Heights residents Elisabeth Lindenmayer (photo) and Mildred Onken were among those honored by the American Red Cross in Greater New York at its Brooklyn Spring Benefit, held yesterday evening at the Palm House of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Ms. Lindenmayer is a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, and now teaches at the School for International Affairs at Columbia University. She is a French citizen and holds the Legion d'Honneur, that nation's highest civilian award. She spoke of her childhood as the daughter of an army officer, parts of which were spent in various places in Africa (where she was born) and in Vietnam (then part of French Indo-China). Her exposure to the poverty and violence found in these places inspired her to devote her life to the cause of peace and the alleviation of human suffering.
Ms. Onken was first exposed to the work of the Red Cross through her mother, who was active in the Clara Barton Chapter, the first Red Cross chapter in New York State, in her native Rochester. She has been active in the Greater New York chapter for many years, and has served on its Brooklyn advisory board. Ms. Onken taught modern languages and served as an acting dean at Juniata College, in Pennsylvania.
Other honorees were the City Tech President, Dr. Russell K. Hotzler, and The Hon. Alice Fisher Rubin, Judge of the New York City Civil Court.
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