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.

Designating the month of September 2022 as Macedonian American Heritage Month 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 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 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 Wingscoining Detroit as Hockeytown (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 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 Womens National Soccer Team; (2) Sasho Cirovski, the Head Men's Soccer Coach of the University of Maryland Mens 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 (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 The Julie Andrews Hour Kennedy Center Honors Whereas Macedonian-American Dimitri Dimitrov, former matre d at Tower Bar in Los Angeles and San Vicente Bungalows, is Hollywoods most famous matre 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 Top 25 restaurants around the world 101 Best Pizzas in America Miamis #1 Italian restaurant 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 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.

Summary: This resolution designates September 2022 as Macedonian American Heritage Month. The resolution also expresses warm congratulations and best wishes to all Macedonian people around the world as they mark Macedonian Independence Day. Finally, the resolution praises the integral role of Macedonian Americans in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.