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Philanthropist, art collector and jewelry designer Joan
Hornig will
receive the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award
presented annually by The National Ethnic Coalition of
Organizations (NECO) to
Americans who have made it their mission to share with those
less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable
courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless
generosity; all while maintaining the traditions of their
ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of
America. The
awards will be presented May
10 on historic Ellis Island at an elegant ceremony and
dinner that embodies the spirit of America in their
celebration of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and
diversity.
A successful Wall Street professional for over 20 years,
philanthropist & jewelry designer Joan
Hornig is
founder of her own jewelry linewhich donates’ 100% of the
profits from her sales to the charity of the purchasers
choice through her own Joan B. Hornig Foundation. To date,
the Joan B. Hornig Foundation has donated to more than 800
worthy initiatives around the world addressing issues such
as education, medical research, social services, the arts,
animal rights, and environmental protection. True to form,
Ms. Hornig upon learning of her nomination offered to create
a special collection to support the efforts of NECO in
preserving Ellis Island based on the torch held by The
Statue of Liberty.
Ms. Hornig along with TV
host, author and financial expert Maria
Bartiromo, FOX hit reality series So
You Think You Can Dance creator
and celebrity judge Nigel
Lythgoe, U.S. Representative Ed
Royce, Fashion Designer Elie
Tahari, Secretary of State Senior Advisor and Former
United States Ambassador to Italy David
Thorne, National Guard Bureau Gen.
Frank J. Grass, USA, TV host and humanitarian Yue-Sai
Kan, Cosmetics Entrepreneur Victoria
Jackson and
more than 100 other distinguished Americans will gather to
receive the Ellis
Island Medals of Honor. The
Ceremony will be followed by a Gala Dinner in the historic
Great Hall. Emmy-winning WPIX-11 Senior Correspondent
Marvin Scott and
renowned entertainer Tom
Dreesen will
be the Masters of Ceremony.
Ms. Hornig joins a very impressive club of Medal of Honor
recipients. Since the Medal was founded in 1986, they have
honored such distinguished and diverse Americans including:
six Presidents of the United States, Nobel Prize recipient Elie
Wiesel, Generals Norman
Schwarzkopf and Colin
Powell, Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. John McCain,
Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Walters, Mike Wallace,
Quincy Jones, Mia Farrow, Bob
Hope, Renee
Fleming, Tony
Blair, Michael
Bolton, Joe
Di Maggio - just
to name a few – all who have distinguished themselves
through their significant contributions to this country. The
Ellis Island Medal of Honor ranks among the nation’s most
prestigious awards. The U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives have officially recognized the Ellis Island
Medals of Honor, and each year the recipients are listed in
the Congressional Record. As
always, NECO remains dedicated to the maintenance and
restoration of America’s greatest symbol of its immigrant
history, Ellis Island.
After a brief foray teaching art to elementary school
children, Ms.
Hornig became a fund-raiser at Harvard University and went
on to become director of corporate relations and external
affairs at Columbia Business School. In 1985 – and for
nearly 20 years thereafter – she was
a prominent figure in finance. All the while, she was
creating jewelry inspired by her own knowledge of art
history and the decorative arts.
Since the launch of her jewelry line in 2003, Joan now
offers a collection for everyone: the Signature Collection
of 18k gold, precious and semi-precious stones, the Silver
Lining Collection, the Boldly Brass Joan Line,
the Horn (Increase Giving), the Tools for Giving Collection,
as well as chic and practical iPhone accessories and
regenerated leather items. Most recently, in November 2013,
Joan launched her fashion jewelry line, Giving
Rocks on HSN.
As with all Joan Hornig pieces, 100% of her profit is
donated to charity, continuing Joan’s mission to make
philanthropy a part of everyone’s life.
Limited-edition pieces, which Joan designed exclusively for
organizations and individuals such as The United States
Department of State, First Ladies, The Girl Scouts, UNICEF,
The ASPCA, The Association of Junior Leagues International,
Circle of Women, HELP USA, the New Orleans Museum of Art,
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and JustWorld
International, continue to make a lasting difference. On
April 23, 2012 in recognition of Joan Hornig Jewelry’s
philanthropic contributions, Joan was asked to close the New
York Stock Exchange. For NECO, Ms. Hornig has designed a
collection of pieces featuring the Liberty Torch -
cufflinks, necklace and pin.
It is this generosity and commitment that led NECO to honor
Ms. Hornig who fits perfectly the individuals, Nasser
J. Kazeminy, Chairman
of NECO cites when stating , “NECO
is about investing in the power of caring, where people from
all cultures and walks of life stand together arm in arm to
make a real difference in our world through shared
compassion and philanthropy. Each of these honorees
represent traits that I admire in great Americans: the
vision of a better world for all; the tenacity to overcome
great adversity; the leadership and imagination to blaze
their own trail. And most importantly, they have the
humility and self-reflection to appreciate the amazing
opportunities the America has given them. They inspire me;
and we honor them so they can inspire others as well.” |