Gianakos ready for the presidential election

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
September 3, 2004
After watching George W. Bush accept the Republican Party's nomination for a second term Thursday, Kris Gianakos of Meridian said he's ready for the presidential election to swing into full-gear.
Gianakos was among a group of Mississippians in New York who served as delegates or alternate delegates at the RNC. Among the delegates: Gov. Haley Barbour, state Auditor Phil Bryant and state Treasurer Tate Reeves.
Gianakos, a former fighter pilot who retired as a U.S. Air Force colonel after 22 years of service, works for Lockheed Martin at Naval Air Station Meridian as a simulator instructor pilot.
He is due back in Meridian today.
Gianakos said he was thankful for his fellow members of the Lauderdale County Republican Executive Committee who supported him and allowed him to represent them at the convention.
Gianakos and other delegates encountered protesters during the convention in New York.
One of the high points of the trip for Gianakos happened while he and his wife, Bebe, attended a reception for veterans hosted by former President George H.W. Bush, father of President George W. Bush.
Gianakos and his wife had a photograph taken with former President Bush on board the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier commissioned during World War II that is now a museum and national landmark in New York.
The picture was snapped in front of the torpedo bomber plane the senior Bush was shot down in during World War II.
Also attending the reception were veterans from World War II, veterans from the first Gulf War including Gianakos and veterans from other wars.