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Title: Hamilton Fish Receives Larsen Award News from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America May 21, 1996 HAMILTON FISH RECEIVES LARSEN AWARD "When we display generosity toward persons escaping persecution, we not only express our compassion as a nation but also advance the foreign policy interest of the United States, set an example for other countries and reaffirm our commitment to individual freedom." With these words Mary Ann Fish accepted the Donald H. Larsen Award on behalf of her husband, Hamilton Fish Jr., retired U.S. Representative from New York. She read the speech her husband had prepared but was unable to give due to illness. The Larsen Award is the highest honor the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) bestows for "protecting human rights and well-being, building community between newcomers and their neighbors and promoting the inherent dignity of all members of the human family." Fish said, "I am very honored to receive this award named in memory of Donald Larsen, because his endeavors on behalf of refugees -- over many years -- helped to shape a generous and humane American response to the plight of persecuted people." Larsen had been head of LIRS and its predecessor organizations from 1964 until his death in 1990. Fish retired in 1995 after 26 years in the U.S. House, all of them on the Judiciary Committee, including service as ranking Republican on the immigration subcommittee. The award was given May 2, during the LIRS annual meeting in Alexandria, Va. "Your work with the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services continues to play a critical role in preventing the erosion of support for the legal immigration and refugee policies of the United States," said Fish. LIRS also gave Salt of the Earth Awards to Luther Anderson, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; My Do, Fargo, N.D.; and Ruth Longenecker, Rheems, Pa. LIRS is a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. [ELCA News and Information: 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631; phone 312/380-2958.