John Paul Fodor was born in 1934 in a small Hungarian farm village called Visznek.  He achieved his formal education in the capital city of Budapest.  His Civil Engineer training was interrupted in October 1956 when he participated in the Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet Union.  This brave uprising against the communist regime was successful for a short while then quashed by a massive tank assault onto the capital.  As a major participant in the uprising, John was forced to flee by foot, initially to Austria then to Washington D.C.  He completed his Civil Engineering degree in Kansas where he met his wife.  In 1960 he married Carmen Martinez who was attending college in Kansas as an international student from El Salvador, Central America.  They have two adult children, Candy Fodor Be, an attorney, and Cynthia Fodor Schwartzenburg, an anesthesiologist.

John’s love for his country is deep and obvious.  He speaks fondly of his youth here, the culture, the food and especially the wine.  He is now an enthusiastic participant in the peaceful “Hungarian Wine Revolution”.    As our Hungarian Liaison, his knowledge of the regions and their wines is remarkable.