LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The sixth annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards will take place Thursday evening at the Omni Louisville Hotel. The fundraising gala celebrates individuals from around the world who are driven to becoming change agents for the common good. In addition to awards given to seasoned humanitarians, six young people age 30 and under, will be honored with an award for each of Muhammad Ali's Six Core Principles: Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect and Spirituality.
Lonnie Ali, Co-Founder of the Muhammad Ali Center and widow of Muhammad Ali, said, "Like Muhammad, by their example these awardees serve as role models to all of us, and they help to ensure that the legacy Muhammad left on this world continues to inspire, transform, and ignite positive change. If there was a time for the power of his example to be heeded, it is now."
The 2018 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awardees:
- Dr. Pearse Lyons (Posthumous), founder of Alltech, Inc. will be honored with the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Lifetime Achievement. His wife and co-founder, Deirdre Lyons, and son and current CEO & president, Dr. Mark Lyons, will accept the award.
- Dave Eggers, author, organizer, and founder of 826 National, will receive the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Education.
- Amy Carlson, actor, activist and passionate advocate for women's rights, will receive the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Gender Equality.
- Sister Larraine Lauter, co-founder of Water with Blessings, will be honored as the Muhammad Ali Kentucky Humanitarian.
The 2018 Muhammad Ali Six Core Principle Awardees:
- Sheldon Smith, age 29, Chicago, The Dovetail Project will be honored with the Confidence Award.
- Kushagra Srivastava, age 23, New Delhi, India, Chakr Innovation will receive the Conviction Award.
- Lisa Curtis, age 30, California, Kuli Kuli will be honored with the Dedication Award.
- Alexandria Lafci, age 28, United States, New Story, will receive the Giving Award.
- Alex Holmes, age 30, United Kingdom, The Diana Award will receive the Respect Award.
- Reyna Montoya, age 27, Arizona, Aliento will be honored with the Spirituality Award.
To learn more about each awardee, visit https://alicenter.org/news.
The 2018 hosts and presenters are:
- Akbar Gbajabiamila, co-host of NBC's America Ninja Warrior and NFL Network's Fantasy Live.
- Lonnie Ali, Co-Founder of the Muhammad Ali Center, widow of Muhammad Ali, and advocate for children's rights and Parkinson's disease research.
- Juan Williams, a journalist, author and political analyst for Fox News Channel.
- Martin Luther King III, the son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, and serves as an ambassador of his parent's legacy of nonviolent social change.
- Heather French Henry, Miss America in 2000 and current Deputy Commissioner of the KY Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Captain Niloofar Rahmani, the first female fixed-wing Air Force aviator in Afghanistan's history and the first female pilot in the Afghan military since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
This year's entertainment includes: Hollywood-based composer/producer/songwriter CJ Vanston; world-renowned cellist Michael Fitzpatrick; popular Louisville-based singer/songwriter Carly Johnson; multi-talented country singer/songwriter IMAJ; LA-based guitarist/songwriter, Tom Strahle, and Louisville-based musician Kathleen Hoye.
Sponsors
This year's Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards are supported by: Brown-Forman, Horseshoe Southern Indiana, ESPN, Inc., Tandem PR, Ashbourne Farms and River Bend Farm.
