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Ellis Island Medals of Honor
May 14, 2005
Ellis Island, NY, NY
Ellis Island came alive on Saturday, May 14, 2005, with the annual Ellis Island Medals of Honor ceremony, which featured such honorees as Dr. Robert Gallo, Director of the Institute of Human Virology and world pioneer of the HIV test; Thomas Dreesen, world famous comedian; Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the Board for the American Red Cross; Penny Marshall, actor, director and producer; John Starks, Founder of the John Starks Foundation and former Knicks basketball great; the late Christian Engeldrum (who’s award was presented posthumously to his survived spouse); and many other great Americans when they were honored with Ellis Island Medals of Honor at the gala ceremony, which was hosted by Lee Iacoca, Co-Chairman of the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO), and Mr. Thomas Dreesan, world famous comedian.
Penny Marshall spoke about her family’s ancestry, and how her parents kept telling her that she was “American” regardless of how many times she asked where they were “originally” from. Ms. Marshall was the usual hysterically funny comedian she’s always been. She finally discovered that her ancestors come from Italy, Germany and Wales. Everyone laughed their heads off as Ms. Marshall delivered her speech.
Ms. Hunter, Chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross gave a wonderful, heart-felt speech about how she became successful. She is a native of the U.S., originally from Louisiana, where her parents were of great inspiration to her, and taught her and her siblings that the word “can’t” does not exist (she and her brothers and sisters literally wrote the word can’t on a piece of paper and buried it in the backyard)
This marks the second year when an International Ellis Island Medal of Honor was awarded. The recipient of this international medal was Australian businessman Richard Pratt. Mr. Thomas Dreesen, who was also one of this year’s Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients, spoke highly of Mr. Pratt and his accomplishments. Mr. Pratt is Currently chairman of Visy Industries. He spoke about how proud he was to be the recipient of the second International Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Mr. Pratt's public services include foundation chancellor, Swinburne University of Technology; chair of finance committee, U. S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council; president, Victorian Arts Center Trust; chairman, Australian Business Arts Foundation; and chairman, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria.
Mr H.R. Shah, chairman of TV Asia and Krauszers, spoke about the several hundred convenience stores which he owned and how important it was to supply people with the basics (conveniences) which they use on a regular basis. He spoke about how he became successful as a businessman.
Past recipients of the Ellis Island Medals of Honor include six presidents of the United States, members of Congress, Nobel Prize winners, justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, prominent scientists, business people, entertainers and military heroes.
The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, Inc. (NECO), with over five million family members, proudly serves as an umbrella for over 250 organizations that celebrate, educate and nurture ethnic pride, heritage, culture, tradition and religious belief. It is NECO’s firm conviction that the diversity of the American people is what makes this nation great. The Ellis Island Medals Awards Gala’s main purpose is to honor Americans of diverse origins for their outstanding contributions to their own ethnic group, to their ancestral countries and to American society.
This event was fabulous. There were military bands and choirs from different branches of the service, including the 82 nd Airborne, which did a beautiful presentation of Lee Greenwood’s famous song “God Bless the U.S.A.”.
There were honorees from many different ethnic background, including Italy, Greece, Asia, Wales, Puerto Rico, Russia, Poland, The Ukrain, and many others, making this one of the nicer Ellis Island Medal of Honor celebrations. The ceremony was very festive, with lots of colors, as well as ethnic entertainment from different cultures. This wonderful ceremony was followed by a beautiful dinner, at which we took pictures of the different honorees and their families.
We at Liberty News Online would like to thank Mr. William Fugazy, Chairman of NECO, for his kind invitation. Anyone interested in learning more about the Ellis Island Medals of Honor or the NECO organization may visit their website, at www.neco.org.
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