The Jefferson Awards Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both local and national levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition. Local winners come from national networks of "Media Partners" and "Corporate Champions", from the associated "Students In Action", Lead360, and the GlobeChangers programs. The Jefferson Awards Foundation is led by its CEO, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, its president, Sam Beard, and its chairman, Jack Russi, in conjunction with the Foundation's board of governors.

National awards

The awards are presented each year during a ceremony in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where a broad array of honorees are recognized. Also recognized are organizations – companies that represent the pinnacle in corporate citizenship and academic institutions that best reflect the Jeffersonian ideals of citizen involvement.

History

In 1972,

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

, U.S. Senator Robert Taft Jr., and Samuel Beard founded the Jefferson Awards for Public Service to establish a prize for public and community service. The Jefferson Awards are led by the Board of Selectors who choose the national winners and oversee the activities of the organization. Co-founder, Sam Beard, is currently the President & CEO.

Jefferson Awards Foundation

The Jefferson Awards Foundation is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that "recognizes, inspires and activates volunteerism and

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

in communities, workplaces and schools across America."

List of all past national winners

Local awards partners (partial listing)

In 1977, the Jefferson Awards began partnering with local newspapers and television stations. * WQAD-TV *

WXOW WXOW (channel 19) is a television station in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by Allen Media Group. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Houston County, Minnesota, C ...

* KPIX *

WRTV WRTV (channel 6) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Meridian Street (Indianapolis), Mer ...

(Multiplying Good awards) * KBTX ** KBTX 2023 award * KOAA

References