William Penn Life, 2008 (43. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2008-12-01 / 12. szám
Magyar Matters Three honored as recipients of George Washington Award NEW YORK CITY - A noted film director, a former ambassador and a leading engineer were recently honored as this year's recipients of the George Washington Award, presented by the American Hungarian Foundation. The awards were presented Nov. 19 during a dinner held at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The award honors those who have made eminent contributions to the arts, science, commerce, industry, the broad field of human knowledge and understanding among men and nations. This year's three honorees were:- István Szabó, a Hungarian film director who has won numerous international awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the British Academy Award and the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as prizes from the Hungarian Film Critics and Hungarian Film Week.- Richard C. Holbrooke, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and currently vice chairman of Perseus LLC. He was the chief architect of the 1995 Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia, and later served as President Clinton's special envoy to Bosnia and Kosovo. From 1993 to 1994 Mr. Holbrooke served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany.- László Bodak, head of László Bodak Engineer, PC, in New York City since 1985. He has been granted professional engineering licenses in 13 states. Earlier in his career, while a communications system engineer at Grumman Aerospace Corp., he was responsible for the integration of the communications subsystem of the lunar module and the voice and data transmission systems of the U.S. Navy's F14 aircraft. In name and symbolism, the award was inspired by the statue of George Washington erected in the City Park of Budapest in 1906 as a gift from Hungarian immigrants living in America. Debutantes, scholarship recipients presented at Hungarian Protestant Ball CARTERET, NJ - The 49th Annual Hungarian Protestant Ball was held Nov. 14 in Carteret, N.J. The ball featured the presentation of debutantes and the awarding of scholarship grants. Serving as master of ceremonies was former WPA Chairman of the Board Anthony C. Beke. The debutantes and their escorts were: Melissa Banyacski and Brian Vogt, Kelly Colgan and Austen Mesar, Brielle D'Angiolillo and Kerry Smith, and Taylor Marie Gigliotti and István Vásárhelyi. Those receiving scholarships were Eva Cseh (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising of Los Angeles), Amber Frampton (Marlboro College), Carolyn Latkovich (Moravian College), Endre Samson Kiss (Columbia Theological Seminary), Andrea Szaszi (Princeton Theological Seminary), Eric Tibok (Raritan Valley Community College) and Thomas Ujj (Mercer County Community College). The festivities began with dinner and entertainment by Katalin Harsacski. After dinner, the ball was opened with the presentation of debutantes, followed by music by the Szivárvány Zenekar, the scholarship award ceremony and dancing. The Ball committee thanks all those who attended and made donations to the scholarship fund. Special thanks go to the William Penn Association for its continued commitment and support to this activity. Festival of Trees lights up museum during holidays NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Get into the holiday spirit and enjoy the cultural traditions of 16 countries at the 20th Annual Festival of Trees on display at the Museum of the American Hungarian Foundation in New Brunswick from Dec. 7 to Jan. 25. The Festival includes 17 trees, all decorated by volunteers from different ethnic groups representing America, Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hispanic-Latino people, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Poland, Scotland, Sweden and Ukraine. The trees are trimmed with handmade ornaments, fruit and sweet treats. Along with the trees, there is a Menorah to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The Festival opens with a public reception on Sunday, Dec. 7, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Individuals representing the decorating groups will be present in folk dress, entertaining with holiday music and verse. Many will also be serving their special holiday treats for visitors to sample. Also featured in the Foundation’s Harsanyi room and library is the exhibit, “Christmas Postage Stamps from Around the World.” This exhibition displays beautiful stamps from more than 150 countries. The collection was put together by Dr. Attila Kocsis, a native of Hungary and pastor of the Magyar Reformed Church in Perth Amboy, N.J. Museum hours are: Tuesday through Saturday, I 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and Sunday 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The suggested donation is $5. Guided tours are available for groups. The museum of the American Hungarian Foundation is located at 300 Somerset St., New Brunswick. For more details, call 732.846.5777. 12 William Penn Life, December 2008
