We honored Senator Bob Dole for his major contributions to the Center�s mission of strengthening programs and policies that help low-income families, particularly in the area of nutrition, while also promoting long-term fiscal discipline. We also honored Richard Boone, as the primary architect of the Center and for his lifetime commitment to social justice.  Other luminaries including Congressman Charlie Rangel and Senator George McGovern took part in the celebration; and Mark Shields emceed the event. 

Event Speakers:

Honoree �  The Honorable Robert J. Dole Recognized as one of the most prominent political figures of our time with a distinguished record of service, Bob Dole continues to make a difference in the lives of the American people. In 1960, Dole was elected to the US House of Representatives and reelected in 1962, 1964, and 1966. He was elected to the US Senate in 1968 and was reelected in 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1992. His distinguished career in the US House and Senate includes, among many assignments, long standing service as a member of the House and Senate committees on agriculture, and Chair, Senate Finance Committee. In 1984, he was elected Senate majority leader, and thereafter served four consecutive Congresses as Senate Republican leader, until he retired from the Senate in 1996 to seek the GOP nomination for the Presidency. Dole was the Republican candidate for President of the US in 1996, and Republican candidate for Vice President in 1976.

Honoree � Richard Boone Dick Boone�s professional life has focused on social justice, helping to build opportunities for the poor, utilizing the commitment and abilities of the young, and encouraging modern communications in progressive social change.  As director of the Field Foundation he conceived and provided the first grant to launch the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities � a direct response to Reagan budget policies and their impact on the poor.  Boone�s career has been varied, including serving as police captain in the Sheriff�s office of Cook County, Illinois where he reorganized the Juvenile Bureau and later led a team confronting organized crime.  In the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations Boone worked on poverty issues. He and his team were instrumental in developing Head Start, Upward Bound, the Foster Grandparents Program and Community Health Services.  Later as director of the Citizens� Crusade Against Poverty he was central to the creation of the Citizens� Board of Inquiry Into Hunger and Malnutrition in the United States.  Its report, Hunger USA, shocked Americans into recognizing hunger as a widespread problem in this country and was a fundamental building block in the modern Food Stamp Program.  Boone�s work continued at the Center for Community Change, as director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, and eventually as director of the Field Foundation, focusing on young people, citizen advocacy,  communications, and programs to encourage political participation of the underrepresented, particularly minorities and women.

Presenter �  The Honorable George McGovern One of the most significant figures in America today, George McGovern has earned the respect of countless individuals from all political viewpoints and all walks of life. McGovern was elected to the Senate in 1962 and reelected in 1968 and 1974. As a member of the Senate committees on agriculture, nutrition, forestry; and foreign relations, and the Joint Economic Committee, he led the way in expanding key nutrition programs. In 1972, Senator McGovern was selected as the Democratic Party nominee for president. In 1976, President Gerald Ford named McGovern a United Nations delegate to the General Assembly, and, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter named him a United Nations delegate for the Special Session on Disarmament. In 2001 he was appointed the first United Nations global ambassador on hunger. In this position, McGovern continues his leadership in the battle against world hunger.

Speaker �  Congressman Charles B. Rangel Congressman Charles B. Rangel is serving his eighteenth term as the Representative from New York's 15th Congressional District, comprising East and Central Harlem, the Upper West Side, and Washington Heights/Inwood. Congressman Rangel is the Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means and Dean of the New York State Congressional Delegation. Congressman Rangel is the principal author of the five billion dollar Federal Empowerment Zone demonstration project to revitalize urban neighborhoods throughout America. He is also the author of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which is responsible for financing ninety percent of the affordable housing built in the U.S. in the last ten years.

Presenter �  Catherine Ann Bertini Following more than a decade of service to the United Nations, Catherine Bertini is on the faculty of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.  Her career spans public service at international, national, state, and local levels and includes private sector leadership and university teaching.  She was the driving force behind reform of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), where she was the Chief Executive for ten years.  Bertini was the Assistant Secretary Agriculture for Food and Consumer Services at USDA under George H.W. Bush, and as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Family Support Administration in the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the Reagan Administration. In 2003 Bertini was chosen as the World Food Prize Laureate for her leadership at the World Food Program including outreach to poor women throughout the world. In March 2007 she will be awarded the Gene White Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Nutrition from the School Nutrition Association.