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2ND ANNUAL SLOVAK-AMERICAN DINNER

On Wednesday November 10, 2010 Friends of Slovakia (FOS) and the Slovak Embassy co-hosted the second annual Slovak-American Awards Dinner at the Washington Golf & Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. The dinner was attended by approximately 220 guests including Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicová, who also gave the evening's keynote address. Other dignitaries at the event included Slovak Ambassador Peter Burian, Slovak State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Mr. Milan Jezovica and Ambassador Daniel Fried, the Obama Administration's Special Envoy to oversee the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Three former Slovak Ambassadors to the US (Branislav Lichardus, Martin Butora and Rastislav Kacer) and two former U.S. Ambassadors to Slovakia (Theodore E. Russell and Vincent Obsitnik) as well as the current U.S. Ambassador Theodore Sedgwick were also in attendance.

The Prime Minister remarked on the positive state of Slovak-American relations and was then presented with the FOS Medal of Honor by FOS Chairman Joe Senko.

The following three awards were presented at the dinner:

• The Slovak-American Partnership Award, a joint FOS/Slovak Embassy award, was presented to Major General Martin Umbarger, the Adjutant General of the Indiana Army and Air National Guard. A partnership between Slovakia and the Indiana National Guard was established in 1994 and over the past 16 years of collaboration, more than 8000 projects or activities were performed under the umbrella of this partnership.
• The Slovak-American Economic Cooperation Award, a joint FOS/Slovak Embassy award, was presented to John H. Goodish, Executive Vice President and COO of US Steel Corporation. Mr. Goodish was the first President of U.S. Steel Ko?ice, s.r.o. (2000-2003) and worked throughout the past decade on developing strategies, directing investments and overseeing U.S. Steel's operation in Slovakia.
• The Embassy's Slovak-American of the Year Award was presented to Joe Senko, Chairman of Friends of Slovakia and Slovak Honorary Consul in Pittsburgh, PA. Joe, whose parents immigrated to the US from Eastern Slovakia, has remained a close friend of Slovakia and has worked tirelessly for many years on improving and nurturing the strong bonds that exist between the US and Slovakia.

A silent auction was held during the gala dinner, which raised in excess of $10,000 for the FOS Scholarship Fund and the Slovak Embassy/Honorary Consuls' Roma Scholarship. Musical entertainment was provided by Radoslav Lesay, a talented young Slovak tenor in New York, and Charleston Virtuosi, a string ensemble from Charleston, South Carolina.