[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1360-E1362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ELLIS ISLAND MEDALS OF HONOR AWARDS CEREMONY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 22, 1999

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following:

  Ellis Island Medals of Honor Awards Ceremony--NECO Chairman William 
                  Denis Fugazy Leads Dramatic Ceremony

       Ellis Island, NY, May 8.--Standing on the hallowed grounds 
     of Ellis Island--the portal through which 17 million 
     immigrants entered the United States--a cast of ethnic 
     Americans who have made significant contributions to the life 
     of this nation were presented with the coveted Ellis Island 
     Medal of Honor at an emotionally uplifting ceremony.
       NECO's annual medal ceremony and reception on Ellis Island 
     in New York Harbor is the Nation's largest celebration of 
     ethnic pride. Representing a rainbow of ethnic origins, this 
     year's recipients received their award in the shadow of the 
     historic Great Hall, where the first footsteps were taken by 
     the millions of immigrants who entered the U.S. in the latter 
     part of the nineteenth century. ``Today we honor great ethnic 
     Americans who, through their achievements and contributions, 
     and in the spirit of their ethnic origins, have enriched this 
     country and have become role models for future generations,'' 
     said NECO Chairman William Denis Fugazy. ``In addition, we 
     honor the immigrant experience--those who passed through this 
     Great Hall decades ago, and the new immigrants who arrive on 
     American soil seeking opportunity.''
       Mr. Fugazy added,'' It doesn't matter how you got here or 
     if you already were here. Ellis Island is a symbol of the 
     freedom, diversity and opportunity--ingredients inherent in 
     the fabric of this nation. Although many recipients have no 
     familial ties to Ellis Island, their ancestors share similar 
     histories of struggle and hope for a better life here.
       Established in 1986 by NECO, the Ellis Island Medals of 
     Honor pay tribute to the ancestry groups that comprise 
     America's unique cultural mosaic. To date, approximately 
     1,100 ethnic American citizens have received medals.
       NECO is the largest organization of its kind in the U.S. 
     serving as an umbrella group for over 250 ethnic 
     organizations and whose mandate is to preserve ethnic 
     diversity, promote ethnic and religious equality, tolerance 
     and harmony, and to combat injustice, hatred and bigotry. 
     NECO has a new goal in its humanitarian mission: saving the 
     lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions. 
     NECO has founded The Children of the World Foundation which 
     brings children from developing nations needing life-saving 
     surgery to the United States for treatment. This year alone, 
     NECO's efforts have helped save the lives of six infants from 
     around the world.
       Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients are selected each 
     year through a national nomination process. Screening 
     committees from NECO's member organizations select the final 
     nominees, who are then considered by the Board of Directors.
       Past Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients have included 
     several U.S. Presidents, entertainers, athletes, 
     entrepreneurs, religious leaders and business executives, 
     such as William Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald 
     Ford, George Bush, Richard Nixon, George Pataki, Mario Cuomo, 
     Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Michael Douglas, Gloria Estefan, 
     Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Elie Wiesel, Muhammad Ali, 
     Mickey Mantle, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Barbara Walters, 
     Terry Anderson and Dr. Michael DeBakey.


   congratulations to the 1999 ellis island medal of honor recipients

                                                                   MEDALIST LIST 1999
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                        Name                                          Heritage                                         Occupation
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Joseph V. Adamec....................................  Slovak                                    Religious Leader.
Roger E. Ailes......................................  English/Scottish                          Media Executive.
Frank Andrea, Jr....................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Karl G. Andren......................................  Finnish                                   Business Leader.
Thomas A. Athens....................................  Hellenic                                  Business Leader.
Inge Auerbacher.....................................  German                                    Chemist/Author/Lecturer.
Adrien Barbey.......................................  Swiss                                     Restaurateur.
William G. Barry....................................  Irish/Dutch                               Business Leader.
Hans W. Becherer....................................  German                                    Business Leader.
Marylou Berk........................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Morris Biller.......................................  Austrian/Hungarian                        Labor Leader.
Karl L. Boeckmann...................................  German                                    Business Leader.
Nicholas J. Bouras..................................  Hellenic                                  Business Leader.
Douglas W. Brandrup.................................  Danish                                    Attorney/Business Leader.
Richard L. Bready...................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
David V.B. Britt....................................  Welsh/English                             Educational Communitor.

[[Page E1361]]

 
Bard E. Bunaes......................................  Norwegian                                 Business Leader.
Renzo C. Casellini..................................  Swiss                                     Business Leader.
Ping Kee Chan.......................................  Chinese                                   Community Leader.
Richard F. Chormann.................................  German                                    Business/Community Leader.
Hillary Clinton.....................................  ........................................  Author, Attorney, Children's Advocate.
John E. Connelly III................................  Irish/English/German                      Military Officer.
Tony Conza..........................................  Italian                                   Entrepreneur/Business Leader.
Antonia Cortese.....................................  Yugoslavian/Italian                       Educator/Labor Leader.
Richard Clarke Crabtree.............................  Irish                                     Entrepreneur.
Robert M. Devlin....................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Derek E. Dewan......................................  Lebanese                                  Business Leader.
Arturo DiModica.....................................  Italian                                   Artist.
Martin P. Doolan....................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Theofanis V. Economidis.............................  Hellenic                                  Community Leader.
Peter C. Economus...................................  Hellenic                                  US District Judge.
Riad Farah, M.D.....................................  Palestinian/Syrian                        Physician.
Frank A. Fariello...................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Andrew Farkas.......................................  Hungarian/German                          Business Leader.
Herbert Feinberg....................................  Russian/Polish                            Business Leader.
Lawrence J. Ferolie.................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
George N. Fishman...................................  Russian/Austrian                          Business Leader.
Joe T. Ford.........................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
M. Irene Fugazy.....................................  Irish/Italian                             Author/Educator.
George N. Fugelsang.................................  Danish/English/Swiss                      Business Leader.
Mark E. Galantowicz.................................  Polish                                    Surgeon.
Richard D. Gidron, Sr...............................  African                                   Business Leader.
Rosa Maria Gil......................................  Cuban                                     Government Health Leader.
Tom Gleason.........................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
John Glenn..........................................  ........................................  Astronaut/Former US Senator.
Marc Goldman........................................  Russian/Polish                            Business Leader.
Ernest P. Gonzalez..................................  Nicaraguan/Panamanian                     Business Leader.
Virginia Hanrahan...................................  Irish                                     Community Leader.
Fred Hassan.........................................  Pakistani                                 Business Leader.
James A. Henderson..................................  Scottish                                  Business Leader.
William J. Hudson...................................  Eng/Welsh/French                          Business Leader.
H. Wayne Huizenga...................................  Dutch                                     Business Leader/Entrepreneur.
Constantine Iordanou................................  Cypriot                                   Business Leader.
Thomas S. Johnson...................................  Swedish/Irish                             Business/Community Leader.
Quincy Jones........................................  African                                   Producer/Composer.
Richard J. Kaminski.................................  Polish/Ukrainian                          Business Leader.
George Kantakis.....................................  Hellenic/Italian                          Business Leader.
Constantine N. Katsoris.............................  Hellenic                                  Educator.
Raymond J. Kayal, Sr................................  Syrian                                    Business Leader.
Patrick E. Kelleher.................................  Irish                                     Law Enforcement Officer.
Sue Kelly...........................................  German                                    Member of Congress.
Jeong H. Kim........................................  Korean                                    Business Leader.
Lila Kim............................................  Korean                                    Artist/Community Leader.
Emanuel M. Kontokosta...............................  Hellenic                                  Entrepreneur.
Edward Kopko........................................  Polish                                    Business Leader.
Arthur G. Koumantzelis..............................  Hellenic                                  Business Leader.
Robert Kenneth Kraft................................  Russian/Polish                            Business Leader/Entrepreneur.
Ute Wolff Lally.....................................  German                                    Justice.
Frank Lanza.........................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Michael D. Lappin...................................  Russian                                   Community Leader.
Peter N. Larson.....................................  Norwegian/Eng/Ger                         Business Leader.
Kun Y. Lee..........................................  Korean                                    Community Leader.
Kenneth R. Leibler..................................  German/Austrian                           Business Leader.
Vernon R. Loucks Jr.................................  Dutch/Eng/Welsh                           Business Leader.
Alex Machaskee......................................  Yugoslavian                               Publisher.
Paula Madison.......................................  Jamaican/Chinese                          Television News Executive.
Nadine Malone.......................................  Irish/German                              Business Leader.
Nick Mamalakis......................................  Hellenic                                  Community Leader.
Andrew E. Manatos...................................  Hellenic                                  Community Leader.
Charles Marangoudakis...............................  Hellenic                                  Entrepreneur.
Victor Marrero......................................  Puerto Rican                              Ambassador.
Rose Mattus.........................................  Irish/Russian                             Business Leader/Entrepreneur.
John M. Mavroudis...................................  Hellenic                                  Business Leader.
H. Carl McCall......................................  African                                   NYS Comptroller.
Richard D. McCormick................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Marianne McDonald...................................  Irish                                     Educator/Author.
James M. McGuire....................................  Irish                                     Attorney.
Robert Merrill......................................  Polish                                    Opera Baritone.
Barbara A. Mikulski.................................  Polish                                    United States Senator.
Edward D. Miller....................................  Lithuanian/Italian                        Business Leader.
Jolene Moritz Molitoris.............................  Polish/Slovakian                          Administrator/Federal Railroad Adminis.
William T. Monahan..................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Angelo R. Mozilo....................................  Italian                                   Mortgage Industry Leader.
Joseph T. Mullen....................................  Scottish/Irish                            Business Leader.
Arthur Nadata.......................................  Danish                                    Entrepreneur.
Vincent J. Naimoli..................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Carolann S. Najarian, MD............................  Armenian                                  Physician.
Robert C. Nakasone..................................  Japanese                                  Business Leader.
Wayne Newton........................................  Native American/Irish/German              Entertainer/Actor.
Raymond T. O'Keefe, Jr..............................  Irish/English/Dutch                       Business Leader.
Thomas D. O'Malley..................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Peter L. O'Neill....................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Nicholas P. Papadakos...............................  Hellenic                                  Jurist.
Tom Pappas..........................................  Hellenic                                  Educator/Labor Leader.
Poozant Piranian....................................  Armenian                                  Community Leader.
John J. Pomerantz...................................  Polish/Austrian                           Business Leader.
Lois Berrodin Pope..................................  French/Welsh                              Community Leader/Philanthropist.
Charles G. Preble...................................  Eng/French/Irish                          Business Leader.
Heinz C. Prechter...................................  German                                    Business Leader/Entrepreneur.
Richard B. Priory...................................  Irish/Eng/Dutch                           Business Leader.
Rodney R. Proto.....................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Max Recone..........................................  Ukrainian/Polish                          Business Leader.
William Rehnquist...................................  Swedish                                   Chief Justice.
Victor M. Richel....................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Richard Dean Rockwell...............................  Austrian                                  Business Leader.
Eric A. Rose, MD....................................  Russian/Austrian                          Physician.
Jack Ryan...........................................  Irish                                     Labor Leader.
Edward San Luis.....................................  Filipino/English                          Business Leader.
Michael Sawruk......................................  Ukrainian                                 Entrepreneur.
Lewis D. Schiliro...................................  Italian                                   Law Enforcement Officer.
Irving Schneider....................................  Russian                                   Business Leader.
Berge Setrakian.....................................  Armenian/Lebanese                         Community Leader.
Richard C. Shadyac..................................  Lebanese/Irish                            Non-Profit CEO.
Clarence O. Smith...................................  African                                   Entrepreneur.
Joseph A. Spinelli..................................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Nicholas J. St. George..............................  Italian                                   Business Leader.
Dickran Tevrizian...................................  Armenian                                  Judge.
Charles F. Thomas...................................  Irish/English                             Business Leader.

[[Page E1362]]

 
Marlo Thomas........................................  Lebanese/Italian                          Actress, Producer, Social Activist.
John M. Tsimbinos...................................  Hellenic                                  Business Leader.
Nicholas A. Tzimas, MD..............................  Hellenic                                  Physician.
Louis V. Varone.....................................  Italian                                   Real Estate Broker.
George R. Wackenhut.................................  German                                    Business Leader.
Chrsitine M. Warnke.................................  Hellenic/German                           Community Leader.
Mark H. Willes......................................  English                                   Business Leader.
Susan J. Willis.....................................  Russ/Eng/Pol/Aust                         Community Leader/Entrepreneur.
John Wren...........................................  Irish                                     Business Leader.
Alejandro Yemenidjian...............................  Armenian                                  Business Leader.
George Younan, MD...................................  Lebanese                                  Diplomat in Internal Medicine.
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