FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        RELEASE NO. 85-09

ROSS PEROT TO RECEIVE THAYER AWARD – Oct. 9, 2009

WEST POINT, N.Y. ––Ross Perot will receive the prestigious Thayer Award in a ceremony hosted by the U.S. Military Academy’s Association of Graduates Thursday, Oct. 15.  The Corps of Cadets will conduct a review in his honor at 5 p.m. on the Plain prior to the award presentation during a dinner ceremony.  The review is open to the public.

As a Texas native, Eagle Scout, service member, public servant and philanthropist, Perot has served his country in many immeasurable ways.

Perot, a 1953 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is an extraordinary business leader and two-time Presidential candidate.  He has donated both personal time and financial support to numerous organizations.  Of particular interest and commitment is his assistance to service members and their families.

Through leadership and generosity, Perot has been recognized more than a dozen times for his contributions with various awards and honors.

The Thayer Award, established in honor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, “Father of the Military Academy,” is presented to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the Military Academy motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.”  The Association of Graduates has presented the award annually since 1958.

Past recipients of the Thayer Award include:  Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Bob Hope, Neil Armstrong, George Bush, Barbara Jordon, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Colin Powell and Henry Kissinger.  Last year’s recipient was former Secretary of Defense William Perry.

About West Point
Ranked the “Top College in the Country” by Forbes and “Top Public Liberal Arts College” by US News & World Report, the U.S. Military Academy is a four-year co-educational federal undergraduate liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. The world's preeminent leader development institution, it was founded in 1802 as America's first college of engineering.  Its mission remains constant—to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.  For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.

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