Muhammad Ali Awarded GLI’s Thomas A. Edison Award
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (January 4, 2017) — The Muhammad Ali Center has been selected to receive a 2016 Silver Fleur-de-Lis Award from Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI) for the leadership and coordination of the “Muhammad Ali Life Celebration.” Other 2016 recipients include Boxcar PR, the Louisville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Mayor’s Office, Louisville Metro Police Department, KFC Yum! Center, and the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center.
The passing of Muhammad Ali on June 3, 2016 turned international attention to Louisville and the seamless work of these organizations, including the Muhammad Ali Center, made “The Greatest’s” hometown shine during the week following his passing. The ability of this year’s honorees to capture his legacy in just a week’s time will be a sterling chapter for our region’s history for generation to come.
In recognition of his remarkable life and lasting impact on the world, Muhammad Ali will posthumously receive the Thomas A. Edison Award. He and Lonnie Ali’s decision to found the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville has created an international destination for his countless admirers worldwide. And perhaps most importantly, the Center provides a tangible opportunity to teach lessons of perseverance, patience, grace, and humility to all those who pass through its doors. The Center’s tagline,“be great, do great things”, is one to which everyone can aspire and just one of many reasons Greater Louisville Inc. has chosen to honor him this year.
The awards will be presented at GLI’s Annual Meeting on January 25th at the Louisville Palace Theatre.
ABOUT THE MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER
The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was co-founded by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The international cultural center promotes the six core principles of Muhammad Ali (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality) in ways that inspire personal and global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, gender equity, and global citizenship. Its newest initiative, Generation Ali, fosters a new generation of leaders to contribute positively to their communities and to change the world for the better. The Center’s headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience. For more information, please visit www.alicenter.org