Award with “Lithuanian Millennium Star” in New York

Date: Wednesday September 23rd, 2009
Source: URM Informacijos ir viešųjų ryšių departamentas

On 23 September, in the Lithuanian General Consulate in New York, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vygaudas Ušackas, awarded honourable residents of the city of New York, namely Jonas Mekas, Laima Šileikytė-Hood and Evan Zimroth, with the symbol of honour - “Lithuanian Millennium Star”.

During the ceremony of awards, the Minister emphasized a significant contribution of every person awarded towards their professional and public activities as well as thanked for the popularization of the name of Lithuania.

J. Mekas was born in Semeniškiai village, near Biržai in 1922. He is considered the godfather of an American avant-garde movie. On 10 November 2007, the Visual Art Centre of J. Mekas was opened in Vilnius. He was awarded for the popularization of the name of Lithuania all over the world.

E.Zimroth, a poet, writer and professor at the New York University, Queens College, was awarded for a longstanding nurturance of the relationship between Lithuanians and Jews of the United States.

L.Šileikytė-Hood was born in 1939 in Kaunas. Since 1968, she has worked as a director of the psychological clinic within the Catholic organisation of New York, dealt with emotional problems of a family and children. She was awarded for the nurturance of the Lithuanian spirit, gathering of the US Lithuanian community as well as longstanding continuous activity while popularizing the name of Lithuania in New York.

Symbol of honour “Lithuanian Millennium Star” was established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in year 2007 for honouring the persons merited to the State of Lithuania and its foreign policy.