YHTP will honor world champion figure skater Scott Hamilton at its annual Powerhouse Awards lunch, set for 11 AM on Tuesday, April 23, at City Winery in Nashville.
“Our work with people affected by crime is about turning victims into survivors, people who can support others and change their communities,” Cathy Gurley, CEO of YHTP, said. “This year’s honoree is also a survivor triumphing both in multiple world championships, but also in his battles with cancer. And now Scott is working to support victims of abuse and amplify the national dialogue surrounding it.”
Scott’s gold-medal performance at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics is only one of the roughly 70 titles, awards, and honors he achieved during his skating career, in addition to his sports commentary and career as an author. Following his mother’s passing from and his own survival of cancer, he launched the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship) in 2014 to support cancer research and patient care. That same year, he founded the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy, in partnership with the NHL’s Nashville Predators, at Ford Ice Center in Antioch (with a second location to open in Bellevue this fall) to offer skating lesson to Nashville’s children.
However, YHTP is honoring Scott for his efforts to address the culture of silence that enables sexual abuse of young athletes. His latest motivational speaking appearances have confronted these issue head-on, encouraging audiences to pay attention to the voiced and unvoiced signs of abuse by authority figures.
John M. Seigenthaler award-winning communications professional and former anchor/correspondent for NBC News (and a member of YHTP’s Board of Directors) will emcee this year’s event, which will also include remarks by the Honorable David Briley, Mayor of Metropolitan Davidson County.
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Photo credit: John A. Russell