Rockville, MD. — Jim Gibbons is the 2010 National Jefferson Award recipient in the Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged category. As the current president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International and former CEO for National Industries for the Blind, Gibbons is honored for his tireless, dedicated service to enhance economic opportunities and professional development for people who are blind as well as to help people with disabilities and disadvantages reach their full potential through work.
“The Jefferson Awards celebrate a sense of duty to our fellow citizens, our communities and beyond,” said Sam Beard, founder and president of the Jefferson Awards. “Jim Gibbons has been recognized for his leadership, sacrifice and accomplishments to provide job opportunities for people at a time when so many face economic challenges.”
Known as the “Nobel Prize for Public Service,” the Jefferson Awards are presented each year during a special gala ceremony in Washington, D.C., where a broad array of honorees are recognized — from high-profile individuals who have dedicated the better part of their lives to public service, to celebrated professional athletes, to largely unheralded community-based volunteers. Also recognized are organizations — companies that represent the pinnacle in corporate citizenship and schools that best reflect the Jeffersonian ideals of citizen involvement.
“I am honored and humbled to be recognized with such an extraordinary group of award recipients,” said Gibbons. “In my role at Goodwill, I have the opportunity to serve many who may not otherwise have the chance to gain independence and dignity through the power of work.”
The 38th annual Jefferson Awards were presented on June 22, 2010 at a gala dinner and national ceremony in Washington, D.C. at the National Building Museum presented by co-founder Sam Beard. Other national Jefferson Award winners whose lives, careers and volunteer activities embody the finest examples of public service in a range of human endeavors include New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker, First Response Team of America founder Tad Skylar Agoglia, Partners in Health founder Paul Farmer, Oakland Raiders football player Nnamdi Asomugha and Charlotte Bobcats basketball player Tyrus Thomas.
For more information visit http://www.jeffersonawards.org/
