Sea Service Supporters Earn Honors

(ARA) - What do a world class golfer, a U. S. congressman and an international CEO have in common? They all answered the call to public service -- two in uniform and one to elected office. Whatever path they chose, sports legend Arnold Palmer, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and A. G. Lafley, chairman and CEO of Proctor and Gamble (P & G), never forgot the values instilled in them through service: love of country, honor, courage and commitment.

On Sept. 30, these distinguished citizens will be formally thanked and recognized at an awards dinner annually sponsored by the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. "Our honorees are living examples of how service to country changes lives and helps develop leaders -- whether it be in the world of sports, politics, government, the private sector or the arts," says Rear Adm. Richard A. Buchanan, U.S. Navy (Ret.), president and CEO of the United States Navy Memorial. "The common theme they all express is that their public service has made them who they are today and motivates them to continue to give back to our society."

Palmer and Lafley will receive the Lone Sailor Award, which recognizes sea service veterans who have excelled with distinction in their respective careers while exemplifying the core values of honor, courage and commitment. John McConnell, recently deceased founder of Columbus, Ohio-based Worthington Industries and a World War II Navy veteran, will receive his award posthumously.

Rep. Dicks will receive the United States Navy Memorial Foundation's Naval Heritage Award, which honors Americans who have significantly supported this nation's sea services, and whose lives and careers exemplify the core values of honor, courage and commitment.

Just as his golf career was budding, Arnold Palmer began a three-year hitch in the Coast Guard in early 1954. Later that same year, he won the U. S. Amateur Championship, turned professional, and launched one of the greatest careers in the history of the game. In the process, he became a very successful business executive, prominent advertising spokesman, skilled business jet pilot, and prominent golf course designer and consultant. He has participated in countless philanthropic activities both locally and nationally during his lifetime, among them nearly 20 years of service as honorary national chairman of the March of Dimes and more recently supporting national programs dealing with prostate cancer prevention, treatment and research. He has amassed 92 professional golf victories, including the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open and British Open championships.

A.G. Lafley began his career at P&G in 1977 and was elected president and chief executive in 2000. In the eight years since Lafley became CEO, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company has more than doubled sales from $39 billion to over $80 billion. With Lafley at the helm, P&G has generated more than $50 billion in net earnings, $50 billion in free cash flow, and the Company's market capitalization has increased more than $100 billion - to about $200 billion, making P&G one of the 15 most valuable companies in the world.

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), was first elected to represent Washington State's 6th Congressional District in 1976, and he has been re-elected in every subsequent election. Having received a rare first-term appointment to the House Appropriations Committee, Dicks currently serves as the third ranking member of that committee as well as three key appropriations subcommittees: defense, interior, and environment and military construction/veteran's affairs. Widely respected as an influential and moderate member of Congress on defense and national security issues, Dicks works closely with the Navy community based at his native Bremerton, Wash.

Past Lone Sailor Award recipients include Arnold "Red" Auerbach, Ernest Borgnine, President George Herbert Walker Bush, President Gerald Ford, Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, Sen. John Kerry, astronaut James Lovell, Sen. John McCain, James Michener, Adm. Hyman Rickover, Roger Staubach, Jonathan Winters and Herman Wouk.

For more information on the U.S. Navy Memorial's Lone Sailor Awards Dinner, or for a list of award recipients, visit www.navymemorial.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent