Whitmer To Receive Award For Service During COVID-19 Pandemic

LANSING, MI — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is one of seven people being recognized as a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the John F. Kennedy Foundation announced Tuesday.

Whitmer and the six other award recipients will receive the awards during a virtual ceremony that will air for the public May 26. U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney also will receive a Profile in Courage Award for his vote in the impeachment of now-former President Donald Trump.

“It is my honor to accept this prestigious award on behalf of every Michigander who stepped up to help their family and community through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Whitmer said in a statement. “I am humbled by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the Kennedy Family for their recognition. We must all strive to live up to the call of public service put forward by President Kennedy decades ago and exemplified by the heroes on the frontlines of this pandemic who are putting shots in arms and working tirelessly in schools, stores, and hospitals statewide.”

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Here's what the foundation said about Whitmer in its announcement:

When Michigan's first cases of COVID-19 were identified in early March 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer invoked emergency powers in a bid to contain the spread of the virus and save lives, issuing early, controversial orders to close schools and businesses, mandate mask wearing, and ban large gatherings, among other measures. While her leadership earned praise from many, she also faced sustained, vocal backlash over stay-at-home rules that remained in place as COVID-19 cases in Michigan continued to rise during the spring. Protests over Whitmer's pandemic response became increasingly threatening, with armed demonstrators surrounding and at one point storming the state capitol to demand an end to stay-at-home orders. In October, thirteen men were charged with a June 2020 plot to kidnap and kill Whitmer. The men were said to be motivated at least in part by anger and resentment over pandemic restrictions. Despite violent threats against her life, Whitmer did not back down. She stayed focused on following the science and listening to public health experts to get the pandemic under control and start rebuilding Michigan's economy.

Whitmer will receive the award alongside former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton; Burnell Cotlon, owner of Burnell's Market in Louisiana; Massachusetts Fire Department Capt. Fred Freeman; Antonio Greene, an Amazon associate and former delivery associate in South Carolina; Lauren Leander, an intensive care nurse in Arizona; and Darrell Marks, a Native American academic adviser out of Arizona.

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was created by the John F. Kennedy foundation in 1989. It is awarded to people the foundation recognizes for commitment and contribution to public service. It also celebrates Kennedy's birthday (May 29).

The award is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Profiles in Courage."