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New York
The German-American Hall of Fame (GAMHOF) hosted a Manhattan news
conference on Monday evening, January 28, 2008, to announce the ten
outstanding individuals who have been elected as the initial inductees to
the Hall of Fame.
The news
conference was kicked off by remarks from His Excellency Thomas Matussek,
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations.
Ambassador Matussek praised the GAMHOF concept and introduced the first ten
inductees. Representing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was city
Records & Information Services Commissioner Brian Andersson, and
representing the German Consulate was Deputy Consul General Stefan Grabherr.
Special thanks
were accorded to the event's sponsors, Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan and
Deutsche Telekom-USA (parent of T-Mobile).
GAMHOF, which was
founded in 2005 and introduced publicly at a reception for 1,000 at the
Washington residence of the German Ambassador to the United States in
October 2005, conducted a thorough process to consider notable Americans of
German ancestry, leading up to the final election of the first 10 inductees.
The Advisory Board of GAMHOF made recommendations to the GAMHOF Board of
Trustees. Eventually, the Trustees voted for the inductees, who were
announced on January 28, 2008.
"By inducting ten
truly great and notable Americans into the German-American Hall of Fame,"
said GAMHOF Founder and Chairman William Hetzler, "the general U.S. public
will begin to have a better understanding and appreciation for the
irreplaceable contributions of German immigrants to America." As many as 70
million Americans claim German ancestry, making them the largest ethnic
group in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census. "Our GAMHOF motto will be
"Educate and Celebrate,'" added Mr. Hetzler.
In addition to the
announcement of inductees, the NEW GAMHOF website (www.gamhof.org) was
introduced on large screens for attendees to view.
The first ten
inductees, as elected by the Board of Trustees, with advice and input from
the Advisory Board are:
1. Dr. Günter
Blobel
2. Adolphus Busch
3. Walter Cronkite
4. Walter P.
Chrysler
5. Albert Einstein
6. Dwight D.
Eisenhower
7. John Kluge
8. George Herman
"Babe" Ruth
9. George M.
Steinbrenner, III
10. Levi Strauss |
