Join us Oct. 19 to celebrate and support the public’s right to know.
We appreciate your support of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation’s open government mission. To show our appreciation, we’re inviting you to join us Oct. 19 at the 2017 Weltner Freedom of Information Award Banquet at a special Friends of the First Amendment rate of $100 — a 60 percent discount off our regular individual ticket rate.
It’s unusual for us to offer a special rate for individual tickets to our Weltner Banquet, the foundation’s most important fundraising event. But as we mark the banquet’s 16th anniversary this year, the time is right. Over the past two years, and particularly in just the last few months, we’ve drawn interest from many more individual supporters. We want to make it possible for anyone who believes in our mission to join us for this annual celebration of open government successes — and to invest in our ongoing fight for government transparency and free speech.
You’ll find our Oct. 19 banquet inspiring. We are presenting the 2017 Weltner Award to the Carter Center’s Global Access to Information Program. Program Director Laura Neuman, our keynote speaker, will tell us how access to public information is transforming citizens’ lives worldwide. She will be introduced by Carter Center Chief Executive Officer Mary Ann Peters, former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh.
We’re also honoring the late Fulton County Superior Court Judge Stephanie B. Manis with our Open Government Hero Award. Manis, who died in December, was an unwavering advocate of open records and open meetings and proceedings during her years in the Office of the Georgia Attorney General and on the bench. U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen will offer a tribute to Manis, his longtime friend and former colleague.
The banquet takes place at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 19, at the Silverbell Pavilion of the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta. Citizens, elected officials, journalists, judges, attorneys, members of the foundation’s board of directors and other First Amendment advocates will be there to celebrate and support the foundation’s crucial and narrow mission. The Georgia First Amendment Foundation is the state’s only organization completely committed to the public’s right to know.
Secure your seat by buying a Weltner Banquet ticket today. Or, if you can’t join us at the event, make a donation to support our open government mission. We cannot do this important work without you.
For information about becoming a 2017 Weltner sponsor, please call Lenora Kopkin 678-395-3618 or email info@gfaf.org.
