FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Schader (602) 730-3300 | [email protected]

O’CONNOR HOUSE TO HONOR TWO STATESMEN “A Supreme Evening For Country” Honorary Co-Chairs are Senators Dennis DeConcini and

February 26, 2015 - (Phoenix, AZ) – A Supreme Evening For Country with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the annual gala benefitting O’Connor House, will take place Friday, March 20, 2015 at the Camelback Inn. This year O’Connor House is pleased to present the inaugural O’Connor Statesmanship Award to Arizona Representative and Arizona Senator Adam Driggs.

Representative Alston and Senator Driggs have collectively served over 50 years in the Arizona House of Representatives and State Senate. Throughout their careers, both have worked diligently across the aisle to move Arizona forward.

Representative Lela Alston is a Phoenix native. In 1977, Ms. Alston was elected to the Arizona State Senate where she was a committee member on Appropriations for all 18 years of her service until 1995. As a State Senator, she also served on the Education, Rules, Government, Commerce and Labor, Judiciary, and Transportation Committees. Ms. Alston served fourteen years in Democratic Leadership as Assistant Leader and Whip.

“The work that the O’Connor House does to promote civil discourse and civic action is extremely important to our state,” stated Representative Lela Alston. “It is an incredible honor to receive one of the organization’s first O’Connor Statesmanship Award because it symbolizes the power of collaborative problem solving. I would like to offer my congratulations to Senator Driggs, who also received this award. I look forward to working with him and all my colleagues to move Arizona forward.”

Senator Adam Driggs serves as the Majority Whip in the . He is also the Vice- Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a member of the Rules Committee. Prior to his election to the Arizona Senate in 2010, Driggs served two successful terms in the Arizona House of Representatives. Senator Driggs is a Phoenix native and fifth-generation Arizonan. His father, John Driggs, served two terms as Phoenix Mayor in the early 1970’s.

“Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been a leader in promoting civility and respect in public discourse in our nation. I am honored to receive the O’Connor House Statesmanship Award,” noted State Senator Adam Driggs.

Honorary Co-Chairs and Senator Dennis DeConcini and Senator Jon Kyl, who will present Representative Alston and Senator Driggs with the O’Connor Statesmanship Award. Senator Dennis DeConcini served with Senator during Justice O’Connor’s Senate Confirmation Hearings in 1981, the year Justice O’Connor became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and Senator Jon Kyl who served in Congress for 26 years in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

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Individual Buckaroo seats for A Supreme Evening For Country are $300 per person for the March 20th gala. Table and event sponsorships are also available. To register online, visit www.OConnorHouse.org or call (602) 730-3300.

About O’Connor House United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, founder of O’Connor House, hosted Arizona leaders, national and international dignitaries in the historic adobe O’Connor home. Using civil discourse as a platform along with her trademark hospitality, she worked to build consensus and help solve complex issues. O’Connor House continues her lifetime work to advance civil discussion and civic action. We strive to build consensus and help craft solutions to vital public issues, in an environment of mutual respect and shared purpose for a better state and nation. Visit www.oconnorhouse.org.

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