2019 Freedom Awards recipients, including Maj. Brent Taylor, 9/11 first responder, to be honored at Provo gala
Christel Foreman
Maj. Brent Taylor and Jennie Taylor
Tommy Asher
Don L. Lind
A 9/11 survivor, an escapee of Nazi Germany and a physicist who developed the flight plan for Apollo 11 are among this year’s recipients of the Freedom Awards.
The 34th annual Freedom Awards Gala will be held at 6:30 p.m. July 2 at the Utah Valley Convention Center, 220 W. Center St. in Provo.
Following a formal meal, stories of Freedom Award recipients will be shared and awards will be presented. Audience members are able to meet the recipients at the end of the evening.
The Freedom Awards are presented each year to individuals who have demonstrated a unique contribution to the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, according to Vicki Garbutt, gala chairwoman. Award recipients were nominated by individuals in the community and the Freedom Festival’s advisory, trustee and executive boards.
“We watch throughout the year for interesting stories. There are always far more nominees than we can honor,” Garbutt said. “Not everyone under consideration is available during our timeframe or able to travel to attend because of health reasons. This is especially true of our World War II veterans.”
“Our recipients have run the gamut from presidents, Nobel Peace Prize winners, war heroes and first responders to POWs, youth, and even a humble garbage man,” Garbutt said. “Each has done something in their realm of influence which helps define, honor and represent the traditional American values of God, family, freedom and country.”
This year’s recipients are a diverse group who have all contributed to the good of the community and country in different ways.
Major Brent and Jennie Taylor and their seven children will be honored. Brent, the late mayor of North Ogden and a member of the U.S. Army National Guard, was killed in the line of duty while deployed in Afghanistan in November 2018. Brent and Jennie Taylor have taught their children to serve those around them.
Commander Don L. Lind was a naval aviator and space physicist for NASA. Selected as one of the “Original Nineteen,” he helped develop the flight plan for Apollo 11, which landed a man on the moon. He also served as a capsule communicator on the Apollo 11 and 12 missions. He later went into space himself as a member of the Challenger STS-51-B mission in April 1985.
Tommy Asher was a member of the New York City Fire Department when two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. Asher, his brother and his father all responded. Beyond the 343 firefighters lost that day, 175 have since died from the physical and emotional impact of that period. It is important to Asher that the sacrifice of those individuals not be forgotten.
Christel Sawatzke Foreman was a child in Germany during World War II. Her family’s farm was burned to the ground. Her father was put in prison, where he later died. Foreman, age 10, and her brother, age 15, along with their mother hid during the day to avoid capture. At night they would return to what was left of their farm to dig up the barrels which their father had buried, filled with food and clothing. Eventually, they were able to come to the United States.
Entertainment will be at the gala as well. The barbershop group, “Signature,” and pianist John Sargeant will be performing.
Tickets are available to the public, but must be purchased in advance. They will be available for $50 each from June 3-25. Contact the Freedom Festival office at (801) 818-1776 to purchase tickets or for more information.