2024 Annual Dinner Celebrated Ford's 50 Anniversary of Becoming President
The backdrop for this year's annual dinner was the 50th anniversary of Gerald R. Ford's inauguration as President of the United States. What a night!
In addition to a program of gifted presenters, seven award winners and memorable presentations, guests were treated to 1974 footage of Ford's swearing in, as well as historic images of Ford's first year in office.
Watch the Program Here
Six Journalists Honored with Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize
The journalism awards committee was proud to recognize six talented journalists for their work to cover the presidency and national defense. We value these journalists’ hard work and were proud to acknowledge their exemplary reporting at our annual dinner.
Congrats to
Toluse Olorunnipa (The Washington Post)
Travis Tritten, Konstantin Toropin, Drew Lawrence and Steve Beynon (Military.com)
Carla Babb (Voice of America)
Read more about the winners here.
2024 Medal of Honor Recipient Mitch Daniels Gave William E. Simon Presentation
Each year the Foundation recognizes an individual for their incredible contributions to the public good, exemplifying the values of President Ford.
This year's recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service was Governor Mitch Daniels.
For more than half a century, Governor Mitch Daniels has transformed every arena of public service that he has entered. His service has left a mark in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, business, state government, and higher education. In every endeavor, his leadership has embraced qualities that merit admiration and that build trust between citizens and those who serve them.
The son of Mitchell and Dorothy Daniels, Mitch Daniels was born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, in April 1949. His family moved to Indiana, the state he considers home, when he was ten. A gifted student, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.
Mitch Daniels’s first great mentor was Richard Lugar, who championed the consolidation of the City of Indianapolis and Marion County. Daniels rose to be his chief of staff and followed Lugar to Washington when he was elected a U.S. Senator. During a decade in Washington, Daniels went on to serve in the Reagan White House as Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and as Director of the Office of Political Affairs before returning to Indianapolis to lead the Hudson Institute, the state’s most influential think tank.
In 1990 he spent a decade with Eli Lilly, the state’s largest corporation, rising to Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Policy. In 2001 Daniels returned to Washington as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was confirmed by the Senate 100-0, and served in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush before returning to Indiana. Running for Governor, Daniels won his first campaign for elective office and secured a second term with the largest vote for any elected official in the state’s history. As Governor, he reduced taxes, rebuilt infrastructure, and enhanced education.
Upon completing his second term as Governor, Daniels was selected as the 12th President of Purdue University, building an academic powerhouse and resisting any tuition or board rate increases during the decade of his service.
Throughout his lengthy and remarkable career, Mitch Daniels has demonstrated the personal and professional qualities President Gerald R. Ford embodied—integrity, courage, patriotism, sound judgment, and strength of character—all of which qualify him for the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
When
June 3, 2024
Program Supporters
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
