November 23, 2015
SPN 23rd Annual Meeting Celebrates Movement Leaders
Roe Award: Whitney Ball
The Roe Award was established in 1992 and fittingly named after the late Thomas A. Roe, Jr., founder of State Policy Network. Mr. Roe was a loyal supporter of the state-based think tanks, providing support through his South Carolina-based Roe Foundation. The annual Roe Award pays tribute to those in the state public policy movement whose achievements have greatly advanced the free market philosophy. It recognizes leadership, innovation, and accomplishment in public policy.
With a photo of Whitney Ball wearing a crown illuminating the screens behind her, Kim Dennis, president and CEO of the Searle Freedom Trust, recalled a conversation she had with the DonorsTrust founder and past president shortly before her passing in August.
“We were searching for her successor and, at that point, she still very much hoped to get back to the office because she wanted to serve as a mentor to that person,” Dennis said. “But she realized that if we had a new president, that she would have to come back in a different role. So she thought about it for a while, and then she proposed to me that she come back as Queen of DonorsTrust.”
This year at its 23rd Annual Meeting, State Policy Network remembered the late Whitney Ball with the 2015 Roe Award, an honor it chose to bestow upon her last year with the full expectation she would be able to accept it in person. Instead, the evening ceremony was dedicated to celebrating the life of a woman who made a profound impact on SPN, its members, and the entire freedom movement.
“When you think of pioneers of the conservative movement, you think of Joe Coors, you think of Tom Roe, you think of Ed Feulner,” said John Jackson, executive director of the Adolph Coors Foundation. “I would add Whitney Ball to that list.”
Throughout the award presentation, close friends and colleagues pointed to Ball’s faith and love of country as her motivation to grow DonorsTrust into the organization it is today and mentor those around her. Photos of Ball showed the infectious sense humor and zeal for life that made so many want to emulate her. Her legacy was palpable as Lawson Bader, the newly appointed President of DonorsTrust, accepted the Roe Award on Ball’s behalf.
As the last photo of Ball—one of her celebrating her 50th birthday wearing a crown—came across the screens, Dennis offered a final and fitting ode to Ball:
“Whitney, the once and future Queen of DonorsTrust. Long live the Queen.”
Overton Award: Kristina Rasmussen
The Overton Award recognizes an outstanding COO or EVP—an individual who not only helps create the organization’s vision, mission, and strategic direction, but who also oversees its day-to-day implementation.
The executive vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute works daily to prove otherwise, making her the ideal recipient of the 2015 Overton Award.
“We at SPN are honored to be able to give the Overton Award. We don’t do it lightly, and we don’t do it every year,” said SPN Executive Vice President Tony Woodlief. “When we do it, it’s because we’ve seen an EVP or a COO who has fully occupied the space which (Joe Overton) so ably filled, which is serving as a bridge between vision and reality, between ambition and implementation.”
And that’s exactly what Rasmussen has done since joining the Institute in 2009.
“Kristina helped to grow a talented team and she is a steward of that team, getting things done everyday,” said Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman. “It is turning Illinois from a blue state to currently a purple state with tinges of red.”
Rasmussen’s colleagues praised her for her commitment each day to making a difference in Illinois and beyond, her refusal to take no for an answer, and her ability to energize her team.
“Kristina comes into our office every single day with the goal of changing Illinois, and it’s not just for her,” said Matt Paprocki, Illinois Policy Institute senior vice president. “It’s for her kids. It’s for the poor and disadvantaged who live in our state.”
Upon accepting the award, Rasmussen urged others in the freedom movement to keep working—even in states that seem like lost causes—so they too can experience successes similar to those in Illinois.
“We fight inch-by-inch, issue-by-issue, and we change hearts, minds and laws,” Rasmussen said.
“Thanks to the legacy of men like Joe Overton and Thomas Roe, we are well primed for success going forward,” she said. “We have the opportunity every single day to wake up and change someone’s life for the better.”
Unsung Hero Award: Elaine Vechorik
The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation’s Unsung Hero Award honors an individual whose work defines entrepreneurial public policy and makes a difference for freedom in his or her community.
Unsung heroes don’t always look like polished award winners.
Sometimes, they look like Elaine Vechorik as she was three years ago when she decided she wanted to help make Mississippi a freer state.
Upon receiving the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation’s 2015 Unsung Hero Award, Vechorik shared how her failures led to her successes, and how the freedom movement can identify more unsung heroes like her in other states.
“If you want success, be a dreamer and never give up because big victories come from small beginnings,” said Vechorik, who has led campaigns in her state to increase gun rights, curtail Medicaid fraud, reform civil asset forfeiture, and more.
Vechorik explained how the all-too-common tactics of writing unread blogs, complaining, and working for parties that don’t hold people accountable stifled her early efforts. It was not until she began volunteering with groups like the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and Mississippi for Liberty that she began to experience policy wins, like turning a proposed gun permit price increase to a price decrease.
“Elaine has truly made a difference for liberty. She is an exact example of a person who is an unsung hero who lives among us,” said Helen Krieble, founder and president of the Vernon
K. Krieble Foundation.
Vechorik reminded the audience that the heroes of their states may be diamonds in the rough.
“I challenge you to look for someone like me in your state. Not me as I am now, receiving an award. Look for the person who failed,” Vechorik said. “Look for someone willing to try; open the door to them; direct them to training; encourage them; help them make the connections.
“Don’t wait and hope that someone fully qualified is going to knock on your door, because you can make it happen for someone.”
