Men Can Stop Rape - Strength Campaign

2006 MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2006, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. NATIONAL PRESS CLUB BALLROOM
529 14TH STREET, NW,
WASHINGTON, DC

Volunteers check in attendees.

VIP RECEPTION:
for Honorees, Sponsors, and Host Committee.

MCSR board member and Event Chair, Donna Purchase, and board president, Heather Peeler, at the VIP Reception.

Paul Charron (back row, 2nd right), Liz Claiborne CEO and National Honoree, joins local Liz Claiborne affiliates.

THE AUCTION:

Outside the reception, an attendee peruses the silent auction.

Guests make last-minute bids.

THE AWARDS PRESENTATION:

Russ Parr, Awards emcee and host of the "Russ Parr Morning Show", gets things started.

OUTSTANDING MEN OF STRENGTH CLUB MEMBER AWARD

Justin Evans, Outstanding MOST Club Honoree

JUSTIN EVANS
Graduating Senior, Three-Year-Member,
School Without Walls Senior High School, Men of Strength Club.

Justin is a young man who knows what he wants and what he values. How else can we explain at the age of 17 his passionate commitment to pursuing a professional career as a culinary chef? A young man who cooks might expect harassment from male peers, but Justin doesn't let that hamper his work in the kitchen, regularly fixing exquisite dishes for family and friends and tackling challenging, new recipes. He brings the same kind of unwavering commitment to the Men of Strength Club. “Caring” is the word Neil Irvin, National Director of the Men of Strength Club, uses to describe Justin. You don't intern at Men Can Stop Rape, you don't help plan and implement 30 Days of Strength at your school, you don't conduct workshops for other students during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and you don't serve as committee chair for “Take a MOST Club Member to Work” Day, unless you care. He cares deeply about people and is passionate about the just treatment of women and girls. That's why he joined the Men of Strength Club, why he stayed, and why he is an exceptional young Man of Strength. He is as memorable to us as the club is to him: “I'll always remember the Men of Strength Club and Men Can Stop Rape as ways for young men my age to stand for something positive. They say ‘A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.' Men of Strength and MCSR gave me something to stand for.”

Weissberg Foundation's Executive Director, Illene Trachtenberg, before presenting MOST Club Honoree Justin Evans with the honorary $1,000 scholarship.

Neil Irvin, MCSR Men of Strength Club National Director presents Justin with the award plaque.

VISIBLE ALLY AWARD

MCSR Executive Director, Patrick Lemmon, presents United for DC's Executive Director, Catherine S. Marquette, with the Visible Ally Award.

Patrick Lemmon, before presenting Catherine with her award.

MEN OF STRENGTH AWARD, WASHINGTON DC HONOREE

Men of Strength Awards Washington DC Honoree, Preetmohan Singh

PREETMOHAN SINGH
Senior Policy Analyst, Interfaith Alliance
Volunteer, Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project

At a time when political and religious divisions are dismembering communities nationwide, when one group of people looks at another harboring fear and suspicion, and when we wonder from day-to-day how this country will manage to hold itself together, we need people like Preetmohan Singh. Through his position as Senior Policy Analyst at The Interfaith Alliance, he strengthens and enlarges our sense of community by advocating for religious liberty on behalf of Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs – over 70 faith traditions in all. Preetmohan is currently collaborating with an award-winning filmmaker on documenting post-9/11 hate crimes, and previously he produced a multimedia educational project promoting respect for all children in schools. As someone committed to all members of the national community, Preetmohan has also been a strong ally of women. At the Interfaith Alliance, he lobbies for expansion of hate crimes legislation to include violence against women and the LGBT community as protected categories. He serves on the National Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization committed to ensuring women's rights through advocacy and litigation, and he volunteers for the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project (DVRP). During his time as former National Director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), a national civil rights organization, he increased the representation of women on the organization's governing board and instituted an award named for Dorothy Height, a pioneer in the civil rights movement. Preetmohan Singh's expansive vision explains why he works tirelessly to advocate for the rights of women as well as the religious liberties of a broad expanse of faith traditions, and why we honor him as a Man of Strength.

Russ Parr introduces the night's National Honoree.

MEN OF STRENGTH AWARD, NATIONAL HONOREE

Men of Strength Award National Honoree, Paul Charron

PAUL CHARRON
Chairman and CEO, Liz Claiborne, Inc.

According to the Department of Labor, domestic violence causes lower worker productivity, absenteeism, and increased medical expenses, costing U.S. companies a whopping five billion dollars annually. Even in the face of this startling statistic, employers overwhelmingly treat domestic violence as a non-critical workplace issue. Paul Charron is one of the exceptions. In the fall of 2002, speaking at a conference sponsored by the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, he told other CEOs and corporate staff that addressing domestic violence in the workplace was a “no-brainer.” He has appeared on ABC's World News Tonight to talk about DV programs in the workplace and has traveled extensively, from Louisville, KY to Washington, DC to Australia, to speak about the role of the corporate world in addressing relationship violence. As a “Founding Father” for the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Paul has contacted business colleagues across the country, asking them to implement the Founding Father's workplace campaign. Within his own company he has been instrumental in advancing “Love Is Not Abuse,” a comprehensive first-of-its kind corporate domestic violence prevention program initiated in 1991 as a way of giving back to those who have made Liz Claiborne successful – its consumers and employees. Offering educational resources to help young boys and girls, teenagers, college students, corporate executives, employees and parents, “Love is Not Abuse” serves as resource for all members of society. If it is the case, as Paul Charron claims, that he learned “relatively late in the game about the importance of men understanding and speaking out against issues like domestic violence and sexual assault,” then his impact has been deep and dramatic in a short time. As a Man of Strength, Paul Charron imbues the world of business with a human heart that not only transforms the workplace, but also the families and communities in which we live.

The night's honorees gather for a group photo. From left to right: Justin Evans, MOST Club Honoree; Paul Charron, National Honoree, Cashea Blyden, "Strong Words" Essay Contest Winner; Catherine Marquette, Visible Ally Honoree; and Preetomohan Singh, Washington DC Honoree.

Other articles from MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS:

MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS
PAST HONOREES
2008 MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS
2007 10TH ANNIVERSARY GALA
2006 MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS
2005 MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS
2004 MEN OF STRENGTH AWARDS