Woodson to Receive Armstrong Award

Posted on September 30, 2024

Woodson to Receive Armstrong Award

Robert L. Woodson, founder and president of the Woodson Center in Washington, D.C., will receive the 2024 William L. Armstrong Award from Colorado Christian University in partnership with the family of former U.S. Senator William L. Armstrong. The award will be presented at a dinner in Woodson's honor Thursday, October 3, 2024, at the CCU Event Center.

The William L. Armstrong Award is presented annually in honor of the late businessman, United States senator (1979-1991), and Colorado Christian University president (2006-2016) William L. Armstrong. The award is given to a leader who embodies the values that Armstrong held dear - faith, family, and freedom - and who has made a difference in America's culture through business, politics or education. The prestigious award has been an annual highlight, the University's highest honor, presented each year since Armstrong's death in 2016.

"For more than four decades, Bob Woodson has been an inspirational and empowering leader that continues to work directly with communities to combat real-world issues," said Eric K. Hogue, CCU president. "Additionally, Woodson has a passion for our nation's founding principles and the power of education. Colorado Christian University is honored to present the William L. Armstrong Award to this important leader."

"Bob Woodson is a rare American leader - a 'solutionist' who approaches every aspect of his life with the intention of helping improve lives and communities," said Wil Armstrong, son of the late senator and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Colorado Christian University. "As founder and inspirational leader of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, now known as the Woodson Center, Bob's work has empowered grass roots leaders with the resources to transform their communities, and enabled thousands of people to lift themselves out of poverty."

The Woodson Center was founded 40 years ago, and in the decades since has invested over $50 million in 800 cities, touching tens of thousands of lives each year. Woodson met Senator Armstrong in 1986 when the two worked together on landmark legislation that enabled federal housing project residents to manage, and in some cases own, their own communities. Such neighborhoods became models for success as residents cleaned up the areas, drove away gangs and drug dealers, and increased the value of the properties.

Woodson maintained a lifelong friendship with Armstrong, later serving on the Board of Trustees of Colorado Christian University. The University awarded him an honorary doctorate of humanities in 2010.

"This award is a great honor, partly because Colorado Christian University has a special place in my heart, and also because Senator Armstrong was such a good friend to me, and to the Woodson Center," said Woodson. "We spent many years working together to help people lift themselves out of poverty, to minimize the focus on race and maximize the focus on opportunity and freedom. To see that work honored in this way means a great deal to me."

Bob Woodson grew up in South Philadelphia, the son of a World War I veteran of the famous "Harlem Hellfighters." Woodson served in the Air Force and was recognized as a gifted engineer involved in one of America's early missile systems at Cape Canaveral. He became an important leader in the early civil rights movement, passionate about empowering youth, but eventually became disillusioned with what he saw as a counterproductive focus on forced busing, and groups he saw as more interested in money and power than helping the poor.

At 87, Woodson is still at work today. His Community Affiliate Network unites leaders from cities across the country and has doubled each of the last two years. The Center's K-12 curriculum on black history and character has been downloaded over 100,000 times. He founded Voices of Black Mothers, a neighborhood development and innovation non-profit supporting leaders who are tackling some of the nation's toughest problems. He is a founder of 1776 Unites, reminding all Americans of the importance of their founding principles - individual freedom, personal responsibility and self-government.

Past recipients of the William L. Armstrong Award include: conservative talk show host Dennis Prager; Focus on the Family and "Family Talk" founder Dr. James Dobson; former attorney general and counselor to President Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese III; legal scholar and professor Robert George; Hobby Lobby president and chairman of the Museum of the Bible Steve Green; former Heritage Foundation president and founder and chairwoman of the Gloucester Institute Kay Coles James; syndicated columnist and radio commentator Cal Thomas; and CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom Kristen Waggoner.

The William L. Armstrong Award will be presented during a formal dinner on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 5:30 pm in the Colorado Christian University Event Center. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit armstrongawarddinner.com.

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