أربع شخصيات لبنانية أميركية بارزة تكرّمها “تاسك فورس فور ليبانون” هذا العام

جبلنا ماغازين – واشنطن

احتفالاً بمرور ثلاثين عاماً على إطلاقها بهدف تعزيز العلاقات الأمريكية – اللبنانية ، تكرم منظمة “تاسك فورس فور ليبانون”ATFL  في حفل عشائها السنوي الذي تقيمه في واشنطن مساء العاشر من نيسان المقبل أربع شخصيات أمريكية استثنائية من أصول لبنانية، تقديراً لما قدموه من مساهمات، كل في مجال عمله.

وجاء في بيان صادر عن المنظمة أن جوائز هذا العام ستقدم إلى كل من وزير الصحة والخدمات الإنسانية أليكس عازار. النائب في الكونغرس دارين لحود، الرئيس التنفيذي وأحد مؤسسي شركة RXBAR بيتر رحال، والكاتب والمؤلف والمغني دايفيد يزبك الحائز على جوائز إيمي وغرامي وتوني في عالم الموسيقى.

وهنا نبذة باللغة الإنكليزية وزعتها المنظمة عن المكرمين:

Secretary Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services in January 2018 and spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing health care reform, research and innovation.

From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, first as its General Counsel and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

Azar will receive the Philip C. Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service. The award recognizes exceptional achievement in public service.

Congressman Darin LaHood has represented the district encompassing Peoria and Springfield in Congress since 2015 and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and on the U.S. Joint Economic Committee. He is also a member of the U.S.-Cuba working group and is co-chairman of the U.S.-China working group and the U.S.-Lebanon Friendship Caucus.

In June of 2017, Congressman LaHood was accompanied by the ATFL on a trip to Lebanon, where he had the opportunity to meet with leaders and have a firsthand look at the issues facing the country.

LaHood will receive the Philip C. Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service. The award recognizes exceptional achievement in public service.

RXBAR cofounder Peter Rahal saw the opportunity to bring a better protein bar to market. In less than five years, Rahal and his partner went from making RXBAR in his parents’ kitchen and selling it door-to-door to making it the more than half-billion-dollar company it is today. He is from the Greater Chicago area.

Rahal will receive the Joseph J. Jacobs Distinguished Achievement Award. This award recognizes exceptional achievement in business.

New Yorker David Yazbek is a recording artist, TV and film writer, music producer and pianist. He is one of Broadway’s pre-eminent composers and lyricists. His most recent Broadway musical, The Band’s Visit, opened on Broadway in 2017 to rave reviews and has won 10 Tony Awards as well as the 2019 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Some of his more notable works include: The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, as well as scoring the last season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Yazbek returns to Broadway as composer and lyricist this month with the musical adaption of Tootsie.

Yazbek will receive the Ray R. Irani Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his exceptional professional and personal achievements.