The first Thomas S. Foley Award for Distinguished Public Service recipient, four-star Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, will receive the award at a fundraiser for the Foley Institute. 

Foley Institute Director Cornell Clayton said the institute was created in 1995 to honor Thomas S. Foley’s service because he was in Congress for 30 years representing the fifth congressional district and was the former Speaker of the House as well. 

“His life was committed to public service and honoring public service, so we thought it was fitting to create an award that recognized that,” Clayton said. 

For the first award, the institute was looking for someone with a national reputation for their criteria of public service, dignity and civility, while also keeping a local tie, he said.

Mattis, who is a former U.S. Secretary of Defense, was born in Pullman and has a life of commitment to public service by spending his life serving his country, Clayton said. 

When Mattis was confirmed Secretary of State, it was with a bipartisan vote, which is not seen as often anymore, so it speaks to his character and ability to get along with different parties, said Marcia Garrett, Foley Institute board member.

“The way he thinks about public services and his honorable career choice, he inspires the next generation of Americans that think of it that way as well,” he said. “I think that’s particularly important in this day when our politics has become so polarized and so cynical that we recognize leaders that show dignity and honor.”

Garrett said the award is meant to honor Foley’s legacy and bring visibility to his career as a highly distinguished speaker as well as honor individuals who are doing important work in the country.

The institute was looking for a person who was well known and would bring a lot of focus on Foley and the institute, she said. 

“[Mattis] was hugely well regarded as a military leader and strategist and as someone who was very close to his men,” she said. “When he left the administration, he went to work at Stanford. He was a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution specializing in the study of leadership, and that speaks to his capacity as an individual and as a leader in many realms.” 

Garrett said the award ceremony will be held April 9 in the John J. Hemmingson Center at Gonzaga University, and it will be open to the public. The ceremony will include a dinner and a keynote speech from Mattis; tickets will be available for purchase on the Foley Institute website, and funds from tickets will go toward the institute.