Belfast Alive!
CULTIVATING MAINE'S CREATIVITY THE MIDCOAST'S CREATIVE COLLABORATIVE
OUR STORY: TV Program Producers and Hosts,
George & Kristin Frangoulis
ABOUT GEORGE FRANGOULIS
Shortly after graduating from The University of Michigan, George Frangoulis moved to an old farmhouse in Midcoast Maine In 1973. He moved to Maine without any actual experience or knowledge of organic agriculture , but he was determined to become self-sufficient.
During George’s 15-year life in Maine, from 1973 to 1988, he raised food from the garden and barnyard; grew abundant crops of organic vegetables, fruits and berries; also raised a variety of small stock, including goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, and pigs. putting these naturally grown food products into the root cellar, larder and freezer.
As it turned out, however, his most profitable cash crop was from a publication borne from his imagination: FARMSTEAD MAGAZINE.
In 1988, George decided to pursue other interests. Consequently, he sold the magazine business and took the position as Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and Chair of the Magazine Publishing Program at The University of Alabama’s College of Communication.
He taught a variety of communication courses, including writing, editing, graphic design and production, fundamentals of publishing, and media marketing and sales.
He has also served as Adjunct Professor of Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations at Judson College in Marion, Ala., and the University of Montevallo in Ala. He has worked as a media professional for The New York Times and WVUA-TV.
Presently, George serves as an Adjunct Professor of English for Thomas College in Waterville, Maine.
ABOUT KRISTIN FRANGOULIS
Kristin and her husband George split their time between the Island of Lesbos, Greece, and Belfast. She is a published poet herself, with the book of verse, The Mermaid’s Cottage, which is about life in a Greek village.
She continues to write poetry about living in both Greece and Maine. Kristin has always scoured the poetry section in book stores, looking for poets unknown to her, “to urge me on my own lyrical journey.”
Kristin’s professional background in education includes teaching English and creative writing in both public schools (Belfast Area High School, Mount View High School, and TARGET, a gifted and talented program), and the University of Alabama.
She also recently worked for the Edna Drinkwater Middle School in Northport, where she directed its students in performances of "Of Mice and Mozart" (for radio) and "The Wizard of Oz" (the Spring finale).
While teaching at the Belfast Area High School, in 1986 Kristin, with her husband George, led a group of 22 high school students and a few parents to the Soviet Union, as part of the Samantha Smith Peace Mission.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Kristin founded and served as the Creative Director for the Peanutbutter & Jelly Players Children’s Theater; she also directed and managed the Canterbury Art Gallery, where she celebrated a different visual artist each month (both stars and rising stars).
Finally, while living in Freedom, Maine, from 1974 to 1988, Kristin assisted George with the operation of The Farmstead Press. She also contributed editorial materials to FARMSTEAD MAGAZINE, which included written pieces and illustrations.