Saturday, November 5, 2022

I had an amazing evening at the Mohammed Ali Gala in Louisville Kentucky where I received the Mohammed Ali Humanitarian Award for Lifetime Achievement. Others who received similar rewards included Jose Andres and former NBA Rookie of the year. I had a wonderful tour of the Muhammad Ali Museum at the Muhammad Ali Center and I was introduced by Ali's wife Lonnie Ali. I also received a personal tour of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory and I was given a bat specifically named for me. And enjoyable time all around. Of note was the extraordinarily enthusiastic reception I received from the people at the Louisville airport and at the Gala event. I was totally mobbed for selfies. Interesting that this is Rand Paul’s state (Kentucky) and I thought that I might not be well-received and I actually was totally met with love and admiration. Six other honorees were recognized at Saturday's ceremony for embodying Muhammad Ali's Six core principles: confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality. Those honorees include: • Confidence Award winner Gitanjali Rao, a 17-year-old from Louisville was named Time Magazine's Kid of the Year for "inventions help to detect lead content in water, provide early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction, and counter cyberbullying." • Conviction Award winner Lefteris Arapakis from Greece for his work fighting pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. Arapakis also heads up an organization, Enaleia, that teaches people how to clean plastic out of the sea. • Dedication Award winner Mohamad Al Jounde from Syria, has helped give 200 children access to education via the Gharsah School in Lebanon. • Giving Award winner Liam Elkind, a Yale student who co-founded Invisible Hands during the COVID-19 pandemic to help ensure at-risk community members have access to food and medical supplies. • Respect Award winner Malcolm Brogdon, the former NBA Rookie of the year, for his work in Tanzania with the Brogdon Family Foundation, which helps people access clean water and quality education. • Spirituality Award winner Lual Mayen from South Sudan for working for refugee and migrant rights. He also founded Junub Games, an organization that teaches the "importance of peace through video games."