Oftentimes, business owners promise to be “good neighbors,” only to disappoint everyone, near and far. Not so with Georgio Kolaj, managing partner of the soon-to-open Valentino’s on the Green in Bayside.
On Friday, May 21, the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America named Kolaj, co-founder and executive vice president of Famous Famiglia Pizzerias, as the president of the Queens Council of the Boy Scouts, in time for the centennial year of the movement, founded on February 8, 1910.
Kolaj has been an active member of the executive board since 2007 and, together with his family and organization, is an active supporter of many of the Boys Scouts programs and initiatives, according to the Council.
“My father died when I was seven months old,” Kolaj told The Queens Courier. “When I was growing up, on welfare in the South Bronx, I always wanted to be a Boy Scout,” he recalled. Years later, someone gave him a commemorative copy of the Boy Scout Handbook from his youth. “It was a visceral experience,” he confessed.
Kolaj got involved in scouting after meeting William DeCota, who was president of the Queens Council until his sudden passing on September 11, 2009, at an event honoring his family’s business in 2003.
“We hit it off right away. Bill worked for the Port Authority and since my family had pizzerias in both LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports, I got involved in Scouting in Queens,” Kolaj said, adding “You wind up spending your time where your business is.”
“The Queens Council is extremely excited about Giorgio’s new role as president,” said Daniel Sullivan, Field Director for the Queens Council. “With his sound business experience and passion for success, we are confident that he will lead us successfully into the next 100 years of Scouting in Queens.”
For more information on the Greater New York Councils, visit www.bsa-gnyc.org. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, visit www.scouting.org.
