Jefferson-Lincoln Awards

The thirteenth annual Jefferson-Lincoln Awards: An Evening to Honor Lives of Public Service drew a sold-out audience to the beautiful Inn at Spanish Bay at Pebble Beach on Saturday, November 10, 2012. The honorees, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and CNN anchor Candy Crowley, received standing ovations from an overflow crowd.

All three speakers expressed their hopes for a bipartisan approach to our nation’s problems in President Obama’s second term, and their gratitude for the honor of serving this great country.

“In the aftermath of the hard-fought presidential election, with increasing partisanship in both government and journalism, these three honorees stand out as evidence that cooperation and fair-minded approaches to solving our country’s problems are still possible in today’s national dialogue,” said Panetta Institute Co-Director Sylvia Panetta.

The annual event, featuring a dinner of gourmet food and wine, honors policy makers and journalists whose work best exemplifies public service and dedicated effort on behalf of the greatness of our nation.

Congressman Hoyer (D-MD) is Democratic Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives. In that role, he has encouraged members of both parties to work toward compromise and move away from narrow partisan concerns. Representatives on both sides of the aisle recognize Congressman Hoyer as an effective leader and committed consensus builder who knows how to get things done. He is a well-known leader in the field of education and also is a respected voice on human and civil rights.

Secretary LaHood is a former Republican U.S. congressman from Illinois who serves in the Obama administration as Secretary of Transportation. In Congress, he served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and on the House Appropriations Committee. As secretary, he works across regional lines, across party lines and between people who come to the issues with different perspectives. He recently commented: “Transportation today is not simply about building new roads or widening bridges. It’s about looking at how people want to get where they need to go and how they are affected in different ways by the decisions we make.”

Ms. Crowley is well known to viewers of her Sunday morning talk show, State of the Union with Candy Crowley. She has won several major journalism awards for her coverage of campaigns and candidates from both political parties. She is known around Washington for her aggressive and comprehensive coverage that rises above narrow partisan issues. She also won praise this year for her role as moderator of the town hall-style presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York on October 16.

The annual event serves as the Panetta Institute’s major fundraiser with monies raised going to support the Institute’s mission to inspire men and women to lives of public service and its related programs.

Jefferson-Lincoln honorees are selected by a special committee consisting of former U.S. Senators Howard Baker and Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton, Institute Chairman Leon E. Panetta and Institute Co-Director Sylvia Panetta.

The Jefferson-Lincoln Awards are made possible thanks to the generosity of a variety of individuals and organizations who have joined a growing list of sponsors and hosts for the event. For information on how to become a sponsor for next year’s event, please contact the Panetta Institute at 831-582-4200.

In 2012, the following people and organizations served as sponsors and hosts:

DIGNITARY TABLE SPONSORS

Sue and Bob Antle

California State University, Monterey Bay

Debra and George Couch

Sherry DeBoer

 

TABLE SPONSORS

 

 

Previous Jefferson-Lincoln honorees include:

Year 2011

• Robert Gates (R) 22nd Secretary of Defense
• Alice Rivlin, former director, Office of Management and Budget
• Wolf Blitzer, CNN lead political anchor

Year 2010

• Tom Brokaw, Special Correspondent, NBC Nightly News
• Cokie Roberts, Senior News Analyst, NPR and ABC News
• David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times

Year 2009

• Bernard Shaw, Anchor Emeritus, CNN
• Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
• Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor and Anchor, PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

Year 2008

• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
• U.S. Representative Jane Harman (D) 36th District of California
• U.S. Representative Jim Saxton, (R) 3rd District of New Jersey
• Ron Brownstein, Political Director, Atlantic Media

Year 2007

• David Broder, National Political Correspondent, The Washington Post
• Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent, PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• Belva Davis, Television Journalist, KQED

Year 2006

• U.S. Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R) 24th District of New York
• U.S. Representative Ike Skelton (D) 4th District of Missouri

Year 2005

• U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R) of Maine
• U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) of California
• U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D) of Connecticut

Year 2004

• U.S. Senator John Breaux (D) of Louisiana
• U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine

Year 2003

• William Cohen (R) 20th Secretary of Defense
• Norman Mineta (D) 14th Secretary of Transportation
• U.S. Representative Marty Meehan (D) 5th District of Massachusetts
• U.S. Representative Christopher Shays (R) 4th District of Connecticut

Year 2002

• U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D) of Wisconsin
• U.S. Senator John McCain (R) of Arizona

Year 2001

• U.S. Representative John Murtha (D) 12th District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. Representative Bill Young (R) 10th District of Florida

Year 2000

• U.S. Senator John Chafee (R) of Rhode Island Posthumously
• U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D) of New York

To view the invitation for this event, click here.