GenerationEngage Honors Paul Rieckhoff at First Annual Lewis Cullman Civic Engagement Award Benefit
IAVA Executive Director Recognized for Outstanding National Service

What: On January 31st, GenerationEngage will honor Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq War veteran and Founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) with its inaugural Lewis Cullman Civic Engagement Award.  The award recognizes a young leader who has taken on an issue and is utilizing the political process and civic debate to affect change; like the award’s namesake, each recipient employs restless passion in the pursuit of a more responsive and representative society.  “Paul is an ideal role model for our members,” said GenerationEngage co-founder and National Program Director, Justin Rockefeller, “Not only did he serve his country with valor in Iraq, but also he continues to serve it through grassroots and political efforts.  Paul is a restless change-maker and a worthy recipient of the GenGage Civic Engagement Award.”

Paul Rieckhoff added: "It is a tremendous honor to receive the inaugural GenerationEngage Lewis Cullman Civic Engagement Award.  Lewis Cullman is a man of extraordinary talent and generosity and I am humbled to accept an award named for him; his life of service and personal dedication are an inspiration. This award is especially meaningful to me because Mr. Cullman is a decorated World War II veteran who has continued to serve our country far beyond his time in uniform.  That John C. Whitehead, winner of the Presidential Citizens Medal and another decorated WW2 veteran, will present the award to me adds greatly to the honor.  I am grateful that IAVA’s efforts to improve the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families are being recognized in such a significant way.”

Founded in November of 2004, GenerationEngage is a youth civic engagement effort with over 30,000 members (most without the benefit of a four-year university experience), offices in six cities, and a national network of tens of thousands which utilize GenerationEngage.org to watch, share, and respond to GenGage political events.  GenGage members have spoken with Bill Clinton, Coretta Scott King, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, Colin Powell, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Hagel, Nancy Pelosi, John Edwards, Justice Stephen Breyer, and many others.

Following a 300% increase in youth voter participation in the Iowa and New Hampshire Caucuses and fresh off the heels of GenGage’s successful event with four 2008 Presidential hopefuls, the Lewis Cullman Benefit is further validation of GenerationEngage’s effort to transform the political process into a dialogue, with young people ages 16-30 empowered to participate.

Lewis Cullman: Award Namesake                                                                                       
Lewis Cullman (http://www.lewiscullman.com/) was a meteorologist in the Navy in World War II and went on to pioneer the first leveraged buyout in 1964.  Through philanthropy and direct involvement, he has become a model of civic engagement.  His memoir is entitled Can’t Take It With You — The Art of Making and Giving Money.

John C. Whitehead - Award presenter                                                                                                
John C. Whitehead is currently Chairman of AEA Investors, Inc., and former Chair of The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and of Goldman Sachs.  He is a decorated WWII veteran, former Deputy Secretary of State under President Reagan, and recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal.  His memoir is A Life In Leadership: From D-Day to Ground Zero.

Paul Rieckhoff: Award Recipient                                                                                            
Paul Rieckhoff is the Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org). Rieckhoff, a 1998 graduate of Amherst College, worked as a high school football coach and Investment Analyst on Wall Street before serving a year-long deployment in Iraq.  Rieckhoff founded IAVA when he returned from Iraq in 2004.  It is the country’s first and largest non-profit and nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 80,000 active veteran members and grassroots supporters nationwide. Through education, advocacy and community, IAVA works to improve the lives of this country’s newest generation of veterans and their families. Rieckhoff is also the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Chasing Ghosts.

GenerationEngage: GenerationEngage (www.generationengage.org) is a non-partisan 501(c)3 youth civic engagement initiative that connects young Americans to political leaders, to other civic organizations, and to meaningful debate about the future they will inherit.  GenerationEngage is built on three principles: 1) Young people suffer not from a lack of interest, but from a lack of access; 2) Our democracy should be a dialogue, not a monologue; 3) The best investment we can make in the future of our democracy is in young leaders at the local level.