Johnson Publishing Company Chairman Linda Johnson Rice Receives The Links Medal
Last weekend, The Links, Incorporated, an international nonprofit service organization of professional women of color, hosted its 65th Anniversary from November 11-13 in Washington, D.C. Nearly 1200 guests from throughout the United States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, representing the 274 Links chapters, attended the weekend celebration.
(Pictured: Sherri Blount Gray - Vice General Chair, 65th Anniversary, The Links, Incorporated; Margot James Copeland - National President of The Links, Incorporated; Ms. Linda Johnson Rice - Chair Johnson Publishing Company; Marcella Jones - General Chair, 65th Anniversary, The Links, Incorporated)
The event included a rededication and ribbon cutting ceremony of The Links, Incorporated's newly renovated National Headquarters, a state of the art LEED certified building, located at 1200 Massachusetts Avenue, NW in downtown Washington D.C.
"The Links, Incorporated is proud to celebrate our 65 years of unwavering commitment to public service and the empowerment of our community. Our members continue to make a difference daily in communities across the globe and collectively helped raise over $2,000,000 dollars in 2011 for transformational programs that will continue to carry our proud legacy of service forward in the years to come," stated Margot James Copeland, National President of The Links, Incorporated.
The Marriott Wardman Park was the backdrop for a black-tie reception and gala hosted by actors Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid and featuring Grammy-award winning singer Will Downing. The evening, which was attended by many persons of note, including Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC), Mayor Vincent Gray, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya Elkana Odembo, Lynn Whitfield, and Desiree Rogers, marked the debut of the organization's highest honor bestowed upon an organization, The Links Medal, presented to Johnson Publishing Company Chairman Linda Johnson Rice on behalf of Ebony magazine.
The recipient of The Links Medal, designed by renowned sculptor and artist Ed Dwight, must have a legacy of challenging the status-quo, moving into unknown territories to create and establish permanence of position, and demonstration of making a significant and positive impact in the lives and culture of African-Americans and other persons of African ancestry.
"We at Ebony are honored and humbled to receive the inaugural Links Medal, and remain committed to our long tradition of working with The Links to inform and enrich lives," stated Linda Johnson Rice, Chairman of Johnson Publishing Company.
THE LINKS, INCORPORATED
For 65 years, The Links, Incorporated has been committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African-Americans and other persons of African ancestry. Today, a premier international service organization with more than 12,000 members in 274 chapters located in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, its legacy of friends providing service that changes lives, established by the original circle of nine friends in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1946, is alive and well. The members of The Links, Incorporated are influential decision makers and opinion leaders. The Links, Incorporated has attracted many distinguished women who are individual achievers and have made a difference in their communities and the world. They are business and civic leaders, role models, mentors, activists and volunteers who work towards a common vision by engaging like-minded organizations and individuals for partnership.
With over 2 million service hours recorded in the past three years, members regularly contribute more than 500,000 documented service hours in their respective communities annually. The Links Foundation, Incorporated, the philanthropic arm of The Links, Incorporated, has made more than $24 million dollars in charitable contributions since its founding. Working closely with its sponsors and supporters, The Links, Incorporated is focused on creating transformational programming in communities of color in Services to Youth, The Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities. For more information, visit www.linksinc.org.
