[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 138 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12370-S12371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RAJESH (RAJ) SOIN 2003 ELLIS ISLAND MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT

 Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate and 
pay tribute to Mr. Raj Soin of Beavercreek, OH as a 2003 Ellis Island 
Medal of Honor recipient.
  The prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor award is presented 
annually to ``remarkable American who exemplify outstanding qualities 
in both their personal and professional lives,'' and ``who have 
distinguished themselves as citizens of the United States, while 
continuing to preserve the richness of their particular heritage.''
  Mr. Soin was born in New Delhi, India in 1947 and graduated from 
Delhi University in 1969 with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical 
Engineering. After graduation, he came to the United States with barely 
enough money to make his way to Bradley University, where he earned a 
Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering in 1971, while 
working as a research assistant. Mr. Soin continued his post-graduate 
studies in business and finance, at Bradley University, Illinois State 
University, and the advanced management programs at Harvard University 
and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
  Raj Soin and his wife, Indu, became proud citizens of the United 
States in 1978.
  In 1984, Raj Soin created his company, Modern Technologies 
Corporation, MTC, on a dream. MTC was founded with the idea of proving 
engineering and technical services to the Department of Defense, but 
quickly became an incubator that has spawned numerous businesses in a 
variety of industries. From its inception, MTC has grown at an 
exceptional rate and was hailed as one of the fastest growing companies 
in the United States by Inc. magazine for 4 consecutive years. In June 
2002, MTC Technologies was listed on NASDAQ. Today the company has 
sales in excess of $140 million and employs over 1100 people in 25 
cities and 18 States.
  With the success of his company, Modern Technologies Corporation, he 
could have chosen to channel his energies solely toward his business. 
Instead, he believes in contributing to the community that has given 
him so much. And the one area in which Mr. Raj Soin has made a 
particular difference has been in the area which has had such an 
enormous impact on his own life--education.
  When I was Governor of Ohio, one of the goals that I set for my 
administration was to celebrate the cultural diversity of our State by 
seeking out individuals from non-traditional ethnic groups and giving 
them an opportunity to serve.
  I was so impressed by Raj's devotion to education, that as Governor, 
I appointed him to Wright State University's Board of Trustees in 1993. 
One of the main reasons that I asked Raj to serve on the Board of 
Trustees was that he constantly mentioned the fact that we needed to do 
a better job in higher education, that we needed to do a better job in 
secondary and primary education.
  He has served with great distinction and is held in the highest 
regard by his colleagues. More important is the fact that through his 
work on behalf of Wright State University, Raj has directly touched the 
lives of so many. Raj Soin has truly made a difference on behalf of the 
citizens of Dayton, the State of Ohio and thousands of Wright State 
University graduates.
  Because of his commitment to higher education and in honor of his 
accomplishments and support of the University, in 2000, the business 
college at Wright State was renamed the Raj Soin College of Business 
and I was delighted to be on campus in Dayton, OH, for the dedication 
ceremony.
  Raj's determination, his hard work and his selflessness are traits 
that all of us should strive to emulate, not only in business, but in 
life, because there are rewards that are greater than money--
particularly, the ability to make a difference in the lives of one's 
fellow man.
  For example, Raj is the founding trustee and first president of the 
Ohio-India project. Two of the local projects of the Ohio-India Project 
are the Ghandi House, a transitional house for women in need and the 
Annual Day of Caring, which started as a local event and is now 
conducted in several states with expectations of becoming a national 
program.
  Additionally, as Governor, we led a trade mission to India in April 
of 1996, and I had the chance to see Raj Soin in action when his 
company, Modern Technologies Corporation and CMC Limited announced 
their joint agreement to, among other things, greatly expand India's 
access to the Internet.
  Mr. Soin's company, MTC Technologies also supports many community 
projects through the MTC Foundation. MTC not only provides part of the 
funding for the Foundation, but permits and encourages employers to 
spend company time to help with the Foundation's work.
  Raj Soin serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Victoria 
Theatre Association, and on the Board of Directors of the Kettering 
Medical Center Network. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of 
Wright State University, the Advisory Board of KeyBank, and Dayton 
District. He is a founding trustee and past president of Asian Indian 
American Business Group. He has also served as a member of the Dayton 
Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees; member of the Ohio Business 
Roundtable; Co-Chair of the Center for Information Technology in 
Dayton; member of the Board of Dayton Council on World Affairs; and 
member of the Board of the Dayton Air and Trade Show.

  Mr. Soin has received many awards, including: The National Conference 
of Christians and Jews Humanitarians Award, Ernst & Young's Master 
Entrepreneur, and Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce Business Person of 
the Year.
  Even with all the business success he has enjoyed and all the 
charitable and philanthropic acts that he has undertaken, perhaps what 
best exemplifies Raj Soin is the fact that he is a loving husband, 
devoted father and caring son. I have been to Raj and Indu's home and I 
have been with them at other occasions and observed the genuine love 
and admiration they have for each other and their pride in their two 
sons.
  Raj understands, as so many Asian Indians do, that the family is the 
backbone of our society.
  I remember also on our business mission having the pleasure of 
meeting Raj Soin's father. You could not help but see how proud he was 
of Raj. And that love and respect was mutual; for Raj is the main 
benefactor for the Sukh Dev Raj Soin Hospital which is being built in 
memory of his father in India.
  Raj has been a role model in every sense: in terms of his family, in 
terms of his contributions to his ``extended family'' in the community, 
and in terms of his success in business.
  Raj Soin is indeed a remarkable American of the highest integrity in 
both his personal and professional life.

[[Page S12371]]

He has made many outstanding contributions to the Asian Indian 
community, to his local community in Dayton, OH and to American 
society.
  Raj Soin is a man who came to our shores in search of a dream, who 
started from scratch and became a success in his adopted country, and 
then he went back to his homeland to help millions of people join the 
information age. There is just one way to describe it--only in America 
could such an opportunity arise to be successful and to serve.
  I am proud to recognize my friend, Raj Soin, and congratulate him on 
this wonderful honor.

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