This edition of Salina Sees You, brought to you by Drs. Cooper & Banninger, LLC Family Vision Care (1000 E. Cloud) presents:
Bill Fekas and the Family Christmas Dinner that occurs annually in Salina. This tradition has been ongoing for the past 40 years, and this year the Fekas family will continue their wonderful service of free dinners for the community on Christmas Day.
By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Since 1982, Bill Fekas along with many volunteers have kept the ongoing tradition of serving free community meals in Salina on Christmas Day.
Every year, Fekas and many others prep, cook and provide filling meals for those in the public, free of charge. The "Fekas Family Christmas Dinner" not only has a nice hook to it, but is held annually at the 4-H Building (Bob Flaherty Dr.) starting at 11:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Bill Fekas said his team starts the whole process of serving thousands of meals, all day on Christmas Eve. The anticipation is always that there will be more than a 4,000 people that will receive meals.
Last year, there was approximately 5,000 people who received meals.
"I think there will be alot of people this year, especially after the Government shutdown," said Fekas.
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SPONSORED
This edition of Salina Sees You is brought to you by Drs. Cooper & Banninger, LLC Family Vision Care (1000 E. Cloud). Call (785) 823-6391 or visit today, to make an appointment.
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The passion to help those in need
Before Fekas started the Family Christmas Dinner, he served meals at the Salina Country Club. One day, he entertained the vision of giving needy people free meals on Christmas Day.
“I grew up in Athens Greece. We were very poor and needed help sometimes,” stated Fekas. “After I came to this country, I decided I was going to do something good for somebody one day.”
Fekas pitched the idea to local philanthropist, Dean Evans to seek assistance on starting up and the rest was history. In the first dinner, there were about 50 people who attended the dinner.
Since then, the family Christmas dinner has grown well past the 5,000 mark of people who either attend or receive meals.
"We give the people whatever they want and I thank God I am apart of it," said Fekas. "God is with us all the time."
In 2014, Fekas was presented with the "Hero of the Week" award from Bank VI (now Bank of the Plains) for orchestrating the Christmas Dinner.
Donations are welcome as well and you can do so by donating to: Fekas Family Fund, P.O Box 2173, Salina KS.
The Christmas dinner will occur this Christmas Day at the 4-H Building (Bob Flaherty Dr.) starting at 11:00 am - 2:00 pm. Delivery options are available and you can do so by calling (785) 826-6531 or (785) 826-6532.
Salina sees you, Bill Fekas
If you would like to share your personal story or know anyone who may have a story that will inspire each reader, please email Salina Post News Director, Nicolas Fierro: [email protected] or [email protected] (during regular business hours).
You can also contact: (785) 656-9856 (during regular business hours).