Al Gore Honored with Bennett Recognition Award
Former Vice President Al Gore was honored with a unique recognition award from Bennett Awards as the 2018 recipient of the Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award. This recognition award was established by the LBJ Foundation Board in 1992 as a tribute to Lady Bird Johnson. The award honors outstanding achievements in the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural world that embrace Mrs. Johnson's style, energy, and commitment to her work. Past recipients include U.S. Senator John Chafee, Laurance Rockefeller, Patrick Noonan, Michael Dombeck, Governor Bruce Babbitt, Ted Turner, and Ken Burns.
Gore is the founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project and Generation Investment Management, He was an early spokesperson on the dangers of global warming and its effects on the environment. His films, "An Inconvenient Truth" and "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" have been an awakening on the climate crisis and a call to action to help solve it in time.
Gore received this prestigious award on April 24 at a gala ceremony held at The Metropolitan Club in New York. Alisyn Camerota, CNN anchor and co-host of CNN's "New Day," served as Master of Ceremonies.
For this award, the LBJ Foundation presented Gore with the In Our Hands sculpture award, designed by renowned sculptor Terrie Bennett, who also has a strong commitment to the environment, the influence of which can be seen in much of her work. This unique sculpture award features two hands holding up a globe. The sculpture was cast in bronze, and featured a multi-colored patina finish. The hands have a golden brown patina, and the globe uses blue patina for the oceans and green patina for land. This sculpture was mounted on a black marble base with customized gold engraving on the front and back of the base. This is the fourth consecutive year that the “In Our Hands” sculpture was presented for this recognition award.
About the LBJ Foundation
The LBJ Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was created by President and Mrs. Johnson to support the LBJ Presidential Library and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. Through the fundraising efforts of its Board of Trustees, the Foundation provides support to the Library that enhances quality programming, expands educational outreach and exhibits, and administers grants for researchers and scholars. The Foundation supports the LBJ School in the outstanding education that it provides its graduate students in public policy and governmental affairs, community outreach, and the exploration of global initiatives. One looks to the past and the other to the future, providing an ongoing legacy for President Johnson’s accomplishments and his vision for our nation.