Sano Themia Halo wins New York State Governor George E. Pataki's 2001 Award for Excellence
in honor of Women's History Month, "Celebrating Women of Courage and Vision"
Sano at age 91 with Governor Pataki at award ceremony, March 8, 2001
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GOVERNOR PATAKI'S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
TO SANO THEMIA HALO

The annual observance of Women's History Month during March provides an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and contributions of outstanding New Yorkers. The recipients of the Governor's 2001 Award for Excellence have earned this richly deserved tribute.

Your story of survival defines the true meaning of courage. At the early age of 10, you demonstrated true strength of character when forced to leave your home and village in the Pontic Mountains of Asia Minor. Abandoned in poverty and given over to a family of strangers who demanded hard labor and changed your name, you were robbed of your Pontian Greek heritage.

After you were forced into marriage at the age of fifteen, you immigrated to New York City and set out to overcome life's challenges and achieve your dreams of a better life. Determined to succeed, you taught yourself to read and write, earned your United States citizenship and worked hard to support your family of eleven children.

Throughout this ordeal, you held on to the vision of relaying the story of your people. Through the memoirs captured in your daughter Thea's book, Not Even My Name, we all have a greater appreciation for Pontic Greek heritage -- one that was nearly destroyed by the genocide of your people during World War I. As the subject of documentaries and articles that preserve the history of the ancient Pontic Greeks in Turkey, you exemplify true heroism.

Approximately forty thousand Pontic Greek Americans in Astoria alone, as well as thousands more throughout our State and Nation, have you to thank for keeping the story of their rich heritage and tragic past alive.

Your meaningful contributions to your people are truly unforgettable.

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