‘This is a legacy’: Meaningful bequest from Steve Georgopoulos and Liga Dekmeiers-Georgopoulos leaves a lasting impact
Liga Dekmeiers-Georgopoulos and Steve Georgopoulos
Steve Georgopoulos and Liga Dekmeiers-Georgopoulos agree that their studies at Loyola Campus in the early days of Concordia provided them with a great head start for the rest of their lives. But it delivered at least one more benefit.
“The Vanier Library is where I met this wonderful lady,” says Steve Georgopoulos, BComm 76, pointing to his wife of the past 42 years.
Liga Dekmeiers-Georgopoulos, attendee 76, agrees, adding, “My time at Concordia allowed me to develop meaningful relationships.”
In recognition of Concordia’s matchmaking role — and for much, much more — the couple have pledged a planned gift to the university’s Library Development Fund and Otsenhákta Student Centre, the on-campus resource for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students.
Liga explains that they directed their donation to the Campaign for Concordia in recognition of the value and necessity of libraries for education and the hurdles faced by students from Indigenous communities.
The partners both attended Loyola College’s CEGEP program, which was offered before Loyola and Sir George Williams University merged to form Concordia in 1974. They then moved on to university classes at Loyola.
Steve pursued a double major in business administration and economics. “When I graduated, I received a cum laude distinction, which I’m very proud of,” he says. “Concordia gave me a passport and recognition.”
He credits faculty members Lawrence Bessner, who at the time was dean of Commerce, and Lawrence Boyle, BA 57, BComm 58, with helping to launch a 35-year career in the hotel industry.
“I wrote my final exam on Thursday and I started work on Monday as a front-desk clerk, probably at either $2.25 or $2.75 an hour,” Steve relates.
Although he held many roles with various hotels and resorts during his long tenure in hospitality services, “I didn’t work more than 500 days my entire career because I loved my job.”
Liga studied economics at Concordia. “I would have liked to dance my way through life with Le Grand Ballet. However, my father put a stop to that,” she says.
“Nonetheless, I had a great time there,” she adds. “Many years later, what struck me was that it was like the United Nations, with students of different backgrounds, and I enjoyed meeting them and learning their stories and aspirations for the future.”
After Concordia, Liga charted her own career path in retail-merchandise planning. When her husband’s job took the family to Ottawa in 1990, she focused her efforts on raising their two daughters and on volunteer work.
Avid volunteers Steve Georgopoulos and Liga Dekmeiers-Georgopoulos joined a group from the Lutheran Churches of Ottawa to lend a hand in the kitchen at the Out of the Cold (Centre 120) at the Knox Presbyterian Church in Ottawa on November 30, 2024.
‘It’s important to leave something’
Since retiring Steve has become, in his words, a “serial volunteer and ambassador” for many organizations. He recently received the Chair’s Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
Ironically, the COVID-19 pandemic helped him reconnect with Concordia.
Soon after the lockdown began in spring 2020, he received an email invitation to the university’s award-winning CU at Home webinar and programming series.
“It was inviting me to a Zoom event — and I didn’t even know what Zoom was!” he recalls.
Yet after Steve took an online course by corporate trainer Gillian Leithman, BA 00, MSc 05, PhD 16, he was able to pass along his newly acquired knowledge of Zoom to his Kiwanis Club of Ottawa members and Kiwanis Key Clubbers.
He also became hooked on CU at Home. “Apparently, my claim to fame is I was the alumnus who attended the most of these educational sessions.”
Steve can also claim some fame through the recent publication of his book Next Station, Life: Switching to the Other Side of the Tracks, co-written with Jarrod Nichol, MBA 20. It explores how even small decisions can have a big impact on the course of one’s life and the power of intergenerational synergies. The authors held a public discussion of their book at the university in January 2024.
“I’m very passionate and appreciative of Concordia,” Steve adds. “I want to demonstrate that you don’t have to be financially independent to give.
“It’s important to leave something. This is an important decision for us. This is a legacy.”
Join Steve and Liga in giving back. Consult with our planned giving experts to learn how you can build a legacy that supports the next generation of Concordians.