The Ridgefield Library will honor the Couri Family at the 2018 Great Expectations Gala on Saturday, April 28th at 6:00 pm at the Library.
The 2018 Ridgefield Library Great Expectations Gala, to be held on April 28, marks the first time that the Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award is going to multigenerational honorees: John and Elaine Couri, and their son Chris and daughter-in-law Megan. It is fitting that the Couris are being honored together, as devotion to family is probably the core passion that has driven them throughout their lives.
John is a business graduate of Syracuse University with an entrepreneurial spirit. In 1972 he co-founded IDF Services, and in 1983 was co-founder of Duty-Free International (DFI). By the time it went public in 1989, DFI was an industry leader, with over 2,500 employees and 190 stores.
The success of DFI enabled John and Elaine to turn their attention to philanthropy. In 1989 they established the Couri Foundation; its first program was a summer camp for underprivileged children … a pet project of Elaine’s. Established as beautiful Sky Lodge in Jackman, Maine, they eventually expanded its facilities to include programs for seniors and seminars for graduate students. In March of this year, the Couri Foundation donated Sky Lodge’s 16 buildings and 150 acres to Unity College in Unity, Maine, to enhance the school’s considerable environmental programs.
In Ridgefield, the Couris were instrumental in the creation of Founders Hall, which they built with Liz and Steve Goldstone. Their contributions to the Ridgefield Library include the Couri Family Center in the Lodewick Children’s
A pediatric occupational therapist for the past 20 years, Megan works in the Wilton school system and at Ridgefield Sensory Clinic. Chris and his partners started We Do Lines, a parking lot striping company which they have franchised to 13 markets across the U.S. In addition to providing maintenance for parking lots locally, today the company provides airport line marking services up and down the East Coast for Jet Blue. Additionally, Chris and a partner, own and run Young’s of Ridgefield, Inc. a fencing and commercial landscaping company. The couple are raising their three children, Cameron, Desmond and Madison to care for others. Says Chris, “We want them to experience the incredible feeling you get when you do something for someone else.”
Through their involvement in many organizations as leaders of the Couri Foundation, Elaine, John, Megan and Chris have touched thousands and, in so doing, this family has a huge extended family.
Tickets to the event can be purchased here.