May 3, 2015 – The 6th annual Value of Women in our Community award ceremony was held on May 3 by Peace Islands Institute and JFK Pastoral Care Department.
Along with Metuchen city council member Dorothy Rasmussen and Middlesex Sheriff Mildred Scott, hundreds of guests from various ethnic and religious backgrounds filled the room. This year’s theme was value of small business owners in providing vital services to their communities.
The owner of Mimi’s Asian-Fusian restaurant in Metuchen, Mimi Tenglei, and the owner of Istanbul Restaurant in North Brunswick, Deniz Ozyildiz received their awards at the ceremony, while Aslihan Erkisi, who came from Turkey, entertained the guests with Turkish classical music. PII’s Southern New Jersey representative, Nuray Yurt, gave a welcoming speech, in which she noted that the aim of this event was to bring the community together so that friendships can be built, and also reminded that this program was started with the leadership of PII Honorable President, Fethullah Gulen. She noted that in recognition for his efforts to advance peace, Fethullah Gulen was given the Gandhi-King Ikeda Peace Award, past recipients of which include names such as Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela in the previous month. The night continued with the PII promotional video being shown to the guests.
Later, the head of JFK Pastoral Care, Annari Griesel, took the stage to welcome the guests as well. She noted that as well as being a vehicle for bringing the community together, this event was also causing the spread and sprouting of an international dialogue between very diverse people. She said, “we aren’t just sharing our food tonight, but also our friendship, love and hope.”
The event was concluded after Istanbul and Mimi’s Asian-Fusian restaurants treated the guests to dinner and Aslihan Erkisi gave a small concert.
