Gridiron Awards Dinner 2024
Event Details
Milwaukee Press Club Announces 2024 Sacred Cat and Headliner Awards
James Bennet named Sacred Cat honoree
LeRoy Butler and Tim Sheehy to receive Headliner Awards
The Milwaukee Press Club today announced that James Bennet, a senior editor and weekly Lexington columnist for The Economist, is the club’s 2024 Sacred Cat Award honoree. The award, given annually since 1973, recognizes excellence in journalism at the national level.
Bennet will accept the award at the club’s annual Gridiron Awards event, set for Friday, May 3 at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
The club also will honor its 2024 Headliners, LeRoy Butler, Green Bay Packers legend and NFL Hall of Fame honoree; and Tim Sheehy, senior advisor and retired president of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (MMAC).
Winners of the press club’s 2023 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism competition will also be announced at the Gridiron.
“We had another strong contest year in terms of the number of entries,” said Maryann Lazarski, club president. “We look forward to honoring the high-caliber work of Wisconsin journalists.”
“I’m looking forward to hear what our Sacred Cat honoree has to say about the state of journalism and the importance of keeping bias out of decision making and reporting.”
Past Sacred Cat honorees include Manu Raju, Chuck Todd, Gloria Borger, David Fahrenthold, Marty Baron, Ann Compton and Jonathan Alter.
Bennet joined The Economist in 2021 as a visiting senior editor before being named to his current post. He previously was editorial page editor of The New York Times, where he oversaw the digital transformation of the paper’s opinion department and led it to two Pulitzer prizes in four years and also served as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Before joining The Atlantic, he worked as a reporter at the Times in various roles, including Jerusalem bureau chief, magazine correspondent, White House correspondent and Detroit bureau chief.
Butler, who played his entire NFL career with Green Bay, grew up in Jacksonville, Florida with his mother and four siblings. Butler spent much of his childhood in braces and a wheelchair because of a congenital malformation of his feet. However, after a fall from the wheelchair, he discovered he could walk and run, which allowed him to play sports. Butler was an All-America pick as a high school senior and went on to play at Florida State University before being drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 1990 draft. During his 12 years with the Packers, Butler was part of the team that defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI and went to the Pro-Bowl four times. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2022. He now speaks to students at schools and churches throughout Wisconsin, spreading his message through his Butler vs. Bullying program, which focuses on awareness, leadership and building peer relationships.
Sheehy, who was named MMAC president in 1993, stepped down in December and now serves as a senior advisor to the organization. In addition, he is on the board of MMAC’s subsidiary, the Milwaukee Development Corporation.
Sheehy serves on the boards of QPS Employment Group, Johnson Financial Group, and Pindel Global Precision. He also serves on the boards of Rocketship Charter School, where he was founding Chair, Milwaukee College Prep, Reagan High School, City Forward Collective, and Summerfest. He is former Chair of the international Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Southeastern Wisconsin Baseball Park District, and the Milwaukee Development Corporation.
Past Headliner honorees include former Wisconsin Governors Tommy Thompson and Martin Schreiber, Howard Fuller, Ted Kellner, Ricardo Diaz, Linda Mellowes, Michael Pink, Barry Alvarez, Jane Pettit, Bud Selig, James Lovell, Ben Marcus and Steve Marcus.
(Note: The Pfister is offering a discounted $10 parking rate for this event.)
Booking
Register for Event
Registration for the Gridiron Awards event is available by booking below. Registration deadline is Friday, April 26. The cost is $95 per individual. Full-time students may register for $35 – the cost for their participation is being underwritten by the MPC Endowment Ltd. Corporate table sponsorships are available for $1,200 (includes registration for eight individuals, company logo in printed program and verbal recognition during the program). Sponsorship/advertising information can be found here.
Booking information for attendees:
ENTREE SELECTIONS:
(CHICKEN) Chicken Ballotine; Mushrooms, fontina, spinach stuffed, roasted rosemary yams, mustard tarragon cream, sundried tomato pesto
(FISH) Slow Roasted Miso Salmon; Saffron jasmine rice, charred broccolini, dill cucumber salad, chimichurri (this entree is gluten free)
(VEGETARIAN) Cauliflower Risotto; Charred cauliflower, baby heirloom tomatoes, lemon arugula, Scallion, yellow beets extra virgin olive oil, and chimmi churri
(Please contact us for any special dietary needs.)
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