have loved it – she left Crete for Australia in 1964, and was one of the few of that generation that finished high school. She always emphasised the importance of a strong education”, said Spiro Nikolakakis.

“My parents started Nikpol, and John and I started after we finished our studies. The business of course has changed and grown a lot, products have changed, and as have our customers, but we have tried our best to keep our culture constant. While the business is a functioning embodiment of my parents’ legacy, there is something very special about having the family name recognised in this way”, added brother, John Nikolakakis.

The brothers said they want to give back and help their community.

“John and I are idealists, we like to dream. We asked ourselves, ‘Why can’t Oakleigh Grammar be as good, or better than the best schools in Melbourne?’ In our business the most rewarding thing for us is seeing our people grow and develop.

“We hope that our sponsorship of the Nikolakakis Centre for Academic Excellence helps in some small way to provide the infrastructure and support for Oakleigh Grammar students to further grow and develop, and like us, to face challenges and stay ahead”, said Spiro Nikolakakis.

The formal announcement was made at Oakleigh Grammar’s Business Breakfast last Thursday at the School’s Conference Centre.

The Oakleigh community and Oakleigh Grammar will also pay tribute the hundreds of thousands of Greeks who migrated to Australia during after WWII.

Greek descents in Australian are estimated to number 600,000 and are the seventh-largest linguistic and cultural group in Australia.

The contribution and success of Greek descendants in all sectors of Australian has notable names, like Harry Stamoulis , Nick Andrianakos, Spiros Alysandratos, Andreas Andrianopoulos, Nick Politis, Nicholas Paspaley, Con Makris, Dennis Batsas, Theo Karidis, George Koukis and Kerry Harmanis among others.