2010 U.S.- Baltic Gala Honorees

Baltic Statesmanship Award
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, Republic of Lithuania

In 1988, Andrius Kubilius became a member of Sajudis, the Reform Movement of Lithuania, and in 1990 he served for two years as the Executive Secretary of Sajudis. Mr. Kubilius joined the Seimas in 1992 and became its First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs in 1996.  In 1999, Mr. Kubilius became the Prime Minister of the 10th Government of Lithuania.  He has since served in many positions in the Seimas, before once again returning to the post of Prime Minister on November 28, 2008.

He is a great advocate of ecological transport: he is a pioneer and participant of the annual summer bicycle tours across Lithuania as well as an enthusiast of canoeing along the rivers of Lithuania.

Mr. Kubilius has been awarded for his merits for the State of Lithuania: the Independence Medal of Lithuania (1 July 2000), Commander’s Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (21 April 2004); Kubilius has been Member of the Homeland Union since 1993 and has been Chairman since 2003.  His wife Rasa is a violinist of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, and he has two sons, Andrius and Vytautas.

 

Baltic Image Enhancement Award
Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt was born in Paide, Estonia September 11, 1935 in Paide, Estonia, and is an internationally renowned classical composer   His music is composed in a minimalist style employing a self-made technique described as tintinnabuli, that is, similar to the ringing of bells. While his early works feature a Neo-Classical style his later and most famous compositions have been shaped by influences of Gregorian Chant and Sacred Polyphony. His Nekrolog was the first Estonian composition to employ serial technique.  Mr. Pärt was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1996.  In May 2003, he received the "Contemporary Music Award" at the Classical Brit Awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London.  In 2008 Part was honored as the Featured Composer at the RTE Living Music Festival in Dublin.

 

Humanitarian Award
Sisters of St. Casimir

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Casimir is a community of women religious founded in 1907 by Mother Maria Kaupas in Scranton PA.  Born in Ramygala, Lithuania in 1880, Mother Maria desired to found a congregation which would sustain and nourish the faith life of the early Lithuanian immigrants in the U.S.  She encouraged her Sisters to do the same and then to "welcome" and care for all others who would become part of their lives. 

Mother Maria established the Sisters of St. Casimir in her homeland of Lithuania in 1920 and both the Sisters in Lithuania and the Congregation here in the U.S. have retained strong ties.  In 1991, when Lithuania regained its independence, the Sisters of St. Casimir were quick to respond to the spiritual and material needs of women religious in Lithuania as they began to emerge into a whole new way of life and ministry.  Today the Sisters of St. Casimir continue their work by sponsoring hospitals, schools, and being active in areas of social justice.

 

Corporate Citizen Award
Vichiunai Group of Companies

Vichiunai Group was established in 1991 by Visvaldas Matijošaitis, Liudas Skierus and two other co-owners. The brand name VICI has become absolute leader and number one in Lithuanian surimi and fish product market.   Rapid expansion of sales and growth of business has now lead to operating five production factories in Lithuania, Russia and Estonia and building up its own distribution and sales channels in 13 countries. Currently, the group is comprised of 35 companies with diversified business portfolios including: food production, sales and distribution, logistics, food service and restaurants, dealership for Global moto-brands.  The know-how and ambitious expansion of the brand name VICI and Vichiunai serve as a leading example of the Lithuanian business culture and the Baltics in the World.  Vichiunai actively fosters cultural, economic and social events in Lithuania and throughout the Baltics.  In 2005 Vichiunai co-founded Mentor Lithuania, an NGO which is a member of Global Mentor Association.

 

Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Ilja Laurs, CEO and Founder, Getjar

Born in 1976 in Lithuania, Mr. Laurs attended school at a time when the country was part of the Soviet Union. Mr. Laurs enrolled in an American student exchange program and graduated from Jackson high school in Ohio in 1994. He came back to Lithuania to attend Vilnius University where he studied Economics, financing his education by teaching English to students.  Mr. Laurs has been an entrepreneur since 1999, and has since launched over 20 successful projects including: LithuanianHotels.com, MicroPay.lt and mobile games studio Gaxo Interactive. In 2009, Informa Telecoms & Media included Mr. Laurs in the Top 40 most influential people in mobile communications. He is a first Lithuanian to make such a list.

GetJar is the world’s largest cross platform app store with over a half billion downloads to date. GetJar also works with a select number of distribution partners including but not limited to Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Opera, Vodafone, 3UK and Virgin Mobile. In June of 2009, GetJar was named winner of the 2009 Meffy Award for Best Direct to Consumer Service.

 

American Corporate Citizenship Award*
Computer Sciences Corporation

Computer Sciences Corporation was founded in April 1959 by Roy Nutt and Fletcher Jones providing technical services ranging from weather observation to radar maintenance for all NASA’s manned and unmanned spacecrafts. Today, CSC is a world-leading IT services company employing some 90,000 people in more than 80 countries. CSC Baltic, a subsidiary of the U.S. information technology solutions and consulting company CSC, launched operations in Lithuania in 2008. In 2009 CSC, in conjunction with Save the Children, began an active campaign to promote the well being of the children at the Prabade Children’s Home in Lithuania as well as a blood drive in collaboration with the National Blood Center.

 

Baltic Philanthropy Award
Enn Kunila (Estonia)

Enn Kunila is one of the owners of NG Investeeringud (Norma, Liviko, Tallinna Kaubamaja ,Selver ).  Mr. Kunila is the owner of the largest private Estonian art collection, and as such has been an avid supporter of art museums and exhibitions throughout Estonia.  The Tallinn Art Hall recently showed an exhibition of 150 Years of Estonian Classical Paintings from the Collection of Enn Kunila.  For his patronage to the KLMU art museum in Tallinn, Mr. Kunila was elected “Friend of Museums” for 2009.

 

Vilis and Marta Vitols (Latvia)

Vilis and Marta Vitols founded The Vitols Foundation (V?tolu fonds) in 2002, which provides scholarships to help able, dedicated, disadvantaged young people to study in Latvian universities.  In addition to providing and administering their own scholarships, the Fund assists other individuals and companies who wish to establish scholarships.  After living in the United States and Venezuela, where Mr. Vitols served as Latvian Honorary Consul, Mr. and Mrs. Vitols returned to Latvia in 1999 where they currently live and work. 

Alma Adamkiene (Lithuania)

Alma Adamkiene is the wife of former President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus.  As First Lady of Lithuania, Mrs. Adamkiene became involved in various Lithuanian social programs focusing on the welfare of children. She opened the “Alma Adamkiene; Charity and Support Fund” in 1999.  The aim of the Fund is to support children in Lithuanian village schools, and children’s' hospitals in cities throughout Lithuania.