HYDE PARK – Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton was presented by her mother, Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, with the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal for her contributions to education and children’s welfare.
She was one of four others to receive the prestigious honor, which the elder Clinton won in 1995. The other recipients were the chief executive officer Celebrity Cruises Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, who was the first woman to lead one of Royal Caribbean Cruises’ brands; Zainab Salbi, Yahoo! News and Public Broadcasting System personality and founder of Women for Women International; and John W. and Gloria Golden, Hyde Park philanthropists.
April Gozza, the executive director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Historic Site, discussed how each honoree was selected for their commitment to furthering Roosevelt’s message of humanitarianism and equality for all.
“There’s no greater pleasure than being surrounded by a community of people who share the same loving and humanitarian and high ideals that was in the heart of our most admired woman,” she said. “We’re picking up where she left off, on her quest for a more just and equitable world.”
The former First Lady evoked her predecessor’s legacy when it came time for her to honor her daughter.
“This medal ceremony could not come at a more important time,” she said. “We are being called to renew and recommit ourselves to her fundamental values.”
When it was time for the former Chelsea Clinton to take the stage, the bestselling children’s book author spoke to Roosevelt’s passion for educating children on human rights.
“One of the reasons why I was so humbled to be given this honor is because Eleanor believed that what we can do to live in a paradigm of prevention instead of vengeance is to start with children,” she said. “She ultimately believed that if children understood what human rights are and why they are important, we could inculcate that understanding into the protection and advancement of human rights in kids.”
Honoree Zainab Salbi was rewarded the medal for her advocacy of women in war-torn areas. The Iraqi native came to America almost 30 years ago after escaping an abusive marriage.
Salbi expressed her gratitude for the honor, and made note of how the divisiveness marginalized groups of people face today bares a stark contrast to the way she was treated when she first came to this country.
“I’m an immigrant, I’m a Muslim, I’m a woman of color, and the thought of all my identities are scary these days,” Salbi said. “Thirty years ago, it was Americans that I didn’t know who stopped me on the streets and asked me if I needed help.”
Hyde Park philanthropists John W. and Gloria Golden were honored for their community service to the community that they called home.
The couple were personal friends of the Roosevelt family, and shared stories about their times together.“I want to make a wager that I know more about the Roosevelt family longer than anyone here today,” said John Golden. “I have a 1,000 stories I can tell you.”The most notable of his stories was the time he got to say goodbye to the King and Queen of England after they paid a visit to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s estate.
“The years in Hyde Park with Mrs. Roosevelt were very special years, and we shall cherish them always,” added Gloria Golden.
As the first female CEO of a cruise line through Royal Caribbean Cruises, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo was committed to bringing women at the forefront of her company’s operations.
One of those women, Kate McCue, became the first female captain of a megaton cruise ship, and acknowledged Lutoff-Perlo’s support.
“When your leader of an organization that sets the standard by celebrating diversity, we succeed collectively,” she said.
Lutoff-Perlo acknowledged the men she has known to whom she is grateful for support.“The people that inspire me are the fathers who thank me and the men that I work with every day, because if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have made all of this advancement around the world,” she said. “They are the ones that are out there recruiting around the world.”
The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Historic Site has hosted the medal ceremony for 32 years, where recipients are rewarded for their commitment to the first lady’s mission of spreading human rights nationwide and worldwide.
