Awards

The Council of American Ambassadors has established two Awards. The Benjamin Franklin Award for Outstanding Diplomatic Service was established in 1992. In 2013, the Council established the Henry L. Kimelman-Milton A. Wolf Award in memory of two distinguished leaders and founding members of the organization.
Benjamin Franklin Award for Outstanding Diplomatic Service
The Benjamin Franklin Award for Outstanding Diplomatic Service of the Council of American Ambassadors honors private citizens who answer the President’s call to serve the United States. It bears the name of Benjamin Franklin, America’s first citizen ambassador, as a tribute to the exceptional diplomatic tradition that he initiated
The Council has bestowed this award on ten distinguished individuals, who exemplify the high standard of excellence and the ideals of foresight and perseverance that Franklin himself deemed essential for the successful conduct of public affairs.
Recipients of the Benjamin Franklin Award are:
President George H. W. Bush (presented on November 16, 1992)
The Honorable Michael J. Mansfield (presented on April 25, 1994)
The Honorable George S. McGovern  (presented on April 29, 2003)
The Honorable Robert D. Stuart, Jr. (presented on April 29, 2003)
The Honorable James A. Baker, III (presented on May 6, 2008)
The Honorable William J. Vanden Heuvel (May 6, 2013)
The Honorable Keith L. Brown (May 6, 2013)
The Honorable Bruce S. Gelb (May 6, 2013)
The Honorable Henry L. Kimelman (presented posthumously on May 6, 2013)
The Honorable Ogden Reid (May 6, 2013)
Henry L. Kimelman ~ Milton A. Wolf Award
The Council of American Ambassadors has established a new award in memory of two distinguished leaders and founding members of the organization. The Henry L. Kimelman ~ Milton A. Wolf Award honors Council members who have exercised outstanding leadership and made extraordinary contributions to the Council.
On May 6, 2013, Ambasassdors Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Glen A. Holden and John L. Loeb, Jr., became the inaugural recepients of this award for advancing the Council's mission through exemplary leadership, active participation and steadfast support of the organization. It is fitting that Ambassadors Gildenhorn, Holden and Loeb, whose combined record of service to the Council of American Ambassadors exceeds seven decades, were the inaugural recipients of the Henry L. Kimelman ~ Milton A. Wolf Award.