Green Mountain Council Boy Scouts of America to Honor Senator Bernie Sanders as Distinguished Citizen of the Year

Green Mountain Council's 32nd Distinguished Citizen of the Year Dinner
Honoring Senator Bernie Sanders
Green Mountain Council to recognize U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with the 2011 Distinguished Citizen Award. April 29, 2011 6:00 PM- Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington.
The Distinguished Citizen Award from the Green Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America, is presented to individuals who have exemplified strong leadership and support for families and children throughout the state. It has been presented to Vermont's outstanding citizens for more than a quarter century. This year it is being awarded to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
Last year, the Green Mountain Council awarded at over $15,000 to more than 300 Vermont children who otherwise could not have afforded to attend the Green Mountain Council summer camp programs and Scouting activities throughout the year. The Council serves the entire State of Vermont.
For more information on how to register for the dinner call the Center for Scouting in Waterbury at 802-244-5189 or go online atwww.scoutingvermont.org and click on http://www.scoutingvermont.org/Event.aspx?id=3719 .
About Senator Sanders:
Bernie Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. He is the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history. Born in 1941 in Brooklyn, Bernie was the younger of two sons in a modest-income family. After graduation from the University of Chicago in 1964, he moved to Vermont. Early in his career, Sanders was director of the American People’s Historical Society. Elected Mayor of Burlington by 10 votes in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont's at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.
The Almanac of American Politics has called Sanders a "practical" and "successful legislator." He has focused on the shrinking middle class and widening income gap in America that is greater than at any time since the Great Depression. Other priorities include reversing global warming, universal health care, fair trade policies, supporting veterans and preserving family farms. He serves on five Senate committees: Budget; Veterans; Energy; Environment; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.