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The annual Corky Kell Classic kicked off Thursday and high school football teams from near and far and battling it out on the gridiron. Kell High School faces McEachern at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Nick Kavadellas, president and CEO of Orasi, a software security innovator, has been involved in the Kell event and foundation and youth sports for many years and strongly believes that sports and business go together.
Not long after Kavadellas founded Orasi in May 2002 he received a call from an old football coach at Sprayberry High School, Johnny Callwell, who was just hired to coach at Kell, inviting Nick to get involved. Kavadellas not only set himself up as a Kell booster immediately, but coached alongside Callwell. He coached for 16 years and is still an active supporter of the school. In fact, believe it or not, Kell wasn’t in the Corky Kell event in the beginning, until Kavadellas pushed to get the school in about 10 years ago.
Along the way Kavadellas became involved in the Georgia Middle School Athletic organization. He was the treasurer and scheduler for 126 schools and is still an active board member. In 2009 Kavadellas focused on the fact that there were no football and cheer programs in the elementary grades. He lobbied and founded the Cobb Football League and remains President of that organization. Kavadellas was awarded 2011 Cobb Volunteer of the Year and estimates that over the last 10 years 10,000 football kids and 8,000 cheerleaders have come thru the Cobb program.
Kavadellas takes his love of the game and coaching to work as well. As founder of a successful tech company, he aligns themes of teamwork, community and sportsmanship with how he runs the company, believing sports mirrors life’s lessons and builds character, lessons and character traits that are applicable in business and life in general. Kavadellas also ensures that Orasi’s philanthropic efforts include the Kell Foundation.
All told, Nick gives more than 500 hours per year of his time to local Atlanta youth programs. “Leadership through stewardship enables good will and good business to work hand in hand, on and off the field. Community sports help everyone,” he says.
Some of his old Kell players end up working for Orasi, too. “We continue to invest in kids that have gone through the programs long after they leave high school. One kid I coached went to Kennesaw State and then we hired him. Now he’s married with a son and I coach his son.”
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