Paying It Forward By Libby Hopkins
D
ino and Katerina Korovessis’ story is one of love, faith, family and paying it forward. The Greek couple own Melina International Trading Company and For A Cause. They met in Athens, Greece in 2004 just before the Olympics. Dino was from the Kalamata area, which is the olive growing region of Greece and Katerina, or “Kat” as she goes by, is from Northern Greece, where they produce cheese and yogurt. Dino said, “Kat fell madly in love with me and I couldn’t resist her charms.” Kat begged to differ and said, “This is fiction we are talking about, right?” The truth is they met the end of May in 2004 and by August of 2005 they were married, moved to the states and had their daughter Melina. “In 14 months we had done everything and here we are nine years later,” Kat said. There were a few roadblocks the family experienced on their journey over the last nine years. Melina was born prematurely, weighing 1 lb. 12 oz. with a slim chance of survival. The family went through months of hospitalizations, ER visits and surgeries. Melina’s grandmother, Virginia Ioannou, visited a monastery in Greece to pray for a miracle. The family got one because Melina is a happy and healthy 8-year-old today. “Dino and I were always the ones who volunteered and gave back, but after what happened to our child, we realized that we needed to pay it forward,” Kat
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said. Dino’s family has an olive oil grove in Kalamata and he inherited a small olive oil grove. He and his family are in charge of taking care of it. Dino worked as a management consultant but wanted to start a business where he could carry on his family’s traditions and pass it onto his daughter. The couple decided to start selling olive oil. Melina International Trading Company was born. “We first stated out with just Greek olive oil and then we started picking up other products that other people wanted because a lot of chefs in the area loved our products,” Dino said. They avidly support organic farming, the slow food movement, sustainable agriculture and all efforts to return our food supply, as well as our planet to a more healthy state. “We constantly provide the marketplace with access to traditional products from all around the world that enrich both the lives of the producers and consumer alike,” Dino said. They are strong believers in keeping things local and giving back to the community. They also felt that everyone should be able afford to eat healthy. “We wanted to make our products affordable because it shouldn’t be so outrageously expensive to eat healthy,” Kat said. They created their For A Cause olive oil line to be affordable and a way to give back to a local charity. The charity they support is the Tampa-based Faces of Courage Foundation. They are a
he Korovessis Family: Dino, his wife Katerina and their daughter, Melina. The couple is the owners of The Melina International Trading Company and For A Cause.
non-profit organization that offers free camps and events for women and children with cancer and blood illnesses. The foundation strives to provide a judgment-free, comfortable atmosphere where women and children can relax and just have fun. They met Peggie Sherry, founder of Faces of Courage, through a mutual friend. “We wanted to give to a local charity and when we met Peggie, we realized her foundation was head and shoulders above the rest,” Dino said. He and Kat liked that they were able to meet Peggie face to face and go to one of her camps to see how their donation
INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2013
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