Dean Katsaros
Mentor, Scientist and Patriot
Dr. Constantine "Dean" Katsaros, the most tenured of SCORE Fox Valley's mentors, continues to provide meaningful assistance to our chapter and the Membership Committee from his home in Tucson, AZ. His association with SCORE dates to 1993, when he joined the Downers Grove location, then housed with the local Chamber of Commerce. Dean's life story as well as his SCORE association is rich in accomplishment and innovation, making him a worthy choice for this month's profile.
Born to Greek immigrant parents in Chicago, Dean joined the Army in 1944 shortly after graduating from Hyde Park High School. In two years of wartime service, Dean attained the rank of 1st lieutenant in the Infantry division, including a year in post war Okinawa. Returning home, Dean attended Illinois Institute of Technology, concentrating on Chemistry. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Dean parlayed his high school experience with the Walgreen Drug Company and his Chemistry studies, earning the credentials necessary to work part time as an assistant pharmacist, which provided economic support for him and his mother. After graduating IIT in 1949, Dean continued his studies at Northwestern and was awarded a PhD in Organic Chemistry from that prestigious institution in 1953. During his doctoral studies, Dean courted and married Bess in 1950, and they made Lake Geneva, WI their home shortly thereafter.
Dean's distinguished business career began as a research chemist with Ringwood Chemical in Chicago's northern suburbs. Research continued with Ringwood, then Morton Chemical Company until 1969, when he became Technical Vice President of NOR-AM Chemical Company, eventually relocating to the company's headquarters in Wilmington, DE. When Dean retired in 1990, he had served the company with distinction as Sr. VP of Research & Development, helping the company achieve US sales of $100 million. During his industrial career Dean was awarded patents 6 patents in the United States and Canada.
Retirement from the chemical industry brought the Katsaros' back to greater Chicago in 1992; whereupon Dean started his volunteerism with The Hinsdale Community House, assisting seniors develop computer skills, an affiliation that lasted until 2012. In 1993, Dean joined SCORE at the suggestion of a former NOR-AM company president, and found that he enjoyed sharing his business experiences with entrepreneurs seeking to launch their own businesses, as well as the spirit of collaboration fostered by SCORE. Dean was instrumental in unifying chapter membership by devising an electronic chapter roster, and was a member of the team that designed and managed the chapter's original web site. Dean recalls only a third or so of the chapter's membership had personal email addresses, and he has remained on the forefront of the chapter's growth in electronic communications for over 20 years.
Dean has been a member of distinguished industrial organizations such as Sigma Xi, an honorary research society, Phi Lambda Upsilon, an honorary chemical society and since 1950 an active member of the American Chemical Society. Bess and Dean are blessed with two children and two grandchildren, one of whom is his namesake. Along with his current work with the Membership committee, Dean has served on the SCORE Executive and Technical committees.
While all the latest social media platforms get a lot of chatter, reports on the death of email marketing are, to paraphrase Mark Twain, greatly exaggerated. But many people aren't quite sure how authors should be using email, so here are some reasons for an email strategy and some traps to avoid.
We're all talking and reading about social media and you may be wondering how much of the discussion is simply hype. You'll hear strong opinions both ways, but the bottom line is: How is YOUR bottom line doing? 
