2005 Sacred Honor Award: The Davis Foundation

On June 16, 2005, the Center for Security Policy honored the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation for its generous support and thoughtful giving which has contributed immensely to the promotion of American values across a broad spectrum ranging from education, free enterprise, global initiatives and public policy.

Ambassador Davis believed that, “Democracy is something you don’t take for granted.” Perhaps most striking of all is how this conviction of his, one of the guiding principles of his life and which live on in his legacy, continues to be realized with unique fidelity and imagination today, especially through the efforts of the three generations of remarkable women: Mrs. Katherine Davis, Shelby’s valiant widow; her daughter, Diana Davis Spencer; and granddaughter, Abby Spencer Moffat.

Ambassador Davis thought a great deal about the solemn vow made by the signers of the Declaration of Independence when they wrote, “We mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” He remarked in this speech that this final phrase, sacred honor, quote, “for many is a concept from another time and another culture,” but as we see tonight it is a concept that has lived out in the lives of a remarkable family and in their philanthropic support of organizations like the Center,battling everyday to win the war of ideas in a perilous world so that our children and grandchildren will live with all the freedoms that were given us in that declaration and embrace a life of responsible liberty.

The award was accepted by Mrs. Kathryn Davis and, on behalf of her extended family and its philanthropic foundation. Mrs. Davis’ granddaughter, Abby Moffat, in her prepared remarks noted: “Our foundation espouses the values on which our nation was founded: duty, freedom, individual responsibility, honor, and the work ethic…. The strength of our military reflects the strength of our people as well as our values and our ideas.”