Raymond James in the News

Pictured, left to right are: Chris Sullivan, dinner chair, Hon. Charles E. Cobb, Jr. Trustee of Woodrow Wilson Center, Hon. Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chairman of Woodrow Wilson Center, General David Petraeus, Tom James and Sander R. Gerber, Vice Chairman of the Woodrow Wilson Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Sharon McCarter
Phone: (202) 691-4016
sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org

Woodrow Wilson Awards Dinner Honors General Petraeus and Thomas James in St. Petersburg, Florida

WASHINGTON—The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution presented the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service to General David  H. Petraeus and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship to Thomas A. James at a dinner November 9, 2009, at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida. Chris T. Sullivan served as the dinner chairman of this prestigious event. For more information, please visit www.wilsoncenter.org/awards/tampabay2009.

“These two leaders personify the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Their contributions have been numerous and significant, and it gives me great pleasure that the Board of Trustees has chosen to recognize such worthy honorees,” said Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Commander of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus is one of our nation’s great public servants, a man whose heroism has been steeled in combat and broadened through the responsibility of leadership. He has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to serve the American people, most recently as Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, where his strategy in counterinsurgency tactics reshaped the operations to lead to great gains in security.

A successful businessman and committed philanthropist, Thomas James is a model representative of corporate citizenship. As Chairman and CEO of Raymond James Financial, he runs one of the nation’s most respected investment and financial planning services firms. James has also set an example for corporate leaders nationwide, by investing back in the community through which he built his success. He supports numerous important causes including the United Way, Florida Council on Economic Education, the Salvador Dalí Museum and the recently opened Raymond James Theatre, home to the American Stage Theatre Company.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by the U.S. Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the living, national memorial to the United States’ 28^th president. The Center is one of three American institutions (along with the National Gallery of Art and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) created by congressional statute to perform a national mission within the Smithsonian Institution and is governed by its own independent Board of Trustees appointed by the U.S. President.

A nonpartisan institution supported by public and private funds, the Center explores national and global issues through free, open, and informed dialogue. The Honorable Joseph B. Gildenhorn is chairman of the Board of Trustees, and previously served as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland (1983–1993). Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center, served as a member of Congress for 34 years and provided service as vice chairman of the independent 9/11 Commission. He also served as co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State James Baker.

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www.wilsoncenter.org/awards/tampabay2009