Robert Buhler succeeds Chris Tomaras, who passed away last month.
The PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation has named Robert Buhler, president of Open Pantry Food Marts Inc., as its new chairman of the Board of Directors.
Buhler succeeds Chris Tomaras, who passed away on Oct. 14, 2015. Formerly, Buhler served as vice chairman of the Board.
“We are very happy to have Mr. Buhler on our Board of Directors as Chairman. Mr. Buhler has already imparted so much guidance to the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation since he joined the Board in 2010,” said Yanni Valsamas, executive director of the Foundation. “Mr. Buhler will be a great asset, as his vision will carry out Mr. Tomaras’ aspirations for PanHellenic and advance the plans of the Foundation into the future. His leadership and wisdom are incredibly valuable to us. All other new board members will be announced soon.”
“I am honored to be named chairman of the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation’s Board,” said Buhler. “Chris Tomaras was my dear friend. I have great respect and admiration for Chris’ enormous contributions to the Foundation and to the community. I will do my best to carry on Chris’ legacy and help fulfill his dream for the Foundation. Specifically, the Foundation will continue to support exceptional Greek American students, and encourage these young people to make their utmost contributions to our society. We welcome all Hellenes to help us fulfill this goal and to keep Chris’ memory eternal.”
Buhler is an accomplished businessman with more than three decades of experience in banking, investment banking, retail sales and real estate development. Since 1997, he has served as president of Open Pantry Food Marts Inc. Buhler earned his MBA and undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He resides in Lake Forest, Ill. with his wife, Violetta. They are the parents of two adult children, Eunice and Konstantine.
The PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that awards scholarships to exceptional college students of Greek Heritage. To date, the Foundation has distributed $2.3 million to 324 scholarship recipients.