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April Proclamation in New Orleans
Morial: "Turkey is the only secular democracy in the Muslim world"
The Turkish Times - New Orleans Mayor,
Marc H. Morial, has proclaimed April 23, 2002 as the "Turkish Heritage
and Children's Day in New Orleans." The full text of the proclamation
is below. Ms. Fatma Aydin Tucker of the Turkish American Association of
Louisiana was recognized by the Turkish-American community for her leadership
in the proclamation effort.
CITY
OF NEW ORLEANS
HONORABLE MARC H. MORIAL
Whereas, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish people
valiantly fought a long War of Liberation to safeguard her sovereignty
and independence and founded the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923
and; Whereas, Ataturk, realizing the significance and importance of looking
to the future and not to the past, dedicated April 23 as a national holiday
for Turkish children, a celebration that is now held every year in Turkey
with an International Children's Day Festival and; Whereas, Turkey is
the only secular democracy in the Muslim world; and has made significant
contributions to US foreign policy in the Balkans, the Middle East, Central
Asia and the Caucasus; and has played a crucial role in international
efforts for peace, prosperity and stability and; Whereas, Turkey has been
a staunch ally of the United States and has supported the U.S. in every
major conflict since the Korean War; and has become an integral part of
Europe through its membership in NATO, the Council of Europe and its impending
membership to the European Union and; Whereas, Americans of Turkish descent
in New Orleans have played a significant role in the educational, cultural,
economic and civic development of our community; and Whereas, we recognize
many individuals of Turkish descent who have chosen our community as their
home and share their rich heritage with us and; Whereas, all Turks and
Turkish-Americans will be celebrating Turkish National Sovereignty and
Children's Day on April 23, 2002 and; Therefore, I , Marc H. Morial, by
the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana,
do hereby proclaim April 23, 2002 as the Turkish Heritage and Children's
Day in in New Orleans.
Marc
H. Morial
Mayor
New Orleans
TCG
Gokova Joins Turkish Navy in Norfolk, VA
Navy
Newsstand, NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) - The guided missile frigate
TCG Gokova (F 496) was commissioned into the service of the Republic of
Turkey April 11, during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. Although
the ceremony featured the normal trappings of such events, including speeches,
a commissioning pennant and Sailors running aboard to "bring the ship
to life," what was different about the event was that when it began, the
ship had a different name -- USS Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG 13).
 The
commissioning of Gokova was preceded by the decommissioning of Morison,
and the turning over of the ship to the Turkish navy as part of the U.S.
foreign military sales program.The guest speaker for the ceremony was
Rear Adm. Christopher E. Weaver, commandant of Naval District Washington
(D.C.) who served aboard Morison twice, including a tour as the ship's
executive officer. He was happy that, although the ship was being decommissioned,
it would go on living with the Turkish Navy. "In the hands of these Sailors,
the ship will live up to Samuel Eliot Morison's legacy, 'the past is prologue.'
The ship will live on. We're turning a page in the history book of this
ship and going on to many more exciting chapters," he said.
The final
U.S. Navy commanding officer of the ship, Cmdr. James Shannon, had only
been in command of the ship for a little more than a month. He and his
crew swapped USS Estocin (FFG 15) for Morison so they could remain in
their Norfolk homeport and the new crew of Estocin could remain in their
homeport of Mayport, Fla. Still, Morison's legacy was not lost on him.
"It gives me great satisfaction that this fine man-of-war will continue
to serve as a member of the Turkish navy," he said.
 The
preparations for the turnover have been going on for more than a month,
with Morison's American crew turning over spaces and providing some initial
training to their Turkish counterparts. Gokova is the seventh Perry-class
frigate to be turned over to the Turkish navy; the ship's new commanding
officer, Turkish Navy Cmdr. Armagan Kurgan, has served aboard three others.
He served as executive officer aboard TCG Gemlik [ex-USS Flatley (FFG
21)] and TCG Gokceada [ex-USS Mahlon S. Tisdale (FFG 27)]. He served as
commanding officer of TCG Gaziantep [ex-USS Clifton F. Sprague (FFG 16)].
During the
ceremony, Kurgan noted Morison's accomplishments as a U.S. Navy ship and
promised to continue the tradition. "We shall do our best to keep Gokova
always victorious," he said. Originally commissioned Oct. 11, 1980, Morison
was the seventh ship in the Oliver Hazard Perry-class. The ship was named
for Rear Adm. Samuel Eliot Morison one of America's most distinguished
naval historians, who wrote more than 40 books on naval history.
TACA
Elections Held in Chicago
Sel
Yackley, Turkish Times MidWest Correspondent
- Chicago's TACA recently held elections for officers and board
of directors. One of the most active Turkish American Associations, TACA
was established in the mid 1960s. They are co-sponsoring the ATAA mini-conference
in Chicago midway and have either sponsored or helped with more than 200
events during the last calendar year in which nearly 3500 people participated.
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Election
results are:
Mehmet Celebi - President
Yucel Olcer - Vice President
Mehmet Arici - Treasurer
Hatice Dinc - Secretary
Directors:
John Yackley
Pelin Bilgin
Mehmet Bilgin
Sencer Sofuoglu
Sezgin Uskup
Recep Nuri Ozkaymak
Odul Cengel
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TACA owns
a building on N. Harlem Avenue in which the Folk Dance group holds its
practices as well as Turkish lessons for children. The new board is hoping
to establish a lending library and hold special events on a monthly basis.
Former president
Enver Sonmez acted as the Chairperson for the Elections Committee. Former
vice president of ATAA, Muammer Akgun and Treasurer Mehmet Arici were
assistants. Secretary Hatice Dinc took minutes.
The first
meeting of the new board willbe in early may. Priorities and goal setting
will take place. General Assembly meeting is set for late May. Please
visit www.tacaonline.org
for further information and calendar of events
Turkish
Society of Rochester Has New Board of Governors
Ahmet
Turgut, Special to The Turkish Times-(www.tsor.org)-Society
of Rochester, one of the oldest Turkish-American associations in the United
States, has held its 34th elections for a new Board of Governors, and
committee members. The results of the election is as follows:
34 TH. GOVERNING
BOARD / 34. DÖNEM YÖNETIM KURULU
Mesut VARDAR ( President / Baskan), Dr. Utku KANIK Yavuz ÇALIK
( Vice President / Bas.Yard.) (Vice President/Bas.Yard.)
Ahmet TEZCAN Taskin MUMCUOGLU Ersoy YILDIZ (Accountant / Muhasebe) (Treasurer
/ Veznedar ) (Recording Secretary / Kayit Sekreteri ) Levent KOZACI (Communications
Secretary / Haberlesme Sekreteri )
DENETLEME
KURULU
Hüseyin TURGUT Haydar OGULTEKIN Dr. Erhan MERGEN
ADVISORY
BOARD /DANISMA KURULU
Dr. Asim SEN Mehmet DILEK Ahmet TURGUT Ahmet AYDIN
(Yedek
Üye : Ersin ERMAN )
RELIGIOUS
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE / DIN KOLU
Mehmet DILEK Veli TUGAL Hamdi ERMAN Hamza SEKMAN
IMAM / DIN
ISLERI GÖREVLISI
Ismail
BASARAN
WOMEN'S COMMITTEE
/ BAYANLAR KOLU
Ayse INCE Sündüs VARDAR Aysen YILDIZ Sevinç DILEK Seher
DURURVURUR
CONSTRUCTION
COMMITTEE / INSAAT KOLU
Utku KANIK Ersin ERMAN Veyis KADIRCAN Ayse INCE Mesut VARDAR
BYLAWS COMMITTEE
/ TÜZÜK KOMITESI
Haluk INCE Mesut VARDAR Utku KANIK Ersin ERMAN
Dr. Asim SEN Dr. Erhan MERGEN Dr. Renan TÜRKMAN Dr. Seyda DELIGÖNÜL
SPORT'S COMMITTEE
/ SPOR KOLU
Yücel
KOÇAK Kemal DURMAZ Ersoy YILDIZ Ahmet TEZCAN Levent KOZACI
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TURKAY-TURKISH
AMERICAN YOUTH NETWORK
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A
new initiative affiliated with the Assembly of Turkish American
Associations (ATAA), TURKAY will be launched on May 19, 2002,
in celebration of the Turkish Youth and Sports Day and in Remembrance
of Mustafa Kemal ATATURK, who entrusted the future of the Turkish
Republic to its Youth.
Join
TURKAY:
•To learn about your Turkish cultural heritage and
history, and promote public knowledge and understanding
•To get in touch with other Turkish American youth in
the United States
•To learn and practice Turkish
•To take an active part in promoting a balanced and truthful
picture of Turkey in the U.S.
•To take on projects with the other youth groups in the
U.S. and in Turkey
•To
become a leader in your community and participate in volunteer
community services
Join
TURKAY by August 30th:
•To receive a FREE first year membership
•To receive a SPECIAL "First Year TURKAY Member" certificate
•To receive a TURKISH FLAG
•To LIGHT UP your state on the US Map at the TURKAY website
•To
establish your STATE YOUTH BOARD or help with the goals stated
in the mission statement.
[Send
your membership by filing out the application form at www.turkay.org]
All
Turkish Americans between ages 8 thru 22 can apply for TURKAY
membership. Minimum 6th grade level is required for the youth
board membership.
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Invitation
for Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
Bulent
Dogruyol, SNE-TACA- (Deadline:November
30, 2002)The
purpose of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
is to provide opportunities for continuing generations of able
and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their
chosen fields and to partake of the American dream.
This
highly competitive program awards thirty students each year with
fellowships to support two years of graduate study in the United
States (an annual maintenance grant of $20,000 and a tuition grant
of one-half the tuition cost of the U.S. graduate program attended
by the Fellow). A Fellow may pursue a graduate degree in any professional
field (e.g., engineering, medicine, law, social work, etc.) or
scholarly discipline in the arts, humanities, social sciences,
and sciences. The fine and performing Arts are included.
To
be eligible, applicants must: be "Green Card" holders, naturalized
citizens, or have two parents who are naturalized citizens as
of the date of application; not be older than 30 as of November
30, 2002; be a senior in college or a holder of a bachelor's degree
or at present enrolled in a graduate program (individuals who
are in the third, or subsequent, year of study in the same graduate
program are not, however, eligible).
In
addition to demonstrated capacity to undertake advanced academic
work, a successful candidate will fulfill at least two of the
following: creativity, originality, and initiative, demonstrated
in any area of her/his life; a commitment to and capacity for
accomplishment, activity that requires drive and sustained effort;
and commitment to the values expressed in the U.S. Constitution
and the Bill of Rights.
See
the program's Web site for complete eligibility information and
application guidelines. Contact: The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships
for New Americans, 400 West 59 th Street New
York, NY 10019, Phone: 212-547-6926 Facsimile: 212-548-4623, E-mail:
pdsoros_fellows@sorosny.org
Turkish
Team in Eco-Challenge Competition
 Asli
Omur, Special to The Turkish Times-Did
you know that Eco-Challenge Competition has a Turkish Team? Some
people were interested in finding out who exactly was chosen out
of the entire country of Turkiye. Here is the stats about the
"Team Turk":
Captain
:SERDAR KILIC
Age:33
Home: Sariyer-ISTANBUL
Profession: self employed
He participated in 2000 Eco Challenge SABAH
1999 Eco Challenge Argentina
Serdar
won the 1993 Turkish University Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship
in the 100+ kg weight division, in 1998. He is an experienced
mountaineer and horseback rider, and has experience in whitewater
kayaking and climbing mountains.
Zeynep
Atabay
Age:31
Profession: Quality Assurance Manager
She too accompanied Serdar on both previous Eco Challenge expeditions.
She is a member of the Turkish national Sailing Team, holds titles
in windsurfing, water skiing, alpine skiing, snowboarding. She
is the only woman to hold a title in the final 8 of Camel Trophy
qualifications in Sweden.
Oguz
Omur
Age:34
Home: Istanbul
Profession: Insurance broker
He
is an ex-national water polo player for Turkiye and placed first
in the Med-Challenge.
Cemal
Gulas
Age:34
Home: Istanbul
Cemal was the first Turkish man to raech the North Pole, he is
also a wildlife photographer and has been a mountain guide for
15 years.
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