The fourth annual "Night Among Heroes" was held Saturday, November 19, 2005, at the Westin Seattle.

We honored five extraordinary local citizens who have leveraged their leadership, their courageous vision, and their own labor to benefit their communities. The featured speaker was Richard Ben-Veniste, member of the 9/11 Commission, and former Watergate prosecutor. Former Washington Senator, Slade Gorton, a fellow member of the 9/11 Commission introduced Mr. Ben-Veniste.

The 9/11 Commission (known formally as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States) received widespread praise for the candor and quality of their report and for the non-partisan cooperation that characterized their investigation of a difficult and divisive national issue. This remarkable ability to find common ground in such difficult circumstances, made Mr. Ben-Veniste an outstanding choice as speaker at the Foundation's annual dinner.

In his remarks, Mr. Ben-Veniste described how it was only through the intervention and persistence of the families of the 9/11 victims that the commission was formed in the first place. He pointed out that this willingness to take courageous action, sometimes against the advice of more traditional views, is a trait that also characterizes the 2005 Wales Award honorees.

This year for the first time, there were two co-winners of the award: Marvin Charles and Bob Dickerson.

Marvin Charles arose from the extraordinarily difficult circumstances of foster care and homelessness, managing not only to turn his own life around, but to redirect his energy entirely to helping others. He saw that there were several institutions focused on single mothers, but there was little for fathers. So he founded DADS whose goal is to get fathers to return to their children's lives. He speaks at conferences, high schools, civic meetings, and anywhere he can find an audience to hear about the paramount importance of fatherhood.

In September of 1999, Seattle attorney Bob Dickerson had surgery for a slow-growing, likely terminal cancerous tumor. The day after surgery he decided to give up his law practice and dedicate his life full time to civic activism. His motto is "live simply so others can live." Today, Bob volunteers for the international relief and poverty assistance organization, RESULTS. He has built the organization's presence significantly in Washington State, and he works with senators and congressional representatives to focus local and national attention on these global issues.

Our 2005 award finalists were Dr. Raliegh Bowden, Lindsay Palmer, and Bert Sacks.

Dr. Bowden, is a white female physician who identified a glaring need for hospice and specialized end of life care in the African-American community. To address the problem she founded the Seattle African American Comfort Program which helps provide this much needed service.

Bert Sacks, a Jewish engineer living in Seattle, was appalled to hear of the poverty, hunger and suffering of Iraqi children resulting from sanctions and war. He made many trips to the region to learn more about the problem and to bring aid and assistance. Among the personal challenges encountered by Mr. Sacks as part of his relief efforts was being charged by the U.S. government for violating the sanctions.

Lindsay Palmer is a defender of the disenfranchised. Her work is in sex offender management where she acts as a liaison between the sex offender and the community to smooth the difficult transition back into society. She is a calming and stabilizing force in a highly charged area of our justice system. She created the King County Sex Offender Management team which has significantly helped bring rational compassion to this difficult issue.