[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 139 (Friday, November 14, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF LILY RING BALIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 14, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lily Ring Balian, an 
extraordinary American who has been active in business and civic 
affairs for more than 35 years. Today Lily Ring Balian will be honored 
by the Los Angeles Affiliate of the Armenian International Women's 
Association upon the occasion of her receipt of the Ellis Island Medal 
of Honor. Recipients of this prestigious award exemplify outstanding 
professional and personal accomplishments while also preserving the 
richness of their heritage. Ms. Balian justly deserves this award.
  From 1981 to 1997, Lily was the Corporate Director of Civic Affairs 
and Public Affairs for Northrop Grumman Corporation. Northrop Grumman 
is a major employer in California, and Lily was an outstanding advocate 
on behalf of this important company and its thousands of employees.
  In public life, she served as the Executive Assistant for District 
Attorney, later California Attorney General, Evelle J. Younger, from 
1964 through 1979. In 1980, she was offered positions in the 
administration of President-elect Ronald Reagan, but Lily turned down 
these opportunities to return to her family in California. Recognizing 
a talented individual and realizing that she could make a contribution 
to our nation, President Reagan appointed Lily to the National Advisory 
Council on Adult Education, a position that allowed her to advise the 
administration and Congress from the vantage point of an employer that 
regularly needed outstanding employees to maintain its national 
operations.
  Lily's superb talents were also recognized by others. For example, 
California Governor Pete Wilson appointed her to the California 
Commission on the Status of Women, where she served for six years, and 
was Chair from 1994 to 1996. The commission advises the Governor and 
Legislature on issues such as economic equity, education equity, health 
access, and violence against women. In 1995, she represented the 
commission in Beijing at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on 
Women.
  Lily is legendary for her energy and community involvement. She not 
only managed a challenging career in private industry, but she has led 
a decades-long effort supporting the Armenian community. She served as 
Chair of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Western Diocese of the Armenian 
Church of North America from 1985 to 2005, and she was elected to the 
Diocesan Council in 2006 and re-elected in 2008, serving as its 
Secretary. She was a member of the Cathedral Fund Raising Committee, a 
member of the Zorayan Museum Committee and of the Annual Christmas Ball 
Committee. As a longtime member of St. James Armenian Church of Los 
Angeles, she is a member of the St. James Ladies Society and currently 
serves as Chair of her Parish Council.
  I am proud of my Armenian heritage, and proud that we have women like 
Lily to promote an understanding of America's cultural diversity, in 
part by supporting community-wide efforts encompassing Americans of all 
backgrounds. Lily has volunteered for the KCET Women's Council and is 
currently on the Board of Directors of this station. She has been a 
member of the Braille Institute Auxiliary Board from 2011 to the 
present. At the University of Southern California, she is currently 
President of the Friends of Armenian Music.
  In recognition of her support of the church, Lily was awarded the 
Gontag and St. Nerses Shnorhali Medal from His Holiness Karekin II, 
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and received the 
Archbishop's Award from Archbishop Derderian in May 2006.
  I am proud to call Lily a friend and have long appreciated her 
devotion to others, her selfless and daily endeavors to build America 
through mutual understanding and tolerance, and her sense of warmth, 
humor and generosity. The experience of America is that of an immigrant 
nation blending the cultures of hundreds of geographic origins into the 
land that we know as the United States of America. Lily, through her 
goodwill, her wisdom, and her always-present smile, is a superb example 
of why America thrives. We know that the future of this nation is 
bright when we have engaged the energies of millions of Americans in 
the common endeavor of bringing peace and prosperity to every new dawn 
across this land. Lily is one of those persons who rivals the sun in 
its energy, and she is therefore appropriately being recognized today 
for her extraordinary accomplishments that benefit every American.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating Lily on her lifetime 
contributions to our great land.

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