III 

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; 


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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 


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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 mid1950s 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 


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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 awardwinning 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; 


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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 


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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 PanAmerican 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 


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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 


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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 

maıˆtre d’ at Tower Bar in Los Angeles and San Vicente 

Bungalows, is Hollywood’s most famous maıˆtre d’ according to Bon Appetit and the Hollywood Reporter; 


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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 AmericanCanadian 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 MacedonianAmericans, 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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) designates September 2022 as ‘‘Macedonian 

2 American Heritage Month’’; 

3 (2) expresses warm congratulations and best 

4 wishes to all Macedonian people around the world as 

5 they mark Macedonian Independence Day; 

6 (3) esteems the integral role of Macedonian 

7 Americans in the economy, culture, and identity of 

8 the United States; and 

9 (4) urges the people of the United States to ob10 serve Macedonian American Heritage Month with 

11 appropriate programs and activities that celebrate 

12 the contributions of Macedonian Americans to the 

13 United States. 

Æ 


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