NEWS RELEASE | For Immediate Release
January 29, 2020
Contact: Benita Dodd (404-256-4050)
300 Join in Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration
Atlanta – More than 300 friends and supporters joined the Georgia Public Policy Foundation at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Tuesday night (January 28) for the Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Award Dinner.
The keynote speaker was John A. Allison, board member and former CEO of the Cato Institute and the retired chairman and CEO of BB&T Corp. (recently renamed Truist).
Through the years, the Foundation has presented the prestigious Freedom Award to a notable Georgian who has exemplified the principles of private enterprise and personal integrity. (See below for past recipients.)
The 2019 Freedom Award recipient, honored at the event, is Sunny K. Park, “CEJ” (Chief Executive Janitor) of General Building Maintenance, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, philanthropist, motivational speaker and a longtime community leader. View the video tribute to Park on the Foundation’s YouTube channel.
“I arrived the U.S. in 1974 with $200 in my pocket and very little English,” said Park, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea.
“Six hours after I landed, I started a job making $1.80 an hour. I started cleaning the floors of a steakhouse in Indianapolis. Today, I own a company that employs 3,000 and cleans over 1 million toilets every day in over 25 major U.S. cities. It can happen only in America!”
Previous Freedom Award recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Flowers Industries chairman emeritus William Flowers, former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy; Deen Day Smith, chair of the Cecil B. Day Investment Company; former Georgia Governor and United States Senator Zell Miller; former Southern Company president Bill Dahlberg, Medal of Honor recipient General Raymond G. Davis, U.S. Marine Corps; United States Senator Phil Gramm; Henry F. (Hank) McCamish, founder and chairman of the McCamish Group and founder of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation; Rogers Wade, former President of the Foundation, and Dr. Michael Mescon, “The Pied Piper of Private Enterprise.”
About the Georgia Public Policy Foundation: Established in 1991, the Foundation is a trusted, independent resource for voters and elected officials. The Foundation provides actionable solutions to real-life problems by bringing people together. Regular events include Leadership Breakfasts, Policy Briefing Luncheons and the annual Georgia Legislative Policy Forum. Weekly publications are the Friday Facts and Friday Idea commentaries.
