Association of Churchill Fellows Welcomes Dr. Albright at Luncheon Ceremony
By Timothy Riley, Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of the Museum
At a luncheon prior to the 59th John Findley Green Foundation Lecture with students, faculty, trustees, Churchill Fellows and other distinguished guests, internationally acclaimed artist and granddaughter of Clementine and Winston Churchill welcomed Dr. Madeleine Albright into the Association of Churchill Fellows of Westminster College.
Nearly 50 guests, including Westminster College Board of Trustees Chair Don Lofe, ’79, and Hancock Symposium Sponsor David Hancock, ’67 FIJI, were on hand in the Marsh-Jones Room of the Mueller Leadership Center for the event.
In describing Sandys and Albright, President Fletch Lamkin remarked, “We have with us this morning two remarkable women. We will hear from each of them after our meal. Both are ground-breaking in their fields. Both have had an impact on the global stage. They have had, and continue to make, breakthroughs large and small.”
Honorary Senior Fellow, creator of the Breakthrough sculpture on the Westminster campus and the matriarch of the Churchill family, Edwina Sandys came to Fulton from her home in New York City to participate in the Hancock Symposium, which borrowed the name “Breakthrough” from her monumental sculpture as the theme for this year’s event. Sandys spoke about the genesis of her work, Breakthrough, to a standing-room-only audience at 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 18. November 9 will make the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the historical event that — together with her grandfather’s 1946 “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster — inspired the sculpture.
In awarding the Churchill Fellowship to Albright, Sandys referenced the occasion:
30 years ago, the Berlin Wall came down … unexpectedly overnight.
Mr. Gorbachev heeded President Reagan’s words, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’
Secretary Albright, you have devoted your life to breaking down barriers that divide.
You have built bonds and bridges to form alliances for prosperity. You have indeed created ‘Sinews of Peace,’ the original title of my grandfather’s speech.
And so, on behalf of the Association of Churchill Fellows of the National Churchill Museum, I am proud to honor you for your contributions to freedom, democracy and liberty.
Your work as a stateswoman — a great stateswoman — remains a breakthrough for our country and for the world. It is my honor to present to you this medal and certificate, making you a member of the Association of Churchill Fellows.
Established in 1969, the Association of Churchill Fellows is an honorary society of people dedicated to the development and use of America’s National Churchill Museum at Westminster College. Past Fellow inductees include Churchill’s namesake grandson, Winston Churchill; Walter Cronkite; President Dwight D. Eisenhower; Lady Soames; Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Jon Meacham; and the Right Honorable Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
