Friday, May 07, 1999 (Washington, DC )

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene Molitoris will receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor at a ceremony in the Great Hall on Ellis Island on Saturday, May 8, 1999.

This award is given to distinguished Americans who have contributed extraordinary service to humanity. Administrator Molitoris has served for six years as the administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration, the first woman to hold that post.

"I am honored to receive this award. It is a reminder of the thousands of Americans from all over the world who have contributed so much to our country’s rich ethnic heritage," said Administrator Molitoris, whose grandmother from Poland came through Ellis Island.

The award is given by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation, Inc. (NECO) which was established in 1986 to honor those who make up America’s diverse and rich cultural heritage. Each recipient is selected through a national nomination process. Administrator Molitoris has led the FRA to unprecedented safety achievements with double-digit decreases in railroad injuries and fatalities during her tenure.

Administrator Molitoris is the first person selected from her home town of Columbus, Ohio, to receive the award.

Other recipients of the award this year include First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Roger Ailes, U.S. Sen. John Glenn, Wayne Newton and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist.