2 LIers Recognized For Receiving Presidential Medal Of Freedom

LONG ISLAND, NY — Two Long island residents were celebrated Monday for receiving the nation's highest civilian honor — the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined together in Hauppauge to honor Rev. Father Alexander Karloutsos of Southampton and nurse Sandra Lindsay, director of patient care services in critical care at at Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Medical Center — both were awarded the prestigious honor by PresidentJoe Biden on July 7.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors, officials said.

Karloutsos of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons and Lindsay of Port Washington, the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccination in the United States, were both lauded for their dedication.

Karloutsos, known to all as Father Alex, had members of his family present, including his granddaughter Xanthi Lazarakis, wh0 spoke from her heart about her "papou."

"I had a woman once say to me how hard it must be not to have my grandfather around," Xanthi said. "I was fortunate to tell her h0w wrong she was."

Her grandparents live with her and her parents, Xanthi said, and she has spent countless mornings cuddling with them while watching the news. "From a young age my papou has taught me to express my opinion, but more important, to be educated on the subject at hand before speaking on it."

Her grandfather, she said, has helped to cultivate her love of literature, politics, and Hellenic culture. "Through his work in religious freedom and with the Greek-American community and the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero, he has taught me more about loving community, in addition to being on time and hardworking and committed, than I could possibly put into words."

At his core, she said, is man who loves his wife and family and has set a lifelong example.

She and her papou still swap books and talk in the car.

Recently, she and four friends were in the car with her grandfather when President Joe Biden called to say he was being honored with the medal.

"My friends went dead silent and their jaws dropped," she said. When she learned her grandfather would be recognized she hugged him and said, "Axios," which means "worthy, she said.

The President, she said, "told my grandfather he loved him and respected him."

Bellone said, of Father Alex, that he rose from a simple parish priest to become and advisor to presidents, one of the highest-ranking individuals in the Greek-Orthodox Church. But he will "counsel and comfort you all the same — President of the United States or member of his loyal parish — or the county executive," Bellone said.

Father Alex has dedicated his life to public service, opening his church during the pandemic to offer a vaccination clinic, giving hope to all denominations during a time of uncertainty and fear, Bellone said. "He is the living embodiment of the American creed, E Pluribus Unum, 'Out of many, one,'" he said.

July 19 was forever named Father Alexander Karloutsos Day.

Father Alex said all came from different lands and traditions, "but we were blessed to come to the United States of America." He said Nassau and Suffolk were "two lungs of the same body" and when united, all are stronger.

"When Long Island is strong, New York is strong and when New York is strong, the United States is strong," he said, blessing the troops who put their lives at risk. "Common sense people find common ground."

Lindsay was also honored for her bravery, being the first in the nation to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Blakeman said during the pandemic, people didn't know what to expect. "The nation was in quarantine and people were worried. They needed spirituality and courage — people who would stand up."

Lindsay did just that, he said. "Sandra decided she was going to step up to the plate and she demonstrated tremendous courage," he said, adding that all essential workers who showed up for work every day even as people were losing their lives, were to be commended.

"For you to be the first in America to take the vaccine, it gave people the feeling that there is an end to this — that there is hope," Blakeman said.

Lindsay reflected: "The White House has said we represent the power of possibility and embody the soul of a nation." And, while it has been a "whirlwind" to be surrounded by so many accomplished people, the honor marks the "resiliency and bravery of all the healthcare workers" during the pandemic.

Challenges such as mental health and student debt must still be faced so healing can take place, she said. Other issues include health care equity or women and those in underserved communities.

President Biden discussed the death of his son Bo with her, she said. "He said doctors tried hard to save his life but it was the nurses, by Bo's side who acted 'as angels on this earth,'"she said.