Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will speak at the 6th Annual Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. The 11 a.m. event will be held at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York Harbor.
The awards celebrate Ellis Island as the Golden Door to America for the 17 million immigrants who came to the United States through the Port of New York and Ellis Island, as well as those who arrived through other ports of entry. The event honors selected immigrants or their descendents who made a major contribution to the American experience.
This year’s honorees are Mike Krzyzewski, coach of three-time national basketball champion Duke University; John J. Mack, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley; William D. Novelli, chief executive officer of AARP; and Josie Natori, the first female vice president of investment banking at Merrill Lynch.
This year’s event commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the record breaking day in 1907, when 11,747 immigrants were inspected at the Ellis Island Immigration Station. The event is sponsored by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. and the National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior.
| Who: | Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne |
| What: | Remarks at the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards Ceremony |
| When: | 11 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 17, 2007 |
| Where: | Ellis Island Immigration Museum on Ellis Island in New York Harbor. |
| Media: | All credentialed media are invited to attend the event. Media must check in at the Ferry Boat Dock at Battery Park in New York City by 9:45 a.m. |