This year’s Foley Distinguished Public Service Award presentation honoring former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta is now available to watch online.
Panetta, this year’s recipient, served in several leadership roles within Congress and the federal government as part of a more than three-decade-long career in politics. He regaled the crowd inside Gonzaga University’s Hemmingson Grand Ballroom with stories of his time working with the WSU institute’s namesake, Tom Foley, to get bills and budgets approved with support from both Republican and Democratic elected officials.
“The joy of doing legislation is actually working at it, developing the compromises, developing the consensus, and then getting the damn thing passed. That’s what legislating is all about, that’s the way our system is supposed to work, and Tom knew that system inside and out,” Panetta said.
Panetta was handed the award by Edmund O. Schweitzer, who served as the premier sponsor of the event along with his wife, Beatriz Schweitzer. Leaders for both Gonzaga University and Washington State University, Thayne McCulloh and Elizabeth Cantwell, were among the speakers who took to the stage during the event.
The award’s presentation is available in-full via the Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service’s YouTube page.
