FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  September 12, 2022

PEGGY NOONAN TO ADDRESS 77TH ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER
Peter Grauer will receive Happy Warrior Award and Rosanna Scotto will Emcee

Peggy Noonan, author, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, has accepted the invitation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Board of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation to address the 77th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Thursday, October 20, 2022, to be held at the Park Avenue Armory, 645 Park Avenue in Manhattan.  The Dinner begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. 

            Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bloomberg, LLP will receive the “Happy Warrior Award” at the Dinner.  Rosanna Scotto, award winning journalist and co-host of Good Day New York, will serve as the evening’s Mistress of Ceremonies. Cardinal Dolan hosts the dinner, along with Mary Erdoes, the Foundation’s Vice Chair. 

            The Smith Foundation, the Dinner’s sponsor, provides yearly financial support to not-for-profit organizations throughout the 10 counties of the Archdiocese of New York that work with children who are impoverished, neglected, abused, emotionally troubled, or physically handicapped.  Last year’s dinner raised $7.1 million to further the good work of the FoundationThe cost of the dinner is underwritten by the members of the Smith Foundation board, so that 100% of the dinner’s proceeds go directly to benefiting the neediest children of New York.

            Alfred Emmanuel Smith, the Dinner’s namesake, was a four-time Governor of the State of New York, who in 1928 became the nation’s first Catholic Presidential nominee.  He was dubbed “The Happy Warrior” for his passionate work on behalf of the poor and working class people, but always with a smile and without animosity for his political opponents.  His spirit of good humor and setting aside political differences in support of a good cause has become a hallmark of this annual dinner.

            Ms. Noonan received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2017 for her coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign. She was a Primary speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986 and is a best-selling author and columnist. She joins an illustrious history of keynote speakers from around the globe. Past speakers include: John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Barak Obama, Ronald Reagan, Tim Russert, and Tony Blair.  Last year’s speaker was Condoleeza Rice.  

Mr. Grauer is chairman of Bloomberg, the global financial technology company. He has been a member of the Bloomberg Board of Directors since October 1996 and was named chairman in March 2001, succeeding Michael R. Bloomberg. Mr. Grauer serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund.

Ms. Scottois the co-host of Good Day New York and has been a member of WNYW-FOX 5 News since 1986. She is the winner of the 1995 New York State Associated Press First Place Award for her report “New York Survival Guide” and also the winner of three other Associated Press First Place Awards, including two special Associated Press Award nominations.

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N.B.: REPORTERS WISHING TO COVER THE DINNER SHOULD SUBMIT A CREDENTIAL APPLICATION BY MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022.  PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. DUE TO SPACE CONSTRAINTS, AN APPLICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE A CREDENTIAL.