William Penn Life, 2002 (37. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
2002-12-01 / 11. szám
Magyar Matters Three icons of industry honored by American Hungarian Foundation NEW YORK — Hungarian-Americans have had an incredible impact on the daily lives of all of us. The American Hungarian Foundation (AHF) recognizes that annually by presenting its George Washington Award to those Hungarian-Americans who have made exceptional contributions to the global community. This year, the AHF presented the award to Wall Street analyst László Birinyi Jr., advertising executive Alexander Brody and software creator Dr. Charles Simonyi. The awards were presented during the 40th Annual George Washington Awards Dinner held Nov. 12 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Birinyi is one of the most respected equity traders in the country. He worked his way up from the computer room to become a leading quantitative market analyst at Salomon Brothers. In 1989, he resigned his directorship at Salomon and formed his own firm, Birinyi Associates. He writes a monthly column for Forbes magazine and appears regularly on PBS's Wall Street Week. Brody has left his creative mark on the world of advertising and initiated many of the campaigns that we still see today. He is the former president of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide and chief executive of internal operations. He is the co-owner of two Hungarian publishing houses and editor-in-chief of a Hungarian magazine. Simonyi recently co-founded Intentional Software Corporation. Prior to that he had a direct impact on our computing needs by the design work he did at Microsoft, where he served as director of application development, chief architect and distinquished engineer. He was responsible for the teams that developed such commercial favorites as Microsoft Multiplan, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997. In name and symbolism, the George Washington Award was inspired by the statue of George Washington erected in the City Park of Budapest in 1906 by the Hungarian immigrants living in America. Hungarian prime minister assures Bush of support for U.S. policies against Iraq from the Budapest Sun Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy assured President Bush that Hungary would support American policies against Iraq when the two met in Washington recently. The Prime Minister judged the atmosphere of his half-hour meeting with Bush Nov. 8 to have been "excellent, even friendly". Talking about Iraq just a few hours after the passing of the UN Security Council resolution which states that Baghdad must allow unhindered access to suspected weapon sites or face "serious consequences", Medgyessy said this presented an opportunity for a peaceful settlement of the problem, but assured Bush of Hungary's strong support of the stance of the U.S. should this fail. He told Bush that in a situation where military action was unavoidable, Hungary would participate by offering its air-space and airfields, as well as intelligence services. Medgyessy also held talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell, during which the Hungarian premier asked for U.S. support in the reform of the Hungarian armed forces and help in identifying areas where it would be worthwhile for Hungary to carry out development projects of its own. In Brief Dance group offers csárdás lessons MEDINA, OH - The csárdás has been described as a dance that is majestic and graceful, robust and dynamic. Now, the Csárdás Dance Company of Medina, Ohio, is offering everyone the chance to learn this classic Hungarian dance. Classes are taught by the company's director, Richard Gräber, and focus on the proper execution of stylized steps as well as basic partnering motifs. Classes are offered on Wednesdays beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Movement Arts Center in Medina. For more information call the dance company at 330-725-2873 or visit their website at www.csardasdance.com. Chicago Hungarians host two events CHICAGO - The Hungarian Club of Chicago will host its 81 st Gala Ball on Jan. 25, 2003. About 800 guests are expected to attend. Proceeds of the event will be used to support the Club’s scholarship program, the activities of the local Hungarian Scouts and the Hungarian Americans for Human Rights in Délvidék. The Club will also hold its Mikulás Dinner at the Crystal Palace Hotel on Dec. 8. Have news to share? If you know of news or events in the American Hungarian community that you think would be of interest to our readers, then please tell us about them. Send your information to: John E. Lovász William Penn Life 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Willi» Pm Life, December 2002 11
