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UPF Awards Ceremony Celebrated in New York
Written by Dr. Michael Balcomb, UPF-International
Friday, December 4, 2009
Read Dr. Hyung Jin Moon's Welcome here
New York, USA - Four outstanding New York and New Jersey residents were honored for excellence in leadership and 45 others received the prestigious Ambassador for Peace appointment at the Universal Peace Federation of New York and New Jersey's annual awards ceremony held April 4 at the Manhattan Center in New York. Rev. In-jin Moon, second daughter of UPF Founders Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon,represented her parents in hosting the event.
Dr. Thomas Walsh, President of the Universal Peace Federation, read a message of encouragement from Dr. Hyung Jin Moon, the UPF's new International Chairman, who said, "You have joined the world's largest and most diverse network of peace leaders, representing the religious, racial, and ethnic diversity of the human family."
In other congratulatory letters sent to the organizers, the Hon. David A. Paterson, Governor of New York, thanked the awardees and the UPF for their "common vision for global peace," a contribution highly valued by the State of New York. Others sending well-wishes included Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the New Jersey Senate, and numerous elected and public officials.
Those honored for their public service were the Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, Administrative Judge for Civil Matters for the New York Supreme Court; Pastor Leonard Smalls of the Imani Baptist Church of Christ, Inc., in East Orange, New Jersey; Ms. Diesa Seidel, founder and director of United Initiatives for Peace; and Dr. Halim Majeed of Queens, an economic-development consultant.
Justice Hinds-Radix was honored for excellence in leadership in the field of women’s rights. She credited her passion for public service and for helping to empower women to the training of her parents in Barbados. “As my father once said, ‘You have to know how to treat the commoner the way you treat the king,’” she explained.
Rev. Leonard Smalls, of White Plains, New York, was honored for his religious and civic leadership. Smalls directed the Philadelphia Urban Coalition of Ex-offenders Training Program and developed and managed a model citywide job-training program for ex-offenders. “I really am here because of the contributions, the caring, the sharing of generations past,” he said, explaining that he had benefited from the work ethic of his great-grandfather in South Carolina, a former slave, as well as of his parents.
Ms. Diesa Seidel, a former professional basketball player, was honored for excellence in leadership in the field of youth and service work, promoting higher education, creative recreational programs, and grassroots social reform aimed at empowering girls and young women in 14 countries, including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, India, Jordan, Haiti, and Israel. “Serving others has completely changed my life," she said.
Mr. Halim Majeed, who has served as chief political advisor to President H.D. Hoyte of Guyana and as an administrator at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, was honored for excellence in leadership in the field of human rights. “This is a unique period in the history of our nation,” he said, “President Obama, an African-American, has assumed the reins of the administration of the United States of America. Our hostess this evening, Rev. In-jin Moon is an Asian-American, and these two leaderships converge in a particular context at this time.”
In her congratulatory address, Rev. In-jin Moon called upon the Universal Peace Federation and the Ambassadors for Peace to raise up today’s youth to become a “Peace Generation.” "Too many people in our society have become part of the 'me generation,'" she said. "We have created a selfish society that says, 'show me the money.' As a mother, I can see clearly that we desperately need a new generation of young people who are more interested in what they can do to serve other people than how they can enrich themselves.
"Our world needs people who say: ‘How can I help? How can I use my God-given divinity to leave my imprint on the world that can benefit thousands and even millions of people to come?’" she said. "These are the questions that I hope the new Generation of Peace will ask of themselves, and I hope that all of us will join with our honorable awardees to help and empower them.”
The evening ended with a ballroom dancing display by the Harvard University Ballroom Dance team. Ms. Lou Wang and Mr. Tim Li dazzled with a waltz, and In Jin Moon's daughter Arianna and partner Julian Kolez performed rumba and cha-cha to “You Are My Everything,” and “Groove with Me Tonight.” Encouraged, the Lovin' Life Band worked its magic to get the crowd on its dancing feet.
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