[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 758 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 758

   Designating the month of September 2022 as ``Macedonian American 
Heritage Month'' and celebrating the language, history, and culture of 
 Macedonian Americans and their incredible contributions to the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2022

Mr. Braun submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Designating the month of September 2022 as ``Macedonian American 
Heritage Month'' and celebrating the language, history, and culture of 
 Macedonian Americans and their incredible contributions to the United 
                                States.

Whereas there is evidence that the earliest Macedonians in the continental 
        United States arrived on or around the year 1492;
Whereas, since the 1880s, tens of thousands of Macedonians fled to the United 
        States seeking civil liberties, human rights, religious freedom, and 
        economic opportunities and in response to the 1903 Ilinden Uprising 
        against the Ottoman Empire, the Balkan Wars, the 2 World Wars, the Greek 
        Civil War, and the communist policies of Yugoslavia;
Whereas the Macedonian community in the United States is a vibrant community 
        that is embedded within the mosaic of the United States, partaking in 
        all walks of life, business, medicine, law, technology, civic 
        engagement, government, the military, education, the arts, culinary 
        world, athletics, and more;
Whereas the United Macedonian Diaspora estimates there are 500,000 individuals 
        of Macedonian heritage living in the United States, with sizeable 
        communities in Michigan, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, 
        Pennsylvania, Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, and Virginia;
Whereas Macedonian-American immigrants contributed to building monumental 
        transportation routes in the United States, including the Great Northern 
        Railroad;
Whereas, in 1922, Macedonian-American immigrants Tom and John Kiradjieff, using 
        old Macedonian recipes passed down by their parents and grandparents, 
        developed the recipe for Cincinnati chili, a beloved dish in the United 
        States, which, in 2013, was named one of the ``20 Most Iconic Foods in 
        America'' by Smithsonian magazine;
Whereas, in the early 20th century, Macedonian immigrants created their own 
        version of the famous Coney Island hot dog, which remains a staple dish 
        at Coney Island-style restaurants throughout the Midwest;
Whereas Macedonian-American Stoyan Christowe, who immigrated to the United 
        States in 1911, was an author, journalist, World War II intelligence 
        officer, Vermont State Representative from 1961 to 1962, and Senator 
        from 1963 to 1972 and wrote the book entitled ``This is My Country'', 
        which was a favorite of President Franklin D. Roosevelt;
Whereas Macedonian-American Michael Alexander (Lazaroff) of Pittsburgh and New 
        York City was a renowned international attorney who served as a legal 
        adviser to many British and Irish government organizations and 
        corporations for which he was honored by Her Majesty Elizabeth II as a 
        Commander of the British Empire and, as a nonalcoholic, served in 
        Alcoholics Anonymous from the mid-1950s through 1993 as legal adviser, 
        chairman of general services board, trustee, and trustee chairman;
Whereas Macedonian-American Judge Jimmy N. Dimos served as a district judge for 
        the 4th Judicial District Court of Louisiana from 1999 to 2006 and 
        member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1999, 
        serving as Speaker of the House from 1988 to 1992;
Whereas, in 2018, Macedonian-American Judge Phillip Naumoff of Mansfield, Ohio, 
        was elected as Richland County Common Pleas Court Judge;
Whereas, in 1995, Macedonian-American Ljubica Z. Acevska of Mansfield, Ohio, and 
        Washington, DC, became the first Ambassador of North Macedonia to the 
        United States;
Whereas Macedonian Americans have greatly contributed to the economy of the 
        United States, creating countless jobs for the people of the United 
        States in Macedonian-American communities;
Whereas Macedonian-Americans Mike Ilitch, recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of 
        Honor, and Marian Bayoff Ilitch, who played a significant role in the 
        civil rights movement and paid rent in Detroit for activist Rosa Park 
        for more than a decade--

    (1) opened the first mom-and-pop Little Caesars pizza shop in 1959, 
which grew into the third-largest pizza chain in the world;

    (2) are owners of the Detroit Red Wings--coining Detroit as 
``Hockeytown''--and the Detroit Tigers; and

    (3) in 2015, made history by giving Wayne State University $50,000,000, 
the largest donation ever made to the school, highlighting their lifelong 
dedication to promoting entrepreneurship, education, and the revitalization 
of Detroit;

Whereas Macedonian-American Christopher Ilitch, President and Chief Executive 
        Officer of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., and chairman of Ilitch Charities, 
        which has given more than $220,000,000 in grants since 2000 for causes 
        from youth development to community revitalization, has continued the 
        tradition and vision of his parents Mike and Marian Ilitch to further 
        the global standing of Detroit by developing The District Detroit, which 
        has grown into a dynamic sports and entertainment district featuring 
        award-winning theaters, 4 professional sports teams, and 3 multi-use 
        sports venues, including the state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena, home 
        of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Pistons, and world-class 
        entertainment and community events;
Whereas 4 of the 8 names of women ever engraved on the Stanley Cup are 
        Macedonian-Americans Marian Ilitch, Denise Ilitch, Lisa Ilitch, and 
        Carole Ilitch Trepeck, whose names were engraved in the Stanley Cups won 
        by the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998;
Whereas Macedonian-American Andrew Peykoff, Sr., of California--

    (1) founded Niagara Bottling, LLC, in 1963, which is one of the largest 
private water bottling companies in the United States;

    (2) through the Andrew D. Peykoff, Sr., Scholarship Program has awarded 
more than $2,000,000 to college students in the United States;

    (3) through Niagara Cares, has delivered millions of bottles of clean 
water for disaster relief efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the 
United States Virgin Islands, and Mexico City; and

    (4) provided a $10,000,000 grant for the Jaime Peykoff Follicular 
Lymphoma Initiative to fund follicular lymphoma research grants, 
international scientific workshops, and clinical awards;

Whereas Macedonian-American George Atanasoski of Ormond Beach, Florida, who 
        immigrated to the United States in 1970 and was a recipient of the Ellis 
        Island Medal of Honor, founded Microflex Inc., a manufacturer that 
        supplies a wide range of flexible metal products to large clients such 
        as General Electric, Ford, Siemens, General Motors, Rolls Royce, and the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
Whereas Macedonian-American Katrina Markoff, originally of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
        was recognized by President Barack Obama as a Champion of Change in 
        Small Business and founded Vosges Haut-Chocolat, which was named one of 
        the 10 Best Chocolatiers in the World by National Geographic;
Whereas Macedonian-American Mike Zafirovski of Forest Hills, Illinois, recipient 
        of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and former presidential appointee to 
        the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee--

    (1) served on the board of Boeing;

    (2) was President and Chief Executive Officer of Nortel, a global 
communications technology company;

    (3) was President and Chief Operating Officer of Motorola; and

    (4) during a 25-year career at General Electric, served as President 
and Chief Executive Officer of 5 subsidiaries of General Electric in the 
consumer, industrial, and financial services sectors;

Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. Leon Speroff of Portland, Oregon, who was 
        recognized as a giant in obstetrics and gynecology, made significant 
        achievements in reproductive endocrinology, changing how medicine is 
        practiced;
Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. George Daicoff of St. Petersburg, Florida, a 
        renowned cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, was a maverick in his 
        field of pediatric heart surgery which was an emerging, unknown field in 
        the 1970s, installed a pacemaker in the smallest premature infant in 
        1984, and conceived and performed important research that advanced the 
        field of pediatric heart surgery;
Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. Peter T. George--

    (1) won 3 Olympic Medals for the United States and 5 world 
championships in weightlifting;

    (2) was the middleweight champion at the Pan-American Games; and

    (3) became a doctor in oral medicine and pioneered treatments for 
obstructive sleep apnea;

Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. Jovan Laskovski, of Akron, Ohio, was inducted 
        into the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy (commonly known as 
        ``ISHA'') in 2013 and became 1 of 26 surgeons in the United States 
        inducted into ISHA;
Whereas Macedonian Americans have tremendously contributed to athletics and 
        professional sports in the United States, including--

    (1) Vlatko Andonovski, the head coach of the United States Women's 
National Soccer Team;

    (2) Sasho Cirovski, the Head Men's Soccer Coach of the University of 
Maryland Men's Soccer Team;

    (3) Dino Delevski, a former soccer player for the Milwaukee Wave and a 
former coach for the Chicago Inferno of the Major Arena Soccer League;

    (4) Stefan Kozlov, a professional tennis player;

    (5) Kevin Kouzmanoff, a former professional baseball player and current 
coach in the Oakland Athletics organization;

    (6) Cedi Osman, a basketball player for Cleveland Cavaliers;

    (7) Jovan Kirovski, a former soccer player and the current Technical 
Director for the Los Angeles Galaxy;

    (8) brothers George and Louis Nanchoff, former soccer players in the 
North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League (commonly 
referred to as ``MISL'');

    (9) Sandre Naumovski, a MISL soccer player for the Philadelphia KiXX;

    (10) Pete Stoyanovich, a former professional football player for the 
Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and St. Louis Rams;

    (11) Paul Naumoff, a former All-Pro linebacker in the National Football 
League (commonly referred to as the ``NFL'') for the Tennessee Titans and 
the Detroit Lions; and

    (12) Mike Vrabel, a former All-Pro, 3-time Super Bowl Champion, NFL 
football player for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, and 
current head coach for the Tennessee Titans;

Whereas Steven Stamkos, an immigrant from Canada of Macedonian heritage, is 
        captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the 2021 Stanley Cup Winner;
Whereas Macedonian-American Pandel Savic--

    (1) served with the First Marine Division in the South Pacific theater 
during World War II, fighting in the Battles of Peleliu and Okinawa;

    (2) was quarterback for The Ohio State University Buckeyes football 
team, taking the team to victory in the 1950 Rose Bowl; and

    (3) played an important role in the golf community and served as the 
longtime chairman of the Professional Golfer's Association Memorial 
Tournament, which Savic founded with Jack Nicklaus;

Whereas Macedonian-American Nick Vanoff directed and produced famous musicals, 
        movies, and television shows in the United States, including ``Kiss Me 
        Kate'', ``The Tonight Show'', ``City of Angels'', ``The Sound of 
        Christmas'', and ``The Julie Andrews Hour'', and created and produced 
        the annual ``Kennedy Center Honors'';
Whereas Macedonian-American Dimitri Dimitrov, former maitre d' at Tower Bar in 
        Los Angeles and San Vicente Bungalows, is Hollywood's most famous maitre 
        d' according to Bon Appetit and the Hollywood Reporter;
Whereas Macedonian-Americans Klime and Anita Kovaceski of Miami, Florida, have 
        earned notable recognition for their restaurant CRUST, which was named 
        one of the ``100 Best Restaurants in America'' for 2017 and 2019 by 
        OpenTable, one of the ``Top 25 restaurants around the world'' for 2019 
        by OpenTable/KAYAK, and one of the ``101 Best Pizzas in America'' in 
        2020 by The Daily Meal, and was voted ``Miami's #1 Italian restaurant'' 
        on TripAdvisor from 2015 to 2020;
Whereas Macedonian Americans contributed to the construction of several dozen 
        Macedonian Orthodox churches throughout the United States as part of the 
        American-Canadian Macedonian Orthodox Diocese, under current auspices of 
        His Grace Metropolitan Metodi, and have played a major role in other 
        Orthodox Church communities throughout the United States for more than a 
        century;
Whereas 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the Congressional Caucus on North 
        Macedonia and Macedonian-Americans, which was founded by former 
        Representative Candice S. Miller and is currently co-chaired by 
        Representatives Brendan F. Boyle, Claudia Tenney, Debbie Dingell, and 
        Lisa McClain;
Whereas 2022 is significant for Macedonian Americans because September 8, 2021, 
        marked the 30th anniversary of the independence of a Macedonian country; 
        and
Whereas the incredible contributions and heritage of Macedonian Americans have 
        helped improve the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates September 2022 as ``Macedonian American 
        Heritage Month'';
            (2) expresses warm congratulations and best wishes to all 
        Macedonian people around the world as they mark Macedonian 
        Independence Day;
            (3) esteems the integral role of Macedonian Americans in 
        the economy, culture, and identity of the United States; and
            (4) urges the people of the United States to observe 
        Macedonian American Heritage Month with appropriate programs 
        and activities that celebrate the contributions of Macedonian 
        Americans to the United States.
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