Orlando, Florida – The Florida Family Policy Council’s Annual Policy Awards Dinner celebrated the most pro-life legislative session in Florida’s history with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann as the keynote speaker. The event was attended by over 500 guests as well as local, state and national media. Over a dozen national media outlets were in attendance included NBC News, C-SPAN, Washington Post, National Journal, NewsMax and Charisma Media.
The evening’s dazzling MC was Barbara Beck, the host of the “Good Life” on Super Channel TV 45 in Central Florida. The program also included FFPC President John Stemberger presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Daniel Webster Award, which is presented for lengthy and principled service to public policy. This year’s recipients of the Webster Award, presented for outstanding and principled leadership in promoting pro-life or pro-family public policy, was awarded to Russ and Jill Amerling for their decade long efforts to make Choose Life license plates available in every state in the U.S. The Amerlings serve as the national publicity coordinators of Choose Life, Inc.
FFPC Policy Director Bill Warren presented a special Champion of Life Award to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, Senator Ronda Storms, Representative Dennis Baxley and Representative Kelli Stargel for their work in sponsoring and promoting pro-life legislation during the 2011 Legislative Session.
The highlight of the evening was the keynote address delivered by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann who inspired the audience with her very personal life story, her powerful Christian testimony and the challenge to pour out ourselves in our efforts to “Ignite a Cultural Transformation.” At the close of her remarks, on behalf of the FFPC Board, John Stemberger awarded Bachmann the William Wilberforce Award given to elected officials for standing firm for
principle in the face of opposition. In his President’s Report, John Stemberger related accomplishments of the FFPC over the last year and also brought an update that the last of the two retaliatory legal attacks filed against him after representing the teenage Muslim to Christian convert Rifqa Bary were dropped. Late last week on August 24th, the Associated Press reported the ten million dollar Ohio federal defamation lawsuit which was filed against Stemberger by the Muslim lawyer Omar Tarazi almost a year ago was dismissed. Earlier this year in May, The Florida Bar was also forced to dismiss its grievance claim (also filed by Tarazi) as having no merit.
The evening closed with a moving candle lighting ceremony on the stage involving children, parents and grandparents accompanied by a moving music video rendition of Amazing Grace done by an orchestra which starts with a tin whistle and bagpipes– all to incorporate the theme of the dinner “Igniting a Cultural Transformation.”
To see other photographs of the dinner online check out our Flicker page here.
To read press coverage of the event, see the links below:
Bachmann vies for evangelical vote so important to Florida GOP primary – Palm Beach Post
GOP hopeful Michele Bachmann gives personal, Christian testimonial in Orlando – Orlando Sentinel
Bachmann Invokes Biblical Passion for Conservative Causes – Newsmax
