The White House sponsored a breakfast on July 30, 1997 to bid Daniel Fried and Marilyn DiGiacobbe farewell and to welcome Steven Flanagan and Christine Stanek.  Ethnic and community leaders were invited to the hour and a half event held in the White House dining room.  Anne Bader, Frank Koszorus, Jr., and Edith Lauer represented the Hungarian American Coalition.

For the past four years Marilyn DiGiacobbe has served as President Clinton’s liaison to America’s ethnic communities in her position as Associate Director and Special Assistant to the President of the White House Office of Public Liaison.  Her new job will take her to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where she will direct public outreach efforts for Secretary Andrew Cuomo.  In her remarks Ms. DiGiacobbe stressed the importance of direct input from ethnic communities in formulating policy, and thanked those present for opening their communities through her to the President.

Daniel Fried, who has served for four years in the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Central Europe, expressed his appreciation for the valuable insights he received from ethnic leaders on U.S. foreign policy interests in the region.  He recalled the evolution of U.S. policy on NATO expansion, beginning with the memorable debate in Milwaukee with Samuel Berger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and others in January, 1994.  He thanked the Hungarian American community leadership in particular for the valuable information they had provided his office on Hungarian minorities in countries surrounding Hungary.

Steven Flanagan and Christine Stanek expressed admiration for their predecessor’s accomplishments as well as their desire to continue building an effective and lasting  relationship  with ethnic community leaders.