George Ellinidis is the Hellenic Heritage Foundation’s newest member on the Board of Directors.   

The 56 year-old married father of two is Vice-President and General Counsel with J.M. Smucker Company.   

George is no stranger to the HHF, having attended many Galas and Christmas parties over the years, as well as the History Committee’s walking tours, and most recently, his son Thomas was an HHF Heritage Greece scholar, participating in the summer program in Thessaloniki.  

“Thomas came back ‘more Greek’ from that experience than from years of weekly Greek School,” muses George.  “The friendships he’s made with fellow Heritage Greece scholars across Canada and the U.S. since that trip, has enriched all our lives, with Thomas visiting his new friends and those kids visiting us here in Toronto.” 

He hopes his younger daughter Andrianna will one day participate in the Heritage Greece program, as well.  

“The HHF an extraordinary organization,” he says. “The way I think of it is, this is a way to invest in your roots.”  

George’s connection to his Greek roots is very important to him. “My grandparents lived with us when I was growing up and I spoke Greek before I learned English.” His family would send George to Greece almost every summer from the age of five, forging strong ties with his father’s family in Amynteon and his mother’s family in Kalamata. 

He was president of the Greek Students’ Association at the University of Toronto, a formative experience for him, in the end.  

‘When I was in university, the biggest complaint I had was a lack of guidance, support and mentorship available to the Greek Canadian students from the Greek community. ‘ 

He has since sought to mentor students and give back to young people.  

On top of his career, George also teaches Business Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, as well as having taught at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and North American business law online at the Hellenic American College in Athens. 

“The HHF is a great vehicle to mentor more young people,” he adds. Since joining the Board of Directors, he’s recruited other Directors to come in and guest lecture at Osgoode Hall on their experiences.  

As the new Vice-Chair of the Governance and Membership Committee, he has not only brought in more new members but also George hopes to forge stronger ties with the various university student associations to both recruit new members and offer more mentorship experiences for young people looking to reach their professional goals.  

“I joined the HHF because I felt it was the right organization to give back to help keep Greek culture strong here in Canada. What I saw was an organization putting into action what it preached – supporting Hellenism and supporting the next generation.” 

George’s son Thomas is now a member of the Next Generation Committee and the entire family, including wife Betty, are finding a diversity of HHF-supported events to attend. 

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