Photo Gallery: United States Olympic Endowment Awards Luncheon
by U.S. Olympic Endowment
On December 23 at a luncheon in New York, the United States Olympic Endowment presented a prestigious award to Gordon Crawford, Chairman of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, in recognition of his commitment and contribution to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements. The 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team were also recognized.
The USOE recognized Crawford as the recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Award. This award, the organization’s highest honor, is named for the legendary American military hero and 1926 president of the American Olympic Committee. It is presented to individuals who have dedicated their lifetime to sport, to America’s athletes, and to the spirit of the Olympic Games.
Previous MacArthur Award recipients include New York Yankees owner and former USOC Vice President George Steinbrenner; Nobel Peace Prize winner, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and USOC president William Simon; and former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger.
The 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team was named the recipient of the George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award. The award is presented annually to honor outstanding members of the Olympic and Paralympic family who have contributed to sport through management, sport organization endeavors or the enhancement of competitive opportunities, and who have displayed qualities of leadership, ethical conduct and dedicated responsibility during a longstanding commitment to sport.
The 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team received the William E. Simon Award, given to an individual or group who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Simon – the award’s namesake – was president of the USOC from 1981-85 and served as secretary of the treasury for three years under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
The USOE was established by the USOC in 1984 to administer and invest the corpus of endowed funds that resulted from the surplus of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. A nonprofit organization, its objective is to support the USOC and its member organizations, with the overall aim of enhancing Olympic and Paralympic sports in the United States. A separate entity from the USOC, the USOE’s net assets have grown to approximately $200 million while awarding grants to the USOC and its member organizations totaling $300 million over the last 31 years.