{"id":302,"date":"2023-10-01T18:54:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T18:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/?p=302"},"modified":"2024-03-11T01:41:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T01:41:22","slug":"sam-kouvaris-still-in-action-in-the-air-on-land-and-at-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/sam-kouvaris-still-in-action-in-the-air-on-land-and-at-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Kouvaris: Still in Action in the Air, on Land and at Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Devan Stuart Lesley<\/em> \u2022 Photography by Renee Parenteau<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For nearly four decades, Sam Kouvaris served Jacksonville\u2019s sports community becoming one of the city\u2019s most recognized faces. That might not have been the case had his original career plans panned out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy earliest memory is wanting to be an astronaut,\u201d says Kouvaris, born in the midst of the great Space Race. \u201cMy dad worked on NASA\u2019s Mercury and Apollo programs as a quality control engineer, and I\u2019ve always been fascinated by flying. I told my wife, Linda, \u2018I\u2019m going to become a pilot before I\u2019m 50\u2019 and I was able to achieve that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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Today, Kouvaris is a multi engine-rated pilot who spends much of his time flying, marveling at the views of the pristine and largely uninhabited areas along the Eastern coastline\u2019s Cumberland Island and its wild ponies are a favorite. Flying is one of the top ways he aims to remain active, sharp-minded and healthy well into his (pseudo) retirement years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTV weathermen are paid to drive ratings. Aviation weathermen are paid to save lives. So when you\u2019re a pilot, you spend a lot of time studying the weather,\u201d he says, noting that studying the Atlantic hurricane paths demands an agile mind. In the days prior to Hurricane Idalia\u2019s recent rampage from Florida\u2019s Big Bend region to the northeastern South Carolina coast, Kouvaris recalls, \u201cI dissected what the storm was going to do based on information from the various aviation and weather sites and I made all the right calls.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While flying is a challenge, the hyperfocus required also gives a respite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople say it\u2019s stressful, but I say it\u2019s the exact opposite, \u201cWhen you\u2019re in the cockpit and you\u2019re sitting in the left seat, flying is the only thing you can think about. You\u2019re totally consumed by it, and I really enjoy that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While his time in the air is a top focus today, it\u2019s his time on the air that made him a household name in Northeast Florida. He delivered sports news from the WJXT-TV desk from 1981-2018, then as a Florida Times-Union columnist until 2021. Yet, a media career wasn\u2019t his goal. Instead, Kouvaris entered college as a pre-med major and, in his second semester, took an introduction to broadcasting class as an easy elective. Impressed with Kouvaris\u2019s natural aptitude the professor suggested he make it a career choice. The rest, as they say, is history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After graduation and a bartending stint, Kouvaris headed south with an audition tape and a bit of ambition. After hearing \u201cI like you, but I\u2019ve got a guy\u201d enough times to have made a less determined young upstart throw in the towel, he finally got a yes from WJXT-TV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey hired me at three o\u2019clock and put me on the air at six,\u201d he recalls \u2013 an early omen for Kouvaris who would become the longest tenured sports reporter in the city\u2019s history. \u201cSo, whenever I speak to groups, I tell people, \u2018Look, it\u2019s about persistence. I had been thrown out of 15 television stations, but I just kept going to the next one.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing his story and doling out advice to students and young journalists keeps him constantly on the go. His 2018 exit from conventional media doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s done \u2013 Not by a long shot. He continues to deliver sports news and commentary online via SAMSPORTSLINE with Sam Kouvaris, a brand of his company, Pegasus Media Productions. And he\u2019s still making major waves in sports. His passionate lobbying efforts helped land Tony Boselli, legendary Jacksonville Jaguars tackle, considered one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history, a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI’ve always joked that I would be one of the busiest retired people I know, because I always have so many hobbies,\u201d he says. \u201cI play golf, I fly the airplane, I ride my bike, I go to the gym. And I really enjoy all of that.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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Kouvaris can still be found in the spotlight from time to time. He\u2019s tried his hand at standup comedy and gets a kick out of surprising friends and fans who don\u2019t yet know that he can play the trumpet or belt out a tune like a pro. He frequently performs in conjunction with fundraising efforts, with big band musicians, or on behalf of groups such as University of North Florida\u2019s music program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s kind of hard to turn people down when they want you to wear a tuxedo, stand in front of a 16-piece band and sing some Sinatra in front of 1,000 people,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty good gig.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also does consulting work and continues his longtime charitable work. Over the years, he\u2019s helped raise millions of dollars for organizations such as the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society and Dreams Come True, which funds the dreams of children with life-threatening illnesses. All the while, he and Linda make keeping in touch and spending time with friends a priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But his greatest accomplishment? \u201cWell, that\u2019s easy: My children and grandchildren,\u201d he says, noting that he and Linda moved to the beaches to be closer to their four grandkids. \u201cWe\u2019re so proud that today, all three of our children are flourishing. As Bill Murray says in Lost in Translation, \u2018If you\u2019re lucky, they grow up to be the most delightful people you know.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For nearly four decades, Sam Kouvaris served Jacksonville\u2019s sports community becoming one of the city\u2019s most recognized faces. That might not have been the case had his original career plans panned out.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1217,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions\/1217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlexon-dev.com\/senior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}