[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 758 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 758
Designating the month of September 2022 as ``Macedonian American
Heritage Month'' and celebrating the language, history, and culture of
Macedonian Americans and their incredible contributions to the United
States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 13, 2022
Mr. Braun submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating the month of September 2022 as ``Macedonian American
Heritage Month'' and celebrating the language, history, and culture of
Macedonian Americans and their incredible contributions to the United
States.
Whereas there is evidence that the earliest Macedonians in the continental
United States arrived on or around the year 1492;
Whereas, since the 1880s, tens of thousands of Macedonians fled to the United
States seeking civil liberties, human rights, religious freedom, and
economic opportunities and in response to the 1903 Ilinden Uprising
against the Ottoman Empire, the Balkan Wars, the 2 World Wars, the Greek
Civil War, and the communist policies of Yugoslavia;
Whereas the Macedonian community in the United States is a vibrant community
that is embedded within the mosaic of the United States, partaking in
all walks of life, business, medicine, law, technology, civic
engagement, government, the military, education, the arts, culinary
world, athletics, and more;
Whereas the United Macedonian Diaspora estimates there are 500,000 individuals
of Macedonian heritage living in the United States, with sizeable
communities in Michigan, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois,
Pennsylvania, Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, and Virginia;
Whereas Macedonian-American immigrants contributed to building monumental
transportation routes in the United States, including the Great Northern
Railroad;
Whereas, in 1922, Macedonian-American immigrants Tom and John Kiradjieff, using
old Macedonian recipes passed down by their parents and grandparents,
developed the recipe for Cincinnati chili, a beloved dish in the United
States, which, in 2013, was named one of the ``20 Most Iconic Foods in
America'' by Smithsonian magazine;
Whereas, in the early 20th century, Macedonian immigrants created their own
version of the famous Coney Island hot dog, which remains a staple dish
at Coney Island-style restaurants throughout the Midwest;
Whereas Macedonian-American Stoyan Christowe, who immigrated to the United
States in 1911, was an author, journalist, World War II intelligence
officer, Vermont State Representative from 1961 to 1962, and Senator
from 1963 to 1972 and wrote the book entitled ``This is My Country'',
which was a favorite of President Franklin D. Roosevelt;
Whereas Macedonian-American Michael Alexander (Lazaroff) of Pittsburgh and New
York City was a renowned international attorney who served as a legal
adviser to many British and Irish government organizations and
corporations for which he was honored by Her Majesty Elizabeth II as a
Commander of the British Empire and, as a nonalcoholic, served in
Alcoholics Anonymous from the mid-1950s through 1993 as legal adviser,
chairman of general services board, trustee, and trustee chairman;
Whereas Macedonian-American Judge Jimmy N. Dimos served as a district judge for
the 4th Judicial District Court of Louisiana from 1999 to 2006 and
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1999,
serving as Speaker of the House from 1988 to 1992;
Whereas, in 2018, Macedonian-American Judge Phillip Naumoff of Mansfield, Ohio,
was elected as Richland County Common Pleas Court Judge;
Whereas, in 1995, Macedonian-American Ljubica Z. Acevska of Mansfield, Ohio, and
Washington, DC, became the first Ambassador of North Macedonia to the
United States;
Whereas Macedonian Americans have greatly contributed to the economy of the
United States, creating countless jobs for the people of the United
States in Macedonian-American communities;
Whereas Macedonian-Americans Mike Ilitch, recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of
Honor, and Marian Bayoff Ilitch, who played a significant role in the
civil rights movement and paid rent in Detroit for activist Rosa Park
for more than a decade--
(1) opened the first mom-and-pop Little Caesars pizza shop in 1959,
which grew into the third-largest pizza chain in the world;
(2) are owners of the Detroit Red Wings--coining Detroit as
``Hockeytown''--and the Detroit Tigers; and
(3) in 2015, made history by giving Wayne State University $50,000,000,
the largest donation ever made to the school, highlighting their lifelong
dedication to promoting entrepreneurship, education, and the revitalization
of Detroit;
Whereas Macedonian-American Christopher Ilitch, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., and chairman of Ilitch Charities,
which has given more than $220,000,000 in grants since 2000 for causes
from youth development to community revitalization, has continued the
tradition and vision of his parents Mike and Marian Ilitch to further
the global standing of Detroit by developing The District Detroit, which
has grown into a dynamic sports and entertainment district featuring
award-winning theaters, 4 professional sports teams, and 3 multi-use
sports venues, including the state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena, home
of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Pistons, and world-class
entertainment and community events;
Whereas 4 of the 8 names of women ever engraved on the Stanley Cup are
Macedonian-Americans Marian Ilitch, Denise Ilitch, Lisa Ilitch, and
Carole Ilitch Trepeck, whose names were engraved in the Stanley Cups won
by the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998;
Whereas Macedonian-American Andrew Peykoff, Sr., of California--
(1) founded Niagara Bottling, LLC, in 1963, which is one of the largest
private water bottling companies in the United States;
(2) through the Andrew D. Peykoff, Sr., Scholarship Program has awarded
more than $2,000,000 to college students in the United States;
(3) through Niagara Cares, has delivered millions of bottles of clean
water for disaster relief efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, and Mexico City; and
(4) provided a $10,000,000 grant for the Jaime Peykoff Follicular
Lymphoma Initiative to fund follicular lymphoma research grants,
international scientific workshops, and clinical awards;
Whereas Macedonian-American George Atanasoski of Ormond Beach, Florida, who
immigrated to the United States in 1970 and was a recipient of the Ellis
Island Medal of Honor, founded Microflex Inc., a manufacturer that
supplies a wide range of flexible metal products to large clients such
as General Electric, Ford, Siemens, General Motors, Rolls Royce, and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
Whereas Macedonian-American Katrina Markoff, originally of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
was recognized by President Barack Obama as a Champion of Change in
Small Business and founded Vosges Haut-Chocolat, which was named one of
the 10 Best Chocolatiers in the World by National Geographic;
Whereas Macedonian-American Mike Zafirovski of Forest Hills, Illinois, recipient
of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and former presidential appointee to
the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee--
(1) served on the board of Boeing;
(2) was President and Chief Executive Officer of Nortel, a global
communications technology company;
(3) was President and Chief Operating Officer of Motorola; and
(4) during a 25-year career at General Electric, served as President
and Chief Executive Officer of 5 subsidiaries of General Electric in the
consumer, industrial, and financial services sectors;
Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. Leon Speroff of Portland, Oregon, who was
recognized as a giant in obstetrics and gynecology, made significant
achievements in reproductive endocrinology, changing how medicine is
practiced;
Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. George Daicoff of St. Petersburg, Florida, a
renowned cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, was a maverick in his
field of pediatric heart surgery which was an emerging, unknown field in
the 1970s, installed a pacemaker in the smallest premature infant in
1984, and conceived and performed important research that advanced the
field of pediatric heart surgery;
Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. Peter T. George--
(1) won 3 Olympic Medals for the United States and 5 world
championships in weightlifting;
(2) was the middleweight champion at the Pan-American Games; and
(3) became a doctor in oral medicine and pioneered treatments for
obstructive sleep apnea;
Whereas Macedonian-American Dr. Jovan Laskovski, of Akron, Ohio, was inducted
into the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy (commonly known as
``ISHA'') in 2013 and became 1 of 26 surgeons in the United States
inducted into ISHA;
Whereas Macedonian Americans have tremendously contributed to athletics and
professional sports in the United States, including--
(1) Vlatko Andonovski, the head coach of the United States Women's
National Soccer Team;
(2) Sasho Cirovski, the Head Men's Soccer Coach of the University of
Maryland Men's Soccer Team;
(3) Dino Delevski, a former soccer player for the Milwaukee Wave and a
former coach for the Chicago Inferno of the Major Arena Soccer League;
(4) Stefan Kozlov, a professional tennis player;
(5) Kevin Kouzmanoff, a former professional baseball player and current
coach in the Oakland Athletics organization;
(6) Cedi Osman, a basketball player for Cleveland Cavaliers;
(7) Jovan Kirovski, a former soccer player and the current Technical
Director for the Los Angeles Galaxy;
(8) brothers George and Louis Nanchoff, former soccer players in the
North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League (commonly
referred to as ``MISL'');
(9) Sandre Naumovski, a MISL soccer player for the Philadelphia KiXX;
(10) Pete Stoyanovich, a former professional football player for the
Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and St. Louis Rams;
(11) Paul Naumoff, a former All-Pro linebacker in the National Football
League (commonly referred to as the ``NFL'') for the Tennessee Titans and
the Detroit Lions; and
(12) Mike Vrabel, a former All-Pro, 3-time Super Bowl Champion, NFL
football player for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, and
current head coach for the Tennessee Titans;
Whereas Steven Stamkos, an immigrant from Canada of Macedonian heritage, is
captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the 2021 Stanley Cup Winner;
Whereas Macedonian-American Pandel Savic--
(1) served with the First Marine Division in the South Pacific theater
during World War II, fighting in the Battles of Peleliu and Okinawa;
(2) was quarterback for The Ohio State University Buckeyes football
team, taking the team to victory in the 1950 Rose Bowl; and
(3) played an important role in the golf community and served as the
longtime chairman of the Professional Golfer's Association Memorial
Tournament, which Savic founded with Jack Nicklaus;
Whereas Macedonian-American Nick Vanoff directed and produced famous musicals,
movies, and television shows in the United States, including ``Kiss Me
Kate'', ``The Tonight Show'', ``City of Angels'', ``The Sound of
Christmas'', and ``The Julie Andrews Hour'', and created and produced
the annual ``Kennedy Center Honors'';
Whereas Macedonian-American Dimitri Dimitrov, former maitre d' at Tower Bar in
Los Angeles and San Vicente Bungalows, is Hollywood's most famous maitre
d' according to Bon Appetit and the Hollywood Reporter;
Whereas Macedonian-Americans Klime and Anita Kovaceski of Miami, Florida, have
earned notable recognition for their restaurant CRUST, which was named
one of the ``100 Best Restaurants in America'' for 2017 and 2019 by
OpenTable, one of the ``Top 25 restaurants around the world'' for 2019
by OpenTable/KAYAK, and one of the ``101 Best Pizzas in America'' in
2020 by The Daily Meal, and was voted ``Miami's #1 Italian restaurant''
on TripAdvisor from 2015 to 2020;
Whereas Macedonian Americans contributed to the construction of several dozen
Macedonian Orthodox churches throughout the United States as part of the
American-Canadian Macedonian Orthodox Diocese, under current auspices of
His Grace Metropolitan Metodi, and have played a major role in other
Orthodox Church communities throughout the United States for more than a
century;
Whereas 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the Congressional Caucus on North
Macedonia and Macedonian-Americans, which was founded by former
Representative Candice S. Miller and is currently co-chaired by
Representatives Brendan F. Boyle, Claudia Tenney, Debbie Dingell, and
Lisa McClain;
Whereas 2022 is significant for Macedonian Americans because September 8, 2021,
marked the 30th anniversary of the independence of a Macedonian country;
and
Whereas the incredible contributions and heritage of Macedonian Americans have
helped improve the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates September 2022 as ``Macedonian American
Heritage Month'';
(2) expresses warm congratulations and best wishes to all
Macedonian people around the world as they mark Macedonian
Independence Day;
(3) esteems the integral role of Macedonian Americans in
the economy, culture, and identity of the United States; and
(4) urges the people of the United States to observe
Macedonian American Heritage Month with appropriate programs
and activities that celebrate the contributions of Macedonian
Americans to the United States.
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