The 19^th annual Coalition Gala celebrated the Honorable Mary V. Mochary, a Hungarian American philanthropist dedicated to the arts and music, and the Carpathian Foundation, an organization working to improve the lives of Hungarians in the Carpathian basin. Two youth awards were presented to Sarolta Derzsi (Young Alumni Award) and Adam Beres (Future Community Leader). 

The coalition also introduced its new program, the HYPE (Hungarian Young Professionals Engagement) Network, Lauer-Rice told MTI. She said that 21 young Hungarian American professionals had been accepted into the inaugural HYPE class, which includes monthly presentations from high-ranking professionals, networking opportunities and mentors. 

“As a community, we need to engage young Hungarian American professionals in activities and in building a network for the future. I’m proud to say we’ve had an enthusiastic response to the HYPE program, and I am hopeful it will benefit the entire community,” said Lauer-Rice.

Coalition Gala co-chairs included: Charles Simonyi, businessman and pioneer, George Pataki, former Governor of New York, Ambassador György Habsburg, Hungarian American designer Aniko Gaal Schott, and Edith K. Lauer, Chair Emerita of the coalition and one of its founders. 

Hajnalka Juhász, deputy head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, and Hungarian Ambassador to the United States Szabolcs Takács also attended the event, in addition to a number of leaders and VIPs from the Hungarian American community and the Washington, D.C. area.

The 80th anniversary of the Holocaust was also marked with an exhibit, “The Holocaust in Hungary,” and a video sharing the story of Alexander and Elisabeth Kasser, the parents of honoree Mary V. Mochary, who worked with Raoul Wallenberg to save the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the war. 

The gala was hosted at the Larz Anderson House, a historic mansion in Washington, D.C. Proceeds from the event benefit the coalition’s Dr. Elemer and Eva Kiss Scholarship Program, the Bela Bognar Family Scholarship Fund and the D.C.-based John N. Lauer Leadership Training Program. Together the programs have more than 650 alumni.