2009 Recipient David Pryor

The Marie Interfaith Civic Leadership Award recognizes leaders who mobilize people of different faiths and different segments of the community to address important issues and challenges facing Arkansas. This year’s issue is aging, and the award is presented to former U.S. Sen. David Pryor for his four decades of work on the issue beginning as a young congressman in 1969.

In 1969, then Congressman David Pryor received a call from his mother about poor conditions in nursing homes she had discovered while visiting her great aunt. “You’re in a position to do something,” she said. “What are you going to do about it?” That call began an undercover exploration of nursing homes in the Washington, D.C. area which resulted in national press coverage on the issue and continued with “House Trailer Committee on Aging” volunteers who examined nursing home conditions throughout the nation. Four years after Sen. Pryor left the House, an official House Select Committee on Aging was founded in 1974 as a voice for America’s seniors. Sen. Pryor continued as a vocal advocate for seniors in his terms as Arkansas Governor and U.S. Senator. Groundbreaking legislation on aging was passed during his gubernatorial administration and he was chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. His four decades of service on this issue remain one of his many legacies for Arkansans.