Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans
Encyclopedia
| Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. | |
| Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for 2010-2012: | Paul Anthony Novelly, President and CEO David L. Sokol David L. Sokol David L. Sokol was a Chairman, President and CEO of NetJets along with Chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, of which Berkshire Hathaway holds a 100% and 89.8% stake respectively. He resigned March 28, 2011, amid an insider trading scandal.-Early life:The youngest of five children,... , Chairman Delores M. Kesler, Vice President Joseph Neubauer Joseph Neubauer Joseph Neubauer, born in Israel in 1941 is a Jewish-American businessman and the CEO of Aramark Corporation. Before joining Aramark, he served as vice-president at PepsiCo and Chase Manhattan Bank. Neubauer is listed at #82 on Fortune's top paid CEO list.... , Immediate Past Chairman George L. Argyros, Chairman Emeritus and Treasurer Dennis R. Washington, Chairman Emeritus Walter Scott, Jr. Walter Scott, Jr. Walter Scott, Jr. is an American civil engineer, philanthropist, and former CEO of Peter Kiewit Sons' Incorporated. Scott was the 1997 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award and consistently ranks among the wealthiest Americans. He sits on the Board of Berkshire Hathaway, and is a childhood friend... , Chairman Emeritus Chris Thomas Sullivan, Member at Large Anthony Welters, Member at Large |
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| Founders: | Dr. Kenneth Beebe and Norman Vincent Peale |
| Status: | 501(c)(3) non profit |
| Website: | http://www.horatioalger.org |
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
based in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
s who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphasize the importance of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
. The association is named for Horatio Alger, a 19th century author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of hundreds of dime novel
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
s in the "rags-to-riches" genre, extolling the importance of perseverance and hard work.
The association gives the annual Horatio Alger Award to exemplars of its ideals. It also grants scholarships, and describes itself as the largest provider of need-based scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s in the United States. All scholarships are funded by the generosity of the members of the Horatio Alger Association.
Scholarship programs
The Horatio Alger Association has one of the largest, privately funded, need-based college scholarship programs in the United States. Scholarships offered include the National Scholarship, State Scholarships and the Dennis R. Washington Achievement Scholarship.National Scholars
The National Scholars Program was created in 1984 to help American high school seniors who had overcome adversity to attend collegeCollege
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. Over time the Horatio Alger Association has expanded the program. Every year, the association awards more than 100 scholarships to students from every U.S. state and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Grants received by these National Scholars are valued at $20,000 each. Recipients are sent to an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where they meet association members, attend the Horatio Alger Awards Ceremony, and learn about the federal government and the American free enterprise system. Since its inception in 1984, the program has awarded more than $70 million in college scholarships.
In 2010, the association gave $20,000 scholarships to 104 high school seniors. Also, thanks to Force10 Networks, in recent years each recipient was given a wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
-enabled computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
for use in college.
State Scholarship
The association also operates a State Scholars program that gives scholarships to students in 23 stateU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s. Award amounts range from $2,500 and $10,500.
Dennis R. Washington Achievement Scholarship
Alumni recipients of the National Scholarship are eligible to receive the Dennis R. Washington Achievement Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to alumni recipients of the National Scholarship who are seeking graduate and doctoral degrees. The program is funded by a $10 million grant from Horatio Alger member Dennis R. Washington, and his wife, Phyllis.Horatio Alger Award
The association annually bestows the Horatio Alger Award on outstanding Americans who exemplify dedication, purpose, and perseverance in their personal lives. Each award recipient becomes a lifetime Member of the association.The annual award series was inaugurated in 1947 by Kenneth Beebe of the American Schools and Colleges Association. In 1946 he had given achievement awards to two New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
businessmen. In 1947, he renamed the award for Horatio Alger and made four awards to businessmen. Recipients in subsequent years have included business and government leaders, athletes, entertainment, innovators, entrepreneurs, healers, teachers, artists, and writers who have overcome adversity and achieved great success. Currently, approximately ten American awardees are announced each year. Additionally, each year since 2003 an International Horatio Alger Award has been presented to a citizen of another country who serves as a role model and embodies the ideals promoted by the association.
Awardees have included:
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