GALA 2009: Honorees

Pillar Award for Leadership

The Honorable Norm Dicks (D-WA)
United States House of Representatives

Norm Dicks, a native of Bremerton, Washington, was first elected to Congress in November 1976.   Educated in Bremerton-area elementary and secondary schools, Rep. Dicks graduated from the University of Washington in 1963.  He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1968, and later that year joined the staff of Senator Warren G. Magnuson.  Rep. Dicks served as legislative assistant until 1973, when he became the senator's administrative assistant.  He resigned from that post in early 1976 to begin what was a successful campaign for Congress in Washington State's 6th congressional district, and he has been re-elected in every election since that time.

Rep. Dicks has been an influential member of Congress on defense and national security issues.  During the 1980s, he was involved in all of the major arms control debates in Congress, and was appointed to serve as an official observer to the U.S.-Soviet arms reduction talks because of his expertise. 

Having received a rare first-term appointment to the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Dicks currently serves as the third-ranking member of that committee.  He is a member of three key Appropriations Subcommittees – Defense, Interior and Environment, and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, which are all related to the interests of the state of Washington.

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)	His Excellency Welile Nhlapo	The Honorable Edward Rendell	The Honorable Fidel Herrera Beltrán

Gala Award Descriptions (pdf)

The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is an independent, non-profit educational organization founded in 1975.  Its mission is to prepare college and university students for civic leadership through experiential education.  In this way, The Washington Center seeks to promote future leadership for the private, public and nonprofit sectors of society.  It has served approximately 40,000 students from close to 1,000 colleges and universities located in the United States and around the world.  For additional information, please visit our website at www.twc.edu.