WILD ABOUT HARRY 2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
WILD ABOUT HARRY RAISES MORE THAN $1 MILLION FOR PRESIDENT TRUMAN’S “CLASSROOM FOR DEMOCRACY”
Muehlebach Tower ★ Kansas City Marriott Downtown
1213 Wyandotte, Kansas City, Missouri
HONORARY CHAIRS ★ David Von Drehle & the late Karen Ball (1961-2023)
EVENT CHAIRS ★ Merilyn & Dr. Loren Berenbom
Wild About Harry, the 25th annual benefit for Harry S. Truman’s presidential library and legacy, raised more than $1,000,000 for civics and history programs at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum. The April 18 event at Kansas City’s historic Muehlebach Hotel—President Truman’s hometown political HQ—attracted nearly 800 attendees to the fundraising dinner, which included an underwriters’ reception, social hour, live music, three-course dinner and an unforgettable program featuring author Evan Thomas and Senator Roy Blunt, recipient of the 2024 Harry S. Truman Legacy of Leadership Award.
It’s not too late to be part of this WILD-ly successful event, and your support is vital. People come from around the world to explore the archives, tour the museum and honor President Truman’s courageous leadership.
But the real value of the Truman Library lies is in Truman’s vision. Anyone, he believed, could change the world, so long as they had an understanding of history and the courage to stand up for what’s right. This model of leadership is invaluable to the rising generation, and it is at the heart of the Truman Library Institute’s important mission.
Your support opens the doors for tens of thousands of students and teachers each year. These students count on the civics and history programs at the Truman Library, just as America is counting on their service and leadership in the years to come.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Evan Thomas | Best-selling Author, Historian & Journalist
Evan Thomas is a celebrated journalist, historian, and New York Times best-selling author. He has authored 11 books that illuminate pivotal moments and influential personalities in American history, including John Paul Jones, First: Sandra Day O’Connor, Sea of Thunder, and Being Nixon.
Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for 33 years at Time and Newsweek, including 10 years as Newsweek‘s bureau chief. He was pivotal in spearheading Newsweek‘s award-winning coverage on the war on terror from the Washington, D.C. bureau. His reporting and writing on the terror events of September 11 and the Iraq War contributed to Newsweek‘s being honored with the most prestigious awards in the magazine industry—the National Magazine Award for General Excellence for 2002 and 2004. In 2005, his 50,000-word narrative of the 2004 election was honored when Newsweek won a National Magazine Award for the best single topic issue.
He appears regularly on television and radio talk shows and has taught writing and journalism at Harvard and Princeton. His newest book is Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II.
HONOREE
The Hon. Roy Blunt | Harry S. Truman Legacy of Leadership Award
Senator Roy Blunt is the Chairman of the Leadership Strategies Advisory Services group at Husch Blackwell Strategies. He is an Executive Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC, Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Geospatial Agency of the U.S. Government and serves on the Boards of Southwest Airlines and Tenet Healthcare. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Danforth Plant Science Center and is a member of the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Senator Blunt’s career in the U.S. Congress includes representing the state of Missouri for 12 years in the United States Senate and 14 years in the United States House of Representatives. Among his many achievements in the Congress, Senator Blunt is one of only two Americans in congressional history to be elected to leadership positions by his colleagues in both the House and the Senate.
In the United States Senate, Roy served as Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and Senate Rules Committee and led the Presidential Inaugural Committees for the 45th and 46th Presidents of the United States. In addition, Senator Blunt was a member of the Appropriations and Commerce Committees as well as the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
As Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, he prioritized federal funding and resources while also raising awareness on critical issues including increased investment in medical research. Senator Blunt has been recognized by numerous health research advocates for his leadership during the COVID crisis and in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease research and mental health. The National Institutes of Health named the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in his honor.
Prior to his tenure in Congress, Senator Blunt was a history teacher, a university president, a county official, and Missouri’s Secretary of State.
Senator Blunt is actively involved in promoting and preserving the arts and history. He has served as a member of the Smithsonian Council of American Art, a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, and currently serves as President of the State Historical Society of Missouri.
LOOK WHO’S WILD ABOUT HARRY
Hats Off to Our 25th Anniversary Sponsors
Your Support Matters
Thank you for supporting President Truman’s “Classroom for Democracy.”
#WAH2024 #WILDABOUTHARRY @TRUMANLIBINST
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