Andrew Ortiz speaks at the HOBY Awards Dinner. HOBY shares a national partnership with the Congressional Award.

The Congressional Award is a program that I have long admired, and truly love. I first learned about the Congressional Award program in 1987 when I was Senior Class President at Tempe Union High School in Tempe, Arizona. The program was highly recommended to me by our late Arizona Congressman Morris K. Udall, who served the Grand Canyon State with honor and distinction and ran for President of the United States in 1976.

I was very impressed with the substance of the Congressional Award, and intrigued by how it spoke to young people of America. It inspired and challenged them to become better leaders, stronger citizens, and more prolific community volunteers. These tenets were the ones I thought were essential to promoting the celebration of achievement and growth in our nation’s future leaders.

I did not start the Congressional Award program right away, but I always held it as a fervent personal goal to earn the achievement of a Congressional Award Gold Medal. I kept that goal kindled in my heart and mind as I entered Arizona State University as an undergraduate in 1987. In my Catholic Church Parish here in Tempe, I found a passionate advisor that worked with me to achieve my requirements in Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration. Through the process of working towards my achievement of the Congressional Award Gold Medal, I was fortunate to achieve many personal milestones in my life. I rendered thousands of service hours to causes serving youth, seniors, animals, the environment, and education. I conducted a white water rafting trip and hike down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. I developed my basketball skills to the point where I won the Regional Championship of the Pepsi Hotshot Basketball Competition. In short, I matured as a leader and as a person. The Congressional Award program literally changed my life.

I received my Congressional Award Gold Medal in March of 1993, and I will always remember the thrill of events that led up to the Gold Award Ceremony that year. The Gold recipients were treated with such honor, as we visited the White House, the sacred monuments of Washington, DC, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate. We even received a tour of the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover Building. All of this was a lovely preface to what was to be a truly magical moment… the actual Gold Medal Ceremony. I will always remember receiving my Gold Medal from Arizona Congressman Sam Coppersmith, and being flanked in a photo by Congressman Coppersmith and Senators John Danforth and Bob Dole. This photo, which has been framed with my Congressional Award Gold Medal still holds a place of honor in my office.

There are some poignant words in St. Luke’s Gospel that read that “Of those to whom much has been given, much shall be required.” My mother used to share this passage with me as a young boy, and it has become my mantra throughout my life. In 1999, I was selected by then Congressional Award National Director Jim Manning to represent the Congressional Award at an event in Ireland, where I met with colleagues from other National Youth Award Programs. This global celebration of youth leadership fueled my passion for the mission of the Congressional Award even more. I am now proud to be a member of the National Board of Directors for the Congressional Award Foundation and the current National President of the Gold Congressional Award Alumni Association. It is in these various capacities that I am able to give back to the Congressional Award Program and that I love more than ever.

Across this great nation, in urban centers as well as in rural communities, are young people that are doing great things. They do so not in the expectation of honors or awards. However, the Congressional Award program serves as a vital platform through which our nation’s youth can challenge themselves to aspire to a higher level of service, and a greater level of personal development and achievement. These are things we should be celebrating as a nation, and I certainly hope you will join us in doing so. America will be the better for it.

~Andrew F. Ortiz, J.D., M.P.A.
CAF Board of Directors Member

Wiley Dobbs (left) with Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter (right).

In December of 1993, I was the principal at O’Leary Junior High School in Twin Falls, Idaho. A parent came to me and asked me if I would be interested in a program called “The Congressional Award.” I told her I would look at it and unenthusiastically threw it in my pile of programs to look at. The parent was Linda Norris, an aide to then-U.S. Representative Mike Crapo. As promised, I reviewed the information she gave me and fell in love on the spot with the Congressional Award Program!

What’s not to love? The Congressional Award is voluntary, individual, and non-competitive. Whether academically gifted or challenged; affluent or impoverished; physically fit or disabled; enthusiastic about school or bored — anyone ages 13½ to 23 can participate. The program is universal. Students do not win the award; they earn it. Most of all, I liked the idea that it accentuated the positive things that so many of the young people in our nation are already doing. I was delighted to become involved in a program that recognizes the good things young people do.

In 2009, after 16 years serving on the Board of Directors of Idaho’s Council, I was appointed to the national United States Congressional Award Foundation Board of Directors by U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell.

This is truly an outstanding program, and I have tried to give every student in our school district the opportunity to participate. I have served as an Advisor to hundreds of students through the years and have recruited other educators in our district to do the same. I am proud that the Twin Falls School District has the highest percentage of involvement in the nation and that Idaho is a leading state. The Congressional Award Program is good for our students - and good for our community. Thousands upon thousands of hours of community service have been contributed by young adults in our area as they have worked in the program.

In addition, the Congressional Award Program is a family affair. Both of our sons, Dylan and Austin, are in high school now. They have earned their Silver Medals and are close to achieving their Gold. My wife and I look forward to joining them in Washington DC one day soon to watch as they receive the highest award presented by the Congress of the United States.

~Wiley Dobbs
Advisor and member of CAF Board of Directors