The Salisbury Award was presented to The Magi Fund on Saturday, November 21st during the evening performance of the 21st annual Magi Choral Festival. Bonnie Luna, chair of The Magi Fund Steering Committee, accepted the award. This is the 61st time that the award has been presented since 1926.
“The prestigious Salisbury Award is our community’s oldest civic award”, explained Art Cooley, Chairman of the Award’s Trustees. It was established in 1926 by local businessman G. William Phillips, who remained anonymous to the general public for nearly 25 years. The Award was created for the purpose of recognizing “service that has been the greatest benefit to the happiness, prosperity, intellectual advancement or moral growth of the community.”
The Salisbury Award has been presented 60 times since 1926. Past recipients include quickly recognizable names such as Ruth Powell, James M. Bennett, Avery Hall, Richard Henson, Frank Perdue, Dick Hazel, Sam Seidel, Paul Martin, Virginia Layfield, Mitzi Perdue, Lewis Riley, Pete Cooper, George Whitehead, Tony Sarbanes and Bill Ahtes. Ben’s Red Swings and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore are among the organizations that have been recognized.
The Magi Fund is an all-volunteer organization that operates off kitchen tables and is committed to giving 100% of every dollar raised to the Christian Shelter and the Joseph House Center. Both organizations are meeting critical needs in our community. Additionally, thousands of cans of food are collected to stock their food pantries for the winter season.
The Magi Fund has tremendous community support and is successful due to their many generous patron sponsors and business sponsors. “To sustain a fundraiser of this magnitude for 21 years and raise over a million dollars is a testimony to the support of the community and the passion of the steering committee that organizes this inspirational choral festival every year!”, commented Stephanie Willey, who serves as a trustee of the Salisbury Award.
In addition to the presentation of a plaque commemorating his selection as its honoree, the Salisbury Award Trustees will make a donation of $500 to a charity of their choice. The Magi Fund also received proclamations from the Governor’s office, the MD Senate, and our City and County governments.
