Contact: Carrie Blewitt
Qorvis Communications
(202) 683-3216
cblewitt@qorvis.com

The Horatio Alger Association Announces its 2009 Horatio Alger Award Recipients
Newest Class of American Success Stories Represents Motion Picture, Hospitality, Finance and Energy Industries

WASHINGTON, DC – December 8, 2008 – The Board of Directors of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. is pleased to announce its 2009 Horatio Alger Award Recipients. The eleven outstanding individuals, who have accomplished remarkable achievements through hard work, self-reliance and perseverance, are:

• James S.C. Chao, Chairman, Foremost Group
• David Foster, Producer, Composer and Arranger, Reprise Records / 143 Records
• Clayton Paul Hilliard, President/Owner, Badger Oil Corporation
• Rebecca MacDonald, Founder and Executive Chair, Energy Savings Income Fund
• Michael G. Morris, Chairman, President & CEO, American Electrical Power
• Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Inc.
• Carl H. Ricker, Jr., Founder, Chairman and CEO, Azalea Holdings; Partner, Campus Crest Communities; Chairman, Executive Comm. Capital Bank Corp; Co-Founder and Chairman, MXT Card Services, LLC
• Thomas Joseph Shannon, Jr. Founder, T-Bird Restaurant Group, Inc.; Founder, Village Development Co.
• Denzel Washington, Academy Award Winning Actor and Director
• Robert Lee Wright, Chairman, FE Holdings, Inc.
• Stephen A. Wynn, Chairman, Mirage Resorts, Inc.

“Despite an uncertain and turbulent financial climate in our country, the Class of 2009 signifies our continued growth as a non-profit organization and ensures that our mission to provide need-based scholarships to young people will live on,” said President and CEO of the Horatio Alger Association, David L. Sokol.

Members of the Association are the select few who have been honored with the Horatio Alger Award. Recipients are dedicated community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence as illustrated by extraordinary achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity. Potential Members must have a strong commitment to assisting those less fortunate and be willing to contribute to the mission of providing scholarships for younger generations.

Rebecca MacDonald of Canada will receive the International Horatio Alger Award, which is annually presented to a citizen of another country. Qualifications are similar to the Horatio Alger Award: recipients must have overcome humble beginnings or adversity to achieve success and serve as outstanding role models to the international community.

During the Awards events, the 2009 Norman Vincent Peale Award will be presented to Chairman Emeritus Walter Scott, Jr. The Norman Vincent Peale Award is annually conferred on an Association Member who has made exceptional humanitarian contributions to society, who has been an active participant in the Association, and who continues to exhibit courage, tenacity and integrity in the face of great challenges. The Award is named in honor of Dr. Peale who was an outstanding leader of the Association for more than 40 years. 

Walter Scott, Jr., received the Horatio Alger Award in 1997.  He currently serves on the Association’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors. He is Chairman of the Board of Level 3 Communications, Inc., one of the largest communications and Internet companies in the world.  He also serves on the Board of Berkshire Hathaway.  Trained as a civil engineer, Scott is the former CEO of Peter Kiewit Sons' Incorporated, which has built more miles of the U.S. Interstate Highway System than any other contractor.

Mr. Scott and his wife founded the non-profit Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation, which funded the Scott Atrium & Education Center at University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the Scott Technology Center in Omaha. As one of the most generous philanthropists in America, Scott has continuously supported efforts to provide opportunities for America’s youth. Scott told his own children when they were growing up “... the greatest thing you can do in life is to be a giver because the world already has plenty of takers.”

“We are so proud to have such a diverse and accomplished representation of the American Dream in our 2009 Members,” said Horatio Alger Chairman Joseph Neubauer. “We look forward to formally inducting the eleven outstanding individuals in April.”

The new members will be inducted next spring in Washington, D.C. at the Horatio Alger Awards Induction Ceremonies. Festivities will commence on Thursday, April 2, 2009 and include three days of meetings and celebrations in some of the nation’s most historic buildings. The Horatio Alger National Scholars, remarkable high school seniors, are also formally honored during the three-day gathering. Members of the press who have questions may contact Carrie Blewitt with Qorvis at (202) 683-3216.

About The Horatio Alger Association

Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans continues to fulfill its mission of honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals in our society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education. The Horatio Alger Association offers three annual scholarship programs: the National Scholarship Program and state scholarship programs, available to high school seniors in all 50 states, and the Horatio Alger Military Veterans Scholarship Program for U.S. veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The Association awards more than $10 million annually in college scholarships and has given over $63 million to deserving students since 1984. The Association is a 2008 Combined Federal Campaign participant, ID# 77062. For more information about the scholarships, please visit www.horatioalger.org.

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