Issacson, Suggs honored with Torch of Liberty Awards

By DEAN M. SHAPIRO, SPECIAL TO THE CCJN

Surrounded by family, friends, past honorees, distinguished guests and more than 800 other attendees, two distinguished New Orleanians were honored earlier this week with the 2016 A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award at the annual Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gala and dinner.

Walter Issacson accepts the A. I . Botnick Torch of Liberty Award. (Photo by Dean M. Shapiro0

Renowned journalist and bestselling author Walter Isaacson and retired CEO of one of the world’s largest provider of helicopter services, Carroll W. Suggs, were presented with their awards on December 6 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown New Orleans. Before delivering their acceptance speeches, the award recipients and their accomplishments were lauded by local and regional ADL officials and other colleagues and friends and their speeches were greeted by standing ovations.

Isaacson, an Isidore Newman School and Harvard University graduate whose early journalism career included a stint at the Times-Picayune, went on to become Time magazine’s executive editor and CEO of Cable News Network (CNN). In 2003 he was named president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a widely respected organization that describes itself as “a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas.” He has authored or co-authored seven nonfiction books with Simon & Schuster on influential Americans throughout history, including a 2011 New York Times bestseller on Apple, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs who died that same year.

In the month following the devastation by Hurricane Katrina, Isaacson returned to New Orleans to assist in the city’s rebuilding efforts. Then-governor Kathleen Blanco named him vice chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority and, in subsequent years, he was appointed to prestigious positions by former president George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Carroll Suggs is honored by the South Central Rgion of the ADL on December 6, 2016. (Photo by Dean M. Shapiro)

Suggs served as CEO of the Lafayette-based Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI) from 1990-2001, following the death of her husband Robert L. “Bob” Suggs who founded the company in 1949. Under his stewardship PHI grew from three helicopters to a fleet of more than 250, making it one of the world’s largest provider of private helicopter services. During her term as CEO, Carroll Suggs expanded the company’s range of services and took on leadership roles in a wide range of community-based service organizations. Following her retirement she continued her activism, serving on many boards and committees and becoming an outspoken advocate for educational and workplace diversity.

Both Isaacson and Suggs are upper level sponsors of the South Central Region ADL chapter headquartered in New Orleans.

Prior to the awardees’ speeches they were lavishly praised by a series of speakers, some of whom had been personally acquainted with them for many years. These included regional director Allison Padilla-Goodman, regional board chair and 2106 Torch of Liberty Committee member Jonathan Lake and regional director for Colorado Scott Levin.

Former A. I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award recipient Phyllis Taylor introduces 2016 recipient Carroll Suggs. (Photo by Dean M. Shapiro)

Suggs was introduced by longtime friend and 2015 co-award winner Phyllis Taylor and Odom Heebe. Isaacson was introduced by two longtime friends, Allan Bissinger and Tim Francis, son of recently retired Xavier University president Norman Francis.

In her remarks, Suggs lauded ADL as “a marvelous organization. ADL has helped so many to understand and respect all people and I thank you all for your support of it.

“As I look around the room tonight and see so many of you here, I want to say that receiving the Torch of Liberty Award is a privilege and an honor to be included among those others selected,” Suggs continued.

“Over the years I have learned that, in order to be successful, you must believe in yourself, work hard and you earn the respect of your peers. With success comes the responsibility to support your community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve and support so many organizations in which I’ve met such exciting people. From institutions such as ADL I’ve learned that, in order to achieve respect it must be earned. It is not a given.”

In his introduction to Isaacson, Francis cited Isaacson’s definition of the word “genius. As he explained, “They have a passion for perfection. They love simplicity. They make other people do what they never thought was possible. They challenge other geniuses and they appreciate diversity. That is true of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin (each of whom Isaacson has written books about), my father Norman Francis and certainly it’s true of Walter Isaacson.

Walter Issacson is framed by David Francis, left, and Allan Bissinger. (Photo by Dean M. Shapiro)

“In a world where what we say and how we say it matters, Walter has, for his entire career, used his words in a purposeful and constructive manner,” Francis added. “He has not wavered in his writing. He has brought to life innovators and others who have changed the world. While leading from the back, he inspires others to think that they’re in front.”

Isaacson began his brief acceptance speech by praising two past recipients of the award who were present, Francis (in 1977) and former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu (in 1975). “I am proud to be following in their footsteps,” he said, adding words of praise for Bissinger, a friend from childhood from whom he learned that, “In life, you got to be something larger than yourself.”

Continuing his praise, he cited his father, Irwin Isaacson, as “the kindest person I have ever met. Kindness is all about the notion of kinship, of kindred spirits, of being all one family. Not only was he kind, he instilled this in the people around him.

“That is the underpinning of what we’ve talked about in terms of respect, diversity and in loving a whole community,” Isaacson added. “We’re all in this together. We’re all kindred and we all have to be kind. I know that seems kind of cliché and simplistic but this year has been a good year to learn that lesson.”

Referencing quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made earlier in the evening during the invocation by Temple Sinai Senior Rabbi, Matthew Reimer, Isaacson concluded by saying, “Dr. King had a way with words but all that [he was] really saying is that it’s all about kindness. So I want to thank you all for instilling that spirit of kindness, knowing that that’s the underpinnings of tolerance. And it’s not just about a tolerance of diversity, but what we in New Orleans can do . . . and we do it right and best . . . which is show a love of diversity.”

Earlier in the evening, those gathered for the ceremony also heard remarks from Jeff Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge for the New Orleans FBI office. Sallet, who has worked on such high-profile cases as the shooting deaths of three Baton Rouge police officers in July of this year, praised the ADL with whom he attended classes that focused on hate crimes. “This was one of the best classes I ever took,” he said.

Also honored that evening were two young New Orleans lawyers, Aaron Ahlquist and Peter Sperling, who were presented with Barney Mintz Leadership Awards. The award is named after the late Bernard D. “Barney” Mintz, a fifty-year member of the regional ADL office and the first recipient of the Torch of Liberty Award in 1967. Lake made those presentations.

The Torch of Liberty Award, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, was renamed after Adolph Ira (A.I.) Botnick, a longtime ADL leader from the New Orleans area who passed away in 1995. The award has been presented to 88 individuals and organizations representing some of the most prominent citizens of New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana among whom were governors, mayors, other elected officials and high-profile community leaders.

The awards are presented annually every December. Nominations are received by a special Torch of Liberty Committee and one to three recipients are selected from those nominations.