Thank you, George.
Tonight we are thrilled to present the Mary R. Smith award to Lauren Green McAfee.
Mary R. Smith was a beloved and early friend of the World Youth Alliance. I spent many happy weekends with her at “the farm”, sharing our vision with her, and explaining all the hopes and dreams we had for WYA. I think one of the amazing things about WYA is how clear the vision was to us from the beginning, and how constant our work and development has been. The past 25 years have been a consistent march towards the development of the organization, and its projects, which we envisioned from the start.
Because of this, I know that Mary Smith would be thrilled with the progress we have made in advancing a mission that was dear to us both.
Before she died, she gave me the great gift of an introduction to her daughter, Ann Seabright, who has walked with me throughout the many ups and downs of WYA over most of these years, and has been a steady and faithful guide since 2005 as the Chair of our Board. I’d like to particularly recognize Ann and her husband Tom, their 10 children, especially Elizabeth Budnik and her husband John, who have been with us over the years and are with us to celebrate here tonight.
When we look at our opponents one of the things that strikes me is that there are so few families who have made such a huge impact. They have worked carefully, consistently, and continuously, to reshape – or I might say destroy – the world we live in. This observation is encouraging, because as we look out at our own work we can see the global response of so many to the reality and truth of the human person – represented by so many with us here tonight, from over 25 countries around the word – anchored, however, by a key core of individuals and yes, families, that have been constant, consistent, and faithful.
Lauren McAfee, is a member of one of these families that are standing for the truth of the human person, regardless of the cost.
In 2012, the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, took the US Government to court. The contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”, required private employers to provide health insurance that included contraception and abortifacients to all employees.
Before filing the case, David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby, brought the issue to a vote: if required to implement the contraceptive mandate, would they shut down the company? Three generations of the Green family voted unanimously: the family would close the company rather than comply with the implementation of the contraceptive mandate.
David Green called it one of the proudest moments of his life. At that time, the company hired over 2,000 employees, and brought in an annual profit of over 6 billion USD per year. In 2014 the supreme court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, and struck down the contraceptive mandate of Obamacare.
Lauren Green McAfee is a third-generation member of the Green family. Following the Hobby Lobby victory, she founded the Life Collective in 2018. Recognizing that more needed to be done to affirm and defend life at every stage, Lauren has put herself on the line to work towards building a unified response for the defense of life in the United States and around the world.
I have worked with Lauren since 2018 as she has built and led the Life Collective. I have seen her courage, her commitment, and her grace under pressure as she navigates and leads. I am honored to collaborate with her work, and I am privileged to call her a friend.
I’d like to ask Ann Seabright to join me now to confer this award.
It is my pleasure, therefore, tonight, to give the Mary R. Smith Award, for distinguished service to the mission of the World Youth Alliance, to Lauren McAfee.