[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 13907-13908] [From the U.S. 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Heritage Occupation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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. [[Page 13908]] 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. 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------