LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Benjamin A. Gilman upon the occasion of
his designation as the recipient of the 2010 World Peace Prize Award by
the Evangelical World Peace Prize Awarding Council

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body seeks to acknowledge those individuals
whose professional lives and civic endeavors serve to enhance the stat-
ure of the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to acknowledge
outstanding individuals whose professional lives, personal endeavors and
community service are an example and inspiration to their colleagues,
friends, and family; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Benjamin A. Gilman upon the occasion of his designation as the recipient
of the 2010 World Peace Prize Award by the Evangelical World Peace Prize
Awarding Council; this auspicious occasion will be celebrated on Tues-
day, June 14, 2011, in the Gold Room, Rayburn House Office Building in
Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, The World Peace Prize was established in 1989 by the World
Peace Corps Mission, an international Evangelical missionary organiza-
tion that operates according to the core spirit of advancing peace,
justice and inter-religious collaborations; it is awarded to individuals
who have contributed to the causes of world peace by preventing regional
conflicts or world war; and
WHEREAS, Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on December 6, 1922, Benjamin
A. Gilman was recognized by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council for
being a life-long champion of human rights: fighting world hunger,
narcotic abuse and trafficking; and
WHEREAS, Prior to retiring from the United States House of Represen-
tatives at the end of the 107th Congress in January 2003, Benjamin A.
Gilman served 15 terms from the 20th District of New York; prior to
that, he served six years in the New York State Legislature as Assembly-
man, and several years as Assistant Attorney General in the New York
State Department of Law; and
WHEREAS, While in Congress, Benjamin A. Gilman served as Chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 1995 to 2002; in 1981, he was
the Congressional delegate to the United Nations with the title of
Ambassador, and served on the Ukrainian Famine Commission, the U.S.
European and the U.S. Mexican Interparliamentary Conferences; in addi-
tion, he was the Congressional Advisor to the United Nations Law of the
Sea Conference and served as co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Irish
Affairs, as well as on the International Task Force on narcotics; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Gilman was also the senior Republican on the
Government Reform and Oversight Committee; he co-founded the House
Select Committee on Narcotics, and was the Ranking Republican on that
committee (1977-1989); and
WHEREAS, Actively involved in fighting world hunger and malnutrition
during the mid-1970s, Congressman Gilman authored legislation creating
the Presidential Commission Against Hunger, on which he served, and
subsequently, the Select Committee on World Hunger; and
WHEREAS, In addition, during the 101st Congress (1989-91), Benjamin A.
Gilman was the Chairman of the House Task Force on Emigration of Soviet
Jewry; in 1993, he was appointed a Member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Council; and

WHEREAS, In 1975-77, Congressman Gilman was a Member of the Select
Committee on Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia,
and subsequently served as Chairman of the Task Force on the issue; and
WHEREAS, In his advocacy of human rights, Benjamin A. Gilman brought
about numerous "prisoner exchanges", resulting in freedom for prisoners
in East Germany, Mozambique, Cuba, the Soviet Union and several other
nations; he has also been the Executive Member of the Human Rights
Caucus; and
WHEREAS, Benjamin A. Gilman has been the recipient of numerous honors
including the President's Certificate of Outstanding Achievement "for
continued, demonstrated vision, initiative, and leadership in the effort
to achieve a world without hunger," and has annually received the "Peace
Through Strength" Award presented by the American Security Council; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, Benjamin A. Gilman served as Staff
Sergeant in the 19th Bomb Group of the 20th Air Force, flying 35
missions over Japan and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters; he is a Colonel in the New York guard
and is a member of the International Enforcement Officers Association;
and
WHEREAS, A member of the American Legion, the Jewish War Veterans, the
Masonic Veterans, the Otisville Grange, and the Hudson-Delaware Boy
Scout Council, Benjamin A. Gilman is a former County Commander of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, and also a member of the B.P.O. Elks and 33
degree Mason in Hoffman Lodge; he was also a co-founder and charter
member of the NAACP in Middletown, New York; and
WHEREAS, Educated in the public schools of Middletown, New York,
Benjamin A. Gilman received his B.S. in Economics from the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and Finance (1946) and earned
his L.L.B. from the New York Law School (1950); and
WHEREAS, With him throughout has been his wife, the former Georgia
Nickles Tingus, who feels privileged to be a part of his life and
rejoices in his distinguished achievements; they reside in the Town of
Greenville in Orange County, New York, and in Washington, D.C.; they are
the proud parents of five children and have three beloved grandchildren;
and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of his professional and communi-
ty service, a period of constructive involvement, Benjamin A. Gilman has
stood constant in dignity, good grace and humor, and has earned the
respect and admiration of his colleagues, family and friends; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by an individ-
ual for the benefit of others which Benjamin A. Gilman has displayed
throughout his life; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, they should be recognized by all the citizens of this great Empire
State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Benjamin A. Gilman upon the occasion of his designation as the
recipient of the 2010 World Peace Prize Award by the Evangelical World
Peace Prize Awarding Council; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Benjamin A. Gilman.