STATEHOUSE CALENDAR

The Profile in Courage Award seeks to make Americans aware of the courageous acts of their public servants, and to encourage elected officials to choose the public interest over partisanship – to do what is right, rather than what is expedient. In 2008, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner received this prestigious award.

The Profile in Courage Award was created in 1989 by members of President Kennedy's family to honor President John F. Kennedy and to recognize and celebrate the quality of political courage that he admired most.

The award recognizes a public official (or officials) at the federal, state or local level whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership in the spirit of Profiles in Courage, President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer prize-winning book, which recounts the stories of eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good.