Spotlight on
John S. Sargetis
30th PAA President
P
resident John Sargetis is no stranger to the PAA. He
has been an active member of Pancretan for more
than 30 years, both at the local and national levels, serving as chapter president as well as Legal Advisor, General Supervisor and First Vice President on the Board
of Directors. He currently practices law in Sacramento,
where he resides with his wife and two sons and is the
co-owner of United Law Center. We recently had the opportunity to learn more about his background and his
vision for the PAA.
Tell us about your family.
My wife, Vickie and I have two sons, George and Alexandros, who attend California State University, Sacramento. Our sons are actively involved in the Pancretan
Youth. In fact, Alexandros is the Youth West Coast Vice
President. Vickie is employed by Sutter Davis Hospital as
their Dietary Manager. My father, Stavros Sargetis, who
passed away in 1976, was from the village of Arevete,
near Vrisses, Apokorona. My mother, Demetra (Tsourounakis), is from Galatas, Chania. My father-in-law, George
Apostolou, was from Avoros, Fokida, Greece; my motherin-law, Constantina, from Kalavryta, Peloponnese. I have
two brothers living in California, Anthony Sargetis and
Dr. George Sargetis and two sisters, Ann Charchalis of
Denver, and Angela Victor of Walnut Creek, Calif.
Tell us about your chapter.
My local chapter is Zeus Cretagenis, right here in Sacramento. My father was one of the founders, along with
former PAA President George Tzikas, who served as our
first president, my uncle Themy Kotronakis and several
others. Up until the 1970s, the closest chapters were in
Modesto, 80 miles away, and San Francisco, 100 miles
away. Inspired by the legacy of the Modesto and San
Francisco men’s and women’s chapters, whose filoxenia
are known throughout America, the Sacramento Cretans
formed their own club in 1972 and became a part of the
PAA family. I have served as president of our chapter. We
don’t have a very large membership but, like Cretan clubs
in every community, we are supported by our entire Hellenic community.
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KPHTH | SEPTEMBER 2013
PAA President John Sargetis with his family. Son George stands to the
left, First Lady Vickie and son Alex stand to the right.
What PAA offices have you held?
I have been an officer of the PAA Board almost continuously for more than 30 years and I am proud to have served
as Legal Advisor beginning in 1974 for several terms, as
well as having been elected General Supervisor and First
Vice President.
What is your education?
I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley
with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1973 and earned
my law degree from the University of
the Pacific School of Law in 1977.
What is your profession?
I have practiced law since 1978. I am
the co-owner with attorney Stephen J.
Foondos of United Law Center, a California professional law corporation.
Our website is unitedlawcenter.com.
We are a general practice law firm but
specialize in representing homeowners
in actions against lenders for predatory
lending, denial of loan modifications,
and wrongful foreclosure. An appeal
I wrote resulted in a published decision of the California Court of Appeals
changing the law in California in favor
of homeowners’ rights. For those of you
who are interested, the decision can be
found at: http://www.courts.ca.gov/
opinions/documents/C070452.PDF
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