From Greek at the Harbor to Citizen of the Year
By Leland Ornelaz,
lornelaz@VenturaCountyStar.com
January 13, 2007
Lynn Mikelatos might
be one of Ventura County's hardest-working
citizens.
She
helped lead the drive to get a pool built at
Oxnard High School, co-founded the Ventura
Harbor Community Council and supports numerous
nonprofit efforts such as FOOD Share and
Camarillo's Greek Festival, while still helping
to run her Greek restaurant.
Mikelatos sees it as her duty to volunteer in
the community.
"I
think our purpose in life is to give back to
others," said Mikelatos, who owns The Greek at
the Harbor restaurant in Ventura with her
husband, Makis Mikelatos, and Jerome Dabour.
In
recognition of her service, the Ventura Chamber
of Commerce recently gave Mikelatos its
Poinsettia Award for Citizen of the Year. The
annual awards honor businesses and individuals
for community service.
This
is the third time Mikelatos has won one of the
awards. She won for Small Business of the Year
in 2001 and Volunteer of the Year in 2004.
Before moving here, Mikelatos was a teacher in
Bonham, Texas, about 70 miles northeast of
Dallas.
Her
sister lived in California, and Mikelatos loved
the state so much that she moved to Oxnard in
the mid-1970s.
"I
like the idea that you can go from the snow to
the ocean in just a matter of minutes,"
Mikelatos said.
She
originally came here to teach but realized she
would have to return to school for new teaching
credentials. Instead, she sold real estate until
1980, when she opened the restaurant It's Greek
to Me at the Centerpoint Mall in Oxnard with her
husband.
The
business eventually grew, partly because of its
charitable donations and connections, according
to Mikelatos. "I feel like I built our business
on the charity circuit," she said. In 1994, the
restaurant moved to the Ventura Harbor.
Race to stop hunger
Mikelatos has organized 5K and 10K runs for the
annual Greek Festival in Camarillo. Proceeds
benefit FOOD Share, Ventura County's regional
food bank. "Last year, we gave them $4,000," she
said.
She
helped form the Oxnard Aquatic Foundation to
promote and raise money for an Olympic-size
swimming pool project at Oxnard High School. The
drive was a success, and the pool opened in
1999.
She
also helped organize the Ventura Harbor
Community Council almost six years ago. The
council was formed after city officials began
exploring the idea of taking over the
independently run harbor.
"The
harbor community wanted to keep the harbor in
the hands of the (port) commissioners,"
Mikelatos said.
Today, the council serves as a representative
for the harbor community, making recommendations
to the city on issues affecting the area.
Mikelatos is still a member of the council,
which is currently updating the harbor's
disaster-preparedness plan and developing a new
recycling program. Part of the program calls for
giving cans and bottles to the River Haven
homeless camp near the harbor, so the residents
can exchange them for money.
Help for homeless
Mikelatos has been working with the Turning
Point Foundation, which sponsors the tent
community, said Clyde Reynolds, the foundation's
executive director.
"She has been very supportive of our River
Haven program," said Reynolds, who described
Mikelatos as an incredible community volunteer.
"I think she is a very concerned citizen who
is doing her part to make a difference,"
Reynolds said.
Mikelatos also is chairwoman of the nonprofit
Ventura Commerce and Education Foundation. The
group raises money for education and offers
programs such as Leadership Ventura, which
teaches local business and community leaders
about city government, education and commerce.
Mikelatos also wants to work with police and
school officials to study the problem of
underage drinking and educate parents about it.
"I think a lot of parents are unaware their kids
are drinking under their noses," she said.
Ventura Councilman Neal Andrews praised
Mikelatos' community service and activism. "She
is the person you want everybody to be," he
said.
