Why does a man who has nearly everything undertake a project like The Monument of the Immortals? To understand the answer to this question, you must know a little about Makis Havadjias himself before you learn about Makis Havadjias the Founder of the Monument.

Makis is a very successful businessman. In the early 1980’s he and his brothers went into business and formed the restaurant chain Farmer Boys. After many years of hard work and dillegent effort, Farmer Boys became a major food service outlet in Southern California. From their headquarters in Riverside, the five Havadjias brothers work hard to expand their business and continue its success.

It is the success of his business which has allowed Makis to believe in his dreams. If a young immigrant from the tiny island of Cyprus can build a food service empire out of nothing more that ingenuity and sweat… anything is possible!

Makis has said many times (and this is the basis for his appeal to young people of all races and creeds) that there is nothing that cannot be accomplished if you work hard and never give up.

And that is Makis… a man who has a vision and will not give up until that vision is realized. He is prepared to see this project to completion and to allow for the Monument to exist in perpetuity. Makis is not only the spiritual and philosophical father of the project, he’s also the person who stays up late to speak with a professor half-way around the world or a student in a neighboring town.

Makis serves as President of the Board of Directors for The Monument of the Immortals. For approximately eight months of the year he operates the U.S. Regional Office of the Monument out of Riverside, California, spending the remaining four months operating the international headquarters of the Monument out of the capital city of his homeland in Nicosia, Cyprus.