State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola says that Linda McMahon of Greenwich will be this year’s recipient of the Prescott Bush Award, the Connecticut Republican Party’s highest honor, during the party’s upcoming annual fund-raiser. McMahon, the millionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment lost the 2010 US Senate campaign to Richard Blumenthal and the 2012 contest to Chris Murphy.
“Linda McMahon has shown tremendous leadership, both as a candidate herself and as a tireless advocate for Republicans at all levels of local, state and federal government,” Labriola said in a statement. “Her experience creating, building and running a business has helped shine a light on the need for government to help, not hinder, the creation of jobs in order to help our state and our economy prosper.”
Here is the rest of the GOP release:
“Since leaving the campaign trail, McMahon has continued to support Republican candidates across Connecticut and across the country. She has also shared her insights and experience as a CEO to educate small business owners and future entrepreneurs; and she has drawn attention to the need for more women in leadership, both in government and in business. She has been active in philanthropy, guiding the Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation in support of various causes focused on education and women and children at risk.
Past recipients of the Prescott Bush Award include State Sen. John McKinney, Ambassador Tom Foley, House Republican Leader Larry Cafero, Governor M. Jodi Rell, Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele, and Congressman Rob Simmons.
The 36th Annual Prescott Bush Awards Dinner will take place on April 10 at the Stamford Hilton Hotel. Gov. Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and a grandson of Prescott Bush, will be the keynote speaker.
About Linda McMahon:
Linda McMahon stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment in Stamford, Connecticut, in 2009, to run for the U.S. Senate. As a business executive, McMahon helped grow WWE from a modest, 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 700 employees in offices worldwide. She spearheaded a wide variety of community and charitable programs at WWE, including the company’s Get R.E.A.L. educational and literacy programs. The Make-A-Wish Foundation has recognized WWE as a top wish granter, awarding it its highest honor in 2004. McMahon was appointed to the organization’s National Advisory Council in 2005.
McMahon has been widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives. In 2013, she was honored as one of Moves Magazine’s “Power Women.” In 2007, she was named one of Multichannel News’ “Wonder Women,” recognizing her accomplishments as a leader in the cable television industry.
In 2009, McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education, appointed by Governor M. Jodi Rell.
McMahon serves on the boards of Sacred Heart University of Fairfield, Connecticut; the Close Up Foundation, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that works to educate and inspire young people to participate in our democracy; and American Corporate Partners, a New York-based organization that pairs returning veterans with mentors in the workforce.
McMahon is a graduate of East Carolina University. She and her husband, Vince, have two adult children and six grandchildren.
About the Prescott Bush Award:
The Prescott Bush Award was established in 1978 to honor an outstanding leader of the Connecticut Republican Party. It is named in honor of the late Prescott Bush, Sr. of Greenwich who represented Connecticut in the United States Senate from 1952 to 1962. Bush, who was the father of former President George H.W. Bush, held numerous public and political offices including Chairman of the Republican State Finance Committee from 1947 to 1950.”