Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release:	April 13, 2005
	Corporate Sponsors and Foundation Foot the Bill for Lincoln Presidential Museum Dedication SPRINGFIELD, IL., - When the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum is formally dedicated on April 19, 2005, it will cap four days of very public events ‚ paid for with private funds. It's all thanks to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, whose Executive Director Richard Norton Smith, insisted on the private sector funding. "Illinois taxpayers have already paid for construction of the Library and Museum," says Smith. "We want them to enjoy the upcoming dedication knowing it's made possible by private, not tax, dollars." Answering the call for corporate sponsorship were Motorola, the lead sponsor, whose $200,000 donation was further enhanced by the donation of communication equipment worth over $100,000; Ameren, with a sponsorship of $50,000; and The Boeing Company for $25,000. Smith himself donated $50,000 to help defray costs of the four days of events, which will include a two-day historical Block Party in the downtown and Lincoln Home areas, a two-day scholarly conference featuring some of the nation's most renowned historians, an outdoor concert, fireworks and laser show, recreated Lincoln-era White House State Dinner and the formal Dedication ceremony. All three corporate sponsors have long supported the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, recognizing the educational significance of the project. Motorola was the first Illinois corporation to throw its support behind the dedication events with its $200,000 donation. Asked if it could help design a communication system for the special occasion, Motorola offered to donate the equipment as well. Ameren, like Motorola, had already contributed to the library and museum, but wanted to take a funding role in the public festivities. "We are honored to be a part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum project," said Leigh Morris, Director of Corporate Communications for Ameren. 'Lincoln once remarked that the Declaration of Independence 'gave liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the world, for all future time.' This great museum and library stand not only as a monument to Abraham Lincoln, but as an educational institution that will teach generations the lessons of freedom for all future time." The Boeing Company, which located in Illinois in 2001, declared its support for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, stating that it "represents the best of human achievement, teaching the value of freedom and the precious ability to choose one's own fate in the world, while reminding us of the great costs that sometimes must be suffered in protection of that freedom." The balance of the dedication funding will be provided by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, principally through a fund raiser on Monday, April 18, recreating a Lincoln-era White House Dinner. At the dinner, Pulitzer Prize winning author David Herbert Donald, whose Lincoln biography is generally accepted as the seminal work on Lincoln's life, will be honored with the first Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence that has been named in his honor and will be awarded annually. ### << Back to Press Releases