A unique figure on the American political scene will be the keynote speaker at this year’s General George C. Marshall Leadership Award ceremony.
Washington Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib will headline the March 22 event at Providence Academy, 400 E. Evergreen Blvd.
Habib is the first (and only) Iranian-American to be elected to statewide office in the United States. Habib’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Iran before he was born.
Habib, 35, was elected Washington’s 16th lieutenant governor in 2016. Earlier, the King County Democrat served in the state House of Representatives. He then was elected to the state Senate, where he was Democratic whip and a member of the Democratic leadership team.
If You Go
• What: Gen. George C. Marshall leadership awards
• When: 6:15 p.m. March 22 (doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
• Where: Providence Academy, 400 E. Evergreen Blvd.
• Tickets: $35 (www.fortvan.org/marshallawards)
• Info: Fort Vancouver National Trust, 360-992-1805
In 2014, The Washington Post named him one of its 40 rising political stars under the age of 40.
A three-time cancer survivor, Habib has been completely blind since he was 8. Habib attended Columbia University, Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and Yale Law School.
The Marshall Award ceremony, organized by the Fort Vancouver National Trust, will recognize a youth leader and an adult leader in the community who demonstrate qualities that reflect the values and characteristics of General George C. Marshall.
Marshall lived in Vancouver from 1936 to 1938 as commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade at Vancouver Barracks. During World War II, he was Army chief of staff. He was secretary of state from 1947-1949 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild the economies of Europe and the Pacific nations after the war
The event is open to the public.
Held in the renovated first-floor ballroom, it will be the National Trust’s biggest event at Providence Academy since the nonprofit acquired the landmark about two years ago.
“It will give us a chance to showcase the Academy,” program manager Natalie Hantho said.
