AFGLC: FAMILY
HONORS CLEMENT AND HELEN PAPPAS WITH PROFESSORSHIP
Dean
and Peter Pappas
Tampa, Florida: Professor Chris P. Tsokos, President of the American Foundation for Greek Language and Culture, AFGLC, and Dr. Peter N. Yiannos, President of the AFGLC Tri-State Center are delighted to announce that the children of Clement and Helen Zacharias Pappas, founders and longtime owners of Clement Pappas Company, a producer of bottled fruit juices under grocery store brands, have memorialized their parents by endowing the “AFGLC Clement and Helen Pappas Professorship in Byzantine Civilization and Religion” at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. The professorship is part of the AFGLC Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies at Stockton. For two consecutive years Stockton College has topped the U.S. News and World report list of state liberal arts colleges for the quality of its education.
Clement Dimitri Pappas, a native of Thebes, was trained in the shoemaker’s art but upon arriving in America in 1914 he worked as a waiter in Princeton University’s dining hall. There he availed himself of the help of the students to advance his education. Four years later he and his brothers took up employment at a Mobile cannery. Later they put that experience to use and opened their own canning business in Egg Harbor, New Jersey, canning the vegetables that they themselves farmed. In 1923 Mr. Pappas became an American citizen. He continued to expand the family business, becoming a pioneer in the canned cranberry sauce industry. In 1942, Mr. Pappas left the corporation shared with his brothers and purchased another cannery in Cedarville, New Jersey, which became the Clement Pappas Company. Today run by his sons, the company produces more than 75,000 cases of fruit juice a day in addition to a variety of cranberry products.
Clement
Dimitri Pappas-Founder of the Clement Pappas Company
Helen Zacharias Pappas, wife of Clement Pappas, was born in New Hampshire. She served as vice-president of the Clement Pappas Company and remained active in its operation until her death. She also served on the board of directors of several companies, and donated her time to the local Church and various service organizations.
This hardworking couple, so devoted to family, church and Greek heritage, are succeeded in the family business by their three children:
Dean C. Pappas, Chairman and co-CEO, is a graduate of Blair Academy and Dickinson College. A resident of Mannington Township, he has been extremely active in a variety of professional and civic organizations and as a trustee or director of many companies. He has also given his services to advisory boards of the State of New Jersey. He and his wife, Zoe Sarbanes Pappas, have two children. Dimitri, an attorney, has recently joined the family business as corporate counsel. Eleni, armed with a master’s in food management, works for a major food brokerage firm.
Peter C. Pappas, President and co-CEO, graduated from Blair Academy and Boston University. Like his brother, he has served actively in many professional, educational and civic activities and on the board of trustees of companies. He resides in Pilesgrove with his wife, Ameline Morin Pappas. Their eldest son Clement manages a plant of the family canning business in California; Edward is pursuing a master’s degree in food science, and Zachary is an undergraduate at Drew University.
Marina Pappas Zazanis, a graduate of Hood College and resident of New Vernon with her husband Dr. George Zazanis, has devoted her business career to the medical industry, serving as founder, president and CEO of three companies that produce technologies used in the treatment of diseases. She also serves on the board of directors of the Clement Pappas Company and other businesses and charitable organizations.
Together these three distinguished children have left a permanent memorial of their parents in the form of a named endowed professorship, the “AFGLC Clement and Helen Pappas Professorship in Byzantine Civilization and Religion”. The Pappas family contribution will help others to live the American dream through education in the state of New Jersey.
