On Monday, the John F. Kennedy Foundation honored Mayor Shirley Franklin, with the prestigious “Profile In Courage” award. Mayor Franklin is the only mayor to receive the award while still in office.
Mayor Franklin was recognized for her courageous leadership in restoring fiscal stability and ethical government to Atlanta. Mayor Franklin balanced a budget with an $82 million deficit without compromising city services or public safety and re-established a reserve fund consecutively for the past four years.
"Often the people who receive this award don't really think they've done anything remarkable and don't really think that what they did was courageous -- they're just doing a job as they see it. That's one of the things that makes them remarkable," Caroline Kennedy, former President John F. Kennedy’s daughter and president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, told The Associated Press before the awards ceremony.
"I do not think of myself as courageous. I'm convinced that, at least in Atlanta, if you're honest with the public, and tell them what the options are, they'll understand that you have to make tough decisions sometimes," Mayor Franklin said. “This award is a reflection of the hard work of the employees and the support of the residents of Atlanta.”
Many of Mayor Franklin’s supporters also attended the joyous event in Boston. Along with family and friends, several City of Atlanta employees, board members from various private/public partnerships and local news services attended to commemorate the occasion.
Honored along with Mayor Franklin was former Texas State Senator Bill Ratliff, Army Specialist Joseph Darby, and Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko.
The award, created in 1989, is named after President Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book.