Hungarian American Coalition News, 1995 (4. évfolyam, 3. szám)
1995 / 3. szám
THE HUNGARIAN AMERICAN COALITION’S FIRST FUNDRAISING GALA DINNER Leading representatives of Hungarian national minorities in Central and Eastern Europe were among the guests at the Hungarian American Coalition’s first-ever fundraising Gala Dinner, held on November 2, 1995, at the Embassy of Austria in Washington, DC. Bishop László Töltés, Honorary President of the Hungarian Democratic Alliance of Romania; Dr. Edith Bauer of Slovakia’s Co- Existence Party; Mr. Miklós Kovács of the Cultural Association of Hungarians in Subcarpathia (Ukraine); and Dr. László Józsa of the Hungarian Association of Voivodina (Serbia) attended the Gala Dinner. In his keynote address. Bishop Tőkés emphasized the continuing importance of effective communi-cation networks to the cause of human rights. Edith Lauer, President of the Hungarian American Coalition, then introduced the awards presentations. The Gala Dinner honored three individuals who have made major contributions in the field of communications in Hungary: Andres Bande, President of Ameritech, Ms. Kati Marton, President, The Committee to Protect Journalists, and J. Joseph Grandmaison, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Proceeds from the Gala Dinner and the accompanying Silent Auction will be used to establish a communications network linking Hungarian institutions throughout Central and Eastern Europe with Western institutions. Under the gracious Honorary Patronage of the First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, notable guests at the Gala Dinner included Honorable György Bánlaki, Hungary’s Ambassador to the United States; the Honorable Helmut Tuerk, Ambassador of Austria; and Dr. Zoltán Gál, Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament. The dinner’s honorary Chairmen were George E. Pataki, Governor of New York; George V. Voinovich, Governor of Ohio; Senator Christopher Dodd; and Congressman Tom Lantos. HONOREES Andres B. Bande Andres Bande is president of Ameritech International, the global business unit of the Chicago-based communications company. With over 25 years of experience in international telecommunications, Mr. Bande successfully launched and expanded the company’s international operations. Today, Ameritech has investments all over the globe, including Hungary. In 1993, Ameritech with its partner Deutsche Telekom announced a major expansion with its investment in MATAV, the Hungarian telephone company. In only one year of operation, Ameritech greatly increased the number of access lines in Hungary (250,000) and reduced waiting lists considerably. Mr. Bande is a member of the Corporate Board of The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations as well as several other international organizations. He is also chairman of the Midwest Corporate Council on Hungary, and is involved in a number of educational, cultural and dvic organizations nationwide. During the Bush Administration, he was an advisor to the U.S. Department of State on international communications and information policy. Kod Marton Author and journalist Kati Marton was bom in Hungary and has spent two decades writing and reporting from the U.S., Europe and Far East She currently hosts America and the World, a weekly broadcast on international affairs from National Public Radio. Ms. Marion is also Chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization founded in 1981 to monitor abuses against the press and promote press freedom around the world. Since 1980, Ms. Marion has published four bodes, including Wallenberg, a biography of Raoul Wallenberg, and she has contributed as a reporter to numerous news organizations including ABC News, Public Broadcasting Services, National Public Radio, and Atlantic Monthly, just to name a few. Kati Marion has received several prestigious honors for her reporting, including a Gannett Fellowship, a George Foster Peabody Award, and the Philadelphia Press Association Award fa Best Television Story. J. Joseph Grandmaison Mr. Grandmaison is the Directa of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). He was nominated fa the position by President Clinton in 1993. Mr. Grandmaison’s energy and leadership at TDA has been devoted to building on the strong reputation the agency enjoys as a maja player in the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee along with the Department of Commerce, the Ex- Im Bank, and OPIC. While TDA’s principal product remains feasibility studies, its role now includes consolidating activities such as business briefings, workshops on financing, and conferences keyed to opening the market in a specific secta and/a nation. TDA has long been active in promoting commercial partnerships in Hungary. Since 1982, TDA has provided more than $9 million in funding fa feasibility' studies and other activities that support Hungary’s economic priorities. He has taught at Boston University’s School of Public Communication and served as a Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government 7 • Hungarian American Coalition News • Special Edition -1995
