[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2002-E2003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ELLIS ISLAND MEDALS OF HONOR AWARDS CEREMONY--NECO CHAIRMAN WILLIAM 
                  DENIS FUGAZY LEADS DRAMATIC CEREMONY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 13, 2002

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, On behalf of Ellis Island Medals 
of Honor Ceremonies, I am submitting the following statement for the 
Record.

       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. This year's event was dedicated to the 
     memory of those individuals whose lives were lost on 
     September 11, 2001.
       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 awards 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 1500 
     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 Forum's Children Foundation, which 
     brings children from developing nations needing life-saving 
     surgery to the United States for treatment.
       Ellis Island Medals 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 Directors.
       Past Ellis Island Medals 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, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Senator John McCain, 
     Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General Janet Reno.
       Congratulations to the 2002 Ellis Island Medals of Honor 
     Recipients:
       Abel Abrahamsen, Chairman Emeritus/Co-Founder, Norwegian 
     Immigration Assoc., Norwegian; William Achenbaum, President, 
     S/A Associates, Russian; Elias S. Adamopoulos, M.D., 
     President, Piraeus Realty Corp., Hellenic; Hector Alcalde, 
     Chairman & CEO, Alcalde & Fay, Spanish; Kurt Aschermann, Sr. 
     Vice President, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, German/
     Austrian/Italian; Lawrence Auriana, Chairman, Federated 
     Kaufman Fund, Italian; Kenneth E. Behring, CEO & Founder, 
     Wheelchair Foundation, German; Hon. Cornelius Blackshear, 
     Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, African; Barbara Blair, CEO, 
     Cyberstaff, Russian; Michael J. Brescia, M.D., Sr. V.P. & 
     Exec. Med. Dir., Calvary Hospital, Italian; Lt. Gen. Bryan D. 
     Brown, Commanding General, US Army Special Operations 
     Command, Irish; Jeanette Grasselli Brown, Chair, Ohio Board 
     of Regents, Hungarian; Maurice A. Buckley, President & CEO, 
     Irish Chamber of Commerce in the USA, English/Irish; Preston 
     C. Caruthers, General Partner, Carfam II Associates, L.P., 
     Scottish/English; Steven W. Casteel, Assist. Admin. For 
     Intelligence, US Dept of Justice, Dutch; Peter Castellana, 
     Jr., President & CEO, Western Beef, Inc., Irish/Italian; 
     Joseph R. Cerrell, Chairman & CEO, Cerrell Associates, Inc., 
     Italian/French; Stephen Cherpelis, CEO, Stephen Cherpelis 
     Enterprises, Inc., Hellenic; Hon. Michael Chertoff, Assistant 
     Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal 
     Division, Russian/Polish; Stanley M. Chesley, Attorney, 
     Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co., Ukrainian; Michael 
     V. Ciresi, Partner & Chairman, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & 
     Ciresi L.L.P., Italian; Anthony S. Colavita, Esq., Attorney 
     and Councilman, Italian/Irish; William J. Collis, M.D., 
     Founder & Ophthalmic Surgeon, Kentucky Eye Institute, 
     Hellenic; Martin E. Cooperman, Managing Partner, Grant 
     Thornton, Russian/Polish; Salvatore J. Cumella, M.D., 
     Executive Producer/President ``Women to Women'' Radio Show, 
     Cumella Professional Services Inc., Italian; John C. Cushman 
     III, Chairman, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., English/Dutch.
       Lucia Grieco Danzi, 100 years old, Italian; Oscar Davis, 
     Chairman, Hayward Industries, Inc., Hungarian; Gen. Raymond 
     G. Davis, USMC, United States Marine Corps, Scottish/German; 
     Joseph J. DePaolo, President & CEO, Signature Bank, Italian; 
     Thomas B. Doolan, President & CEO, TBD & Associates Inc., 
     Irish; Harry A. Dorian Esq., Armenian; Thomas C. Eakin, 
     President, Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame, Scottish/Irish/
     English; Marvin E. Eisenstadt, President, Cumberland Packing 
     Corp., Russian; Terrence A. Elkes, Principal, Apollo Partners 
     LLC, Russian/Polish; Eugene C. Enlow, Chairman & CEO, 
     Atlantic Detroit Diesel-Allison, German; Joseph Anthony 
     Esposito, President & CEO, eResearch Technology, Italian; 
     John H. Eyler, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Toys `R' Us, Inc., 
     English/German/Irish; John Joseph Fareri, President, Fareri 
     Associates, L.P., Italian; George N. Faris, Chairman & CEO, 
     American International, Petroleum Corporation, Lebanese; John 
     P. Ferguson, President & CEO, Hackensack University Medical 
     Center, Irish/Italian, Scottish; John Fitzpatrick, CEO,

[[Page E2003]]

     Fitzpatrick Hotel Group N.A., Irish; Dewey Fong, Deputy 
     Chief, New York City Police Department, Chinese; Hon. Vito J. 
     Fossella, Member of Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, 
     Italian/Irish; Daniel Frasca, Executive Director of Finance & 
     Administration, New York State United Teachers, Italian; 
     Louis J. Freeh, Sr. Vice Chairman, MBNA, America, Italian/
     Irish/German; Clifford H. Friedman, Senior Managing Director, 
     Constellation Ventures, Russian.
       Andre P. Gambucci, Consultant to the President, The Acordia 
     Cos Wells Fargo, Italian; Joe Garagiola, Former Baseball 
     Player, TV Announcer, Joe G. Enterprises, Italian; Michael 
     Gewitz, M.D., Professor & Director. Dept. of Pediatrics, 
     Children's Hospital At Westchester Med. Center, Russian/
     Austrian/Slovakian; George Gialamas, President & CEO, 
     Gialamas Company, Hellenic; Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor, 
     CUNY, Romanian/Polish/Austrian; John B. Goodman, Chairman, 
     The Goodman Group, Russian/Romanian/Lithuanian; C. Flemming 
     Heilmann, Principal, Banyan Projects, Danish; Werner F. 
     Hiller, Founder & President, The Hiller Family Foundation, 
     German; John H. Hong, President, Hanmi Realty, Korean; Myung 
     Mike Hong, Chairman & CEO, Dura Coat Products, Inc., South 
     Korean; Professor James Jacobson, Associate Professor of 
     Education, Saint Peter's College, Finnish; Eugenia Janke, 
     Chairman, Tolstoy Foundation, Russian; Kaija R. Kalervo, 
     President, American Finnish Community Club, Inc., Finnish; 
     Professor Andrew G. Kampiziones, Professor of Philosophy, 
     Francis Marion State University, Hellenic; Hon. Marcy Kaptur, 
     Member of Congress-9th District U.S. House of 
     Representatives, Polish; James G. Kennedy, President, James 
     G. Kennedy & Co., Inc., Irish/French; Joseph Kisup Kim, 
     President, Kim's Jewelers, Korean; William C. Korner, 
     President & CEO, Prinexus, Scottish/English; Gust C. Kraras, 
     President & CEO, KCK & GCM, Inc., Hellenic; Kent Kresa, 
     Chairman & CEO, Northrop Grumman Corp., German; Robert I. 
     Kuperman, Chairman & CEO, DDB/New York, Russian.
       Joseph R. Lagana, President & CEO, United States 
     Information Systems, Inc., Italian; Joseph J. Lagano, 
     President & Founder, J. Lagano Family Foundation, Italian; 
     Louis E. Lataif, Dean--School of Management, Boston 
     University, Lebanese; Br. Robert E. Lavelle, C.S.C, 
     Headmaster, Gilmore Academy, Irish; Josephine LeBeau, 
     Executive Director Vice President, AFSCME International, 
     French/Creole; Professor Heo-Peh Lee, President & CEO, Shie-
     Jie Enterprises Group, Chinese; Joe (McCoy) Lenti, Vice 
     President/Program Director, WCBS-FM Radio, Italian; Mark M. 
     Lii, President, Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng Co., Inc., Chinese; Dr. 
     Johnny M.J. Lu, President, Lucoral Co., Inc., Chinese; 
     William Lucy, International Secretary-Treasurer, AFSCME, 
     African; Martin J. Maddaloni, General President, United 
     Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters, Italian; Farah B. 
     Majidzadeh, CEO & Chairperson, Resource International, Inc., 
     Iranian; Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill, Commanding General United 
     States Army, XVIII Airborne Corps & Ft. Bragg, Scottish; 
     Frank Meehan, International Vice President & President, 
     UFCW--Local 1500, Irish; John R. Miller, Vice Chairman, KPMG, 
     Welsh/English; Matthew Mirones, Assemblyman, Hellenic; Alfred 
     T. Mockett, Chairman & CEO, AMS, English; Ralph Salvatore 
     Mosca, M.D., Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, 
     Children's Hospital of New York, Italian/Irish/German; John 
     P. Moses, Esq., Moses and Gelso, Lebanese; Murlan J. Murphy, 
     Jr., Principal, JTM Company, Irish; Mike Mehmet Mustafoglu, 
     Chairman & CEO, Transglobal Financial Corporation, Turkish; 
     A. Maurice Myers, Chairman, President & CEO, Waste 
     Management, Danish/Austrian.
       Nicholas Andrew Natsios, Retired-Senior C.I.A. Official, 
     Central Intelligence Agency, Hellenic; ADM. Robert J. Natter, 
     USN, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Austrian/
     Scottish/Irish; Albert G. Nickel, President, Chairman & CEO, 
     Lyons Lavey Nickel Swift, German; Louis Nicozisis, President, 
     NICO Properties Group, Hellenic; Hon. Lyndon L. Olson, Jr., 
     Senior Advisor, Citigroup, Swedish; Harry C. Orbelian, 
     Conductor & Musical Director, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, 
     Armenian/Ukrainian; Vasilia (Bess) Pappas, Director Hellenic 
     Cardiac Fund for Children, Children's Hospital Boston, 
     Hellenic; Michael F. Parlamis, President & CEO, Frank 
     Parlamis Inc., Hellenic; Santo Petrocelli, CEO, Petrocelli 
     Electric Company, Inc., Italian; John George Poles, Senior 
     Partner, Poles, Tublin, Patestides & Stratakis LLP, Hellenic; 
     Albert T. Primo, President & CEO, Eyewitness News Service, 
     Inc., Italian; Hon. A. Gail Prudenti, Presiding Justice, 
     State of New York, Italian/German; Anthony R. Pustorino, 
     Professor Emeritus, Pace University, Italian; Robert C. 
     Radice, Chairman & CEO (retired), Radice Corporation, 
     Italian; John C. Rakkou, President & CEO, Interbank of New 
     York, Hellenic; George Randazzo, Founder and Chairman of the 
     Board, National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, 
     Italian; Hon. Edward D. Re, Chief Judge Emeritus, US Court of 
     International Trade, Italian; Dr. Arthur Lachlan Reed, 
     Lachlan International, Scottish; Mona Romain, Assistant 
     Treasurer, United Federation of Teachers, West Indian; 
     Michael L. Royce, Acting President, Pennsylvania Station 
     Redevelopment Corp., Polish/Russian;
       Charles J. Santelli, Director of Policy & Program 
     Development, New York State United Teachers, Italian; Chief 
     Michael Scagnelli, Chief of Transportation, N.Y.P.D., 
     Italian; Hon. Chris Victor Semos, Former Governmental 
     Consultant, Hellenic; Phillip J. Shapiro, President & CEO, 
     Liberty Maritime Corp., Russian/Polish; Rhona Hope Silver, 
     CEO, Rhona Silver's Huntington Townhouse, Russian/Polish; 
     James L. Singleton, President, The Cypress Group LLC, Irish/
     Portuguese; Hon. Dean G. Skelos, Senator, New York State 
     Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Hellenic; Edward D. Soma, 
     M.D., Lebanese; Hon. Michael Sotirhos, US Ambassador 
     (Retired), Hellenic; George W. Souvall, President, Leisure 
     Management Corporation, Hellenic; Dean A. Spanos, President, 
     San Diego Chargers, Hellenic; Daniel J. ``Rusty'' Staub, 
     Chairman, NYP & Firefighters' Widow & Childrens Benefit Fund, 
     German/Irish; Hon. Joseph A. Suozzi, Senior Partner, Meyer, 
     Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., Italian; Laurence M. Traub, 
     President, Intermetal Corporation, Russian/Lithuanian/
     Byelorussia; Savey Tufenkian, Executive Vice President 
     (Retired), Western Waste Industries, Armenian; Rajendra B. 
     Vattikuti, Founder & Co-Chairman, Covansys, Asian Indian; 
     Antonio ``Nino'' Vendome, CEO, Vendome Group, Italian; Hon. 
     James T. Walsh, Member of Congress N.Y. 25, Irish; David 
     Walters, Former Governor of Oklahoma/President, Walters Power 
     International, German/French/Swiss; Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 
     Professor/Author/Therapist, German; Major General George N. 
     Williams, Commander, 21st U.S. Air Force, Hellenic; George C. 
     Zoley, Vice Chairman & CEO, Wackenhut Corrections 
     Corporation, Hellenic.

     

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