Washington, DC (March 10, 2003) - National Association for Home Care & Hospice President, Val J. Halamandaris has been notified that he will be a recipient of the 2003 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The award will be presented by the National Coalition of Ethnic Organizations (NCEO) at a dinner in the Great Hall of Ellis Island on the evening of May 17, 2003.
NECO presents the Ellis Island Medals of Honor annually to ethnic Americans from all backgrounds to recognize outstanding professional and patriotic contributions. The medals were conceived to pay tribute to the immigrant experience, remarkable individual achievement, and above all, the spirit that makes America unique among nations. NECO’s Ellis Island Medal of Honor is the only award of its kind sanctioned by both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
Previous Ellis honorees have included Presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan; Governors Mario Cuomo and George Pataki; Senators Patrick Moynihan and Hillary Clinton; General Norman Schwartzkopf; President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame - Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh; Dr. Michael DeBakey; Coretta Scott King; Rosa Parks; Former Chrysler CEO - Lee Iacocca; Muhammad Ali and Joe DiMagio; television personalities Walter Cronkite, Eric Severeid, Phil Donahue, and Barbara Walters; and entertainers Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Tony Bennett, Gloria Estefan and Bob Hope.
NECO is a coalition of over 300 members. Some of these include the Congressional Black Caucus, the American Center for Polish Culture, American Council of Word Federation of Hungarians, American Council on Education, American Jewish Committee, American Muslim Council, Asian Americans for Equality, Executive Leadership Council, Federation of American-Hellenic Society, German American National Congress, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Irish American Unity Foundation, Islamic Cultural Center, Italian American Legal Defense and Higher Education Fund, Japanese American Citizens League, NAACP, Jewish Action Alliance, Korea Society, Multicultural Community Partnership and the National Association of Asian American Professionals to name just a few.
The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are awarded to distinguished, living American citizens who exemplify the ideal of living a life dedicated to the American way while preserving values of their heritage, contribute extraordinary service enabling the growth and preservation of the diversity of American life, and also achieve a level of distinguished service to humanity.
Halamandaris is being recognized for his more than 40 years of public service, his contributions to American health care, and for his advocacy on behalf of children, seniors, infirm, and disabled Americans. He is also being recognized for his visionary 20-year leadership as the CEO of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), for his role in the creation of the Caring Institute, the Frederick Douglass Museum and Hall of Fame for Caring Americans and NAHC’s Center for Health Care Law, a public interest law firm. Also receiving the award this year is Henri Landwirth, Founder of Give Kids the World. A full list of this year’s recipients will be available when they are formally announced in May.
“I am honored to find myself among such extraordinary individuals who have done so much good for so many Americans. I will accept this award only as an encouragement to aim as high as they have and humbly do whatever possible, whenever possible to improve the human condition and uplift the spirit of as many individuals as I can,” said Halamandaris.
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