An MTV Chief, a General, and President Are Among the New Churchill Fellows

Eight prominent leaders, including former MTV Chairman and CEO William Roedy, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Westminster President Benjamin Ola. Akande  have been inducted into the Association of Churchill Fellows at Westminster College, it was announced today.

Along with other inductees, they became members of the prestigious association during a solemn ceremony over the weekend in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, which also serves as the home of the National Churchill Museum. Acting as Senior  Fellow, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter, noted artist and sculptor Edwina Sandys, M.B.E. bestowed the honor on the new inductees.  They are:

• Jon Meacham—Renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author;
• Gen. Petraeus, Retired— Former Commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan and NATO International Security Assistance Force and a former CIA Director;
• William “Bill“ Roedy—Former Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks International;
• Richard C. Marsh—Longtime President of the Winston Churchill Society of Michigan;
• Lee Pollock—Former Executive Director of the Churchill Centre and Trustee of the International Churchill Society;
• Duncan Sandys—Great grandson of Sir Winston Churchill and past Lord Mayor of Westminster;
• Dr. Akande—The 21st President of Westminster College; and,
• Harold B. Oakley—Chair of the Westminster College Board of Trustees and Trustee of the International Churchill Society.

The Association of Churchill Fellows is an honorary society of people dedicated to the development and use of the National Churchill Museum at Westminster, where, in 1946, Sir Winston Churchill was given an honorary degree and delivered his historic “Iron Curtain” speech.

Since 1969 when the Association was started, 300 individuals who have demonstrated support and service to the Museum have been recognized as “Fellows.”

Other inductees include Winston Churchill’s namesake grandson, Walter Cronkite, President Dwight Eisenhower, Sir David Cannadine, Lady Mary Soames, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, International Churchill Society Chairman Laurence Geller, and the Right Honorable Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Churchill Fellows Weekend is an annual event where a national expert on Churchill delivers the Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture and new Churchill Fellows are inducted.  Meacham delivered Saturday’s Kemper Lecture, which was followed by a presentation by Gen. Petraeus.

This year, for the first time, the International Churchill Society Board of Trustees also met at Westminster over the weekend.