Our hope is to bring a positive, inclusive experience to viewers all across the country for a shared celebration of some of the individuals, organizations, and movements that represent the ideals of the National Mall. Hosted by Norah O’Donnell, Anchor & Managing Editor, CBS Evening News. Please share with others and your feedback as well HERE.
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Your partnership through philanthropy allows the Trust to preserve, restore, and enrich the National Mall. Your philanthropy is vital for the Trust’s approach to bring restoration and sustainability to the National Mall through public awareness, educational programming, volunteer engagement, and critical improvement projects for America’s Front Yard.
Your gift is a crucial driver of success for the National Mall as the Trust is the leading nonprofit partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring and improving the National Mall as a civic stage.
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Event Program
HOST
Norah O’Donnell
Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS Evening News
PERFORMANCES
America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)
Denyce Graves-Montgomery, American operatic mezzo-soprano
America The Beautiful
Maggie Rose, American rock & soul singer
Sing Out, March On
Joshuah Brian Campbell, Writer and Composer
2020 History, Heroes, & Hope Award* Honoreee
The Honorable Lamar Alexander
Senator (R-TN)
GUEST APPEARANCES
John E. “Chip” Akridge III
Founder and Chairman, Akridge Founder and Chairman, Trust for the National Mall
Sally Akridge
Co-chair, Women’s Leadership Committee, Trust for the National Mall
Marcia Argust
Director, U.S. Public Lands and Rivers Conservation, The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Honorable David L. Bernhardt
Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior
The Honorable Muriel Bowser
Mayor, Washington, D.C.
Cassius Cash
Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, National Park Service
Georgette "Gigi" Dixon
Head of External Relations, Wells Fargo
The Honorable William Hurd
Congressman (R-Tex)
Sheila Johnson
Founder and CEO, Salamander Hotels & Resorts
Michael Litterst
Chief of Communications, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service
Dana Perino
Best Selling Author and News Analyst
The Honorable Rob Portman
Senator (R-Ohio)
Jeffrey Reinbold
Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service
David M. Rubenstein
Philanthropist, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group
Jake Tapper
Chief Washington Correspondent, CNN
Catherine Townsend
President and CEO, Trust for the National Mall
The Honorable Mark R. Warner
Senator (D-Va)
Eun Yang
Anchor, NBC News4 Today
Event Production
Long Story Short Media
Linder Global Events
HOST COMMITTEE
The Trust for the National Mall is grateful to our special event co-chairs and host committee members. The committed volunteers below have dedicated their time and energy to helping the Trust navigate the pivot from our annual fundraising gala to our virtual special event, March On: History, Heroes, & Hope on the National Mall.
Congressional Host Committee Co-Chairs
The Honorable Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mr. Verne Martell
The Honorable Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Ms. Lisa Collis
The Honorable Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Ms. Jeralynn Hansen Bishop
The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Honorary Diplomatic Host Committee Chair
Her Excellency Dr. Emily Haber, Ambassador of Germany
Host Committee Chairs
Nels Olson, Korn Ferry
Sherrie, Sidney, & Sara Beckstead, Liljenquist & Beckstead, The Lockkeeper’s Collection
Lanny & Susan Griffith, BGR Group
Host Committee Members
Marcella Cohen
Kevin Dunmire, Akridge
Tara Wade Foscato, PNC Bank
Andrew Gelfuso, TCMA, A Drew Company
Eric & Nicole Hoplin
Kevin Jacobs, Hilton
William Magruder, Clark Construction Group, LLC
John Mason, Altria Client Services
Cathy Merrill, Merrill Family Foundation
PATRONS and Sponsors
The following important patrons and sponsors have stayed committed to the Trust’s mission and continued to support our annual fundraising event during these challenging times in our country. We are united in our work to ensure that the National Mall endures and evolves as a vibrant space for all.
*ABOUT THE HISTORY, HEROES and HOPE AWARD
The History, Heroes, and Hope Award honors individuals that embody the spirit and ideals that the National Mall represents for our country. The 2020 History, Heroes, and Hope Award is awarded to the Honorable Lamar Alexander, Senator from Tennessee.
As chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Alexander is a longtime champion of our national parks. He was the pioneer behind the effort to restore our parks and an early co-sponsored the "Great American Outdoors Act,” the bipartisan legislation recently signed into law that will cut in half the nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog in our national parks over the next five years. A number of Senator Alexander’s colleagues and friends will pay tribute to his career in public service during the special event.
Other recipients of the History, Heroes and Hope Award have included:
2019: The Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the late Congressman John Dingell
2018: Donald Adam and Annemarie Emmet, Volunteers-in-Parks Program Volunteers
2017: David M. Rubenstein
2016: Jonathan Jarvis, Former Director of the National Park Service
2015: John E. “Chip” Akridge III, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Trust for the National Mall
