Platinum - $50,000 • Host of the evening with priority seating for 10 • Full-page color ad in program book • Invitation for four to a private reception • Special recognition in program book*	Gold - $25,000 • Prime seating for 10 • Half-page black and white ad in program book • Invitation for two to a private reception • Special recognition in program book*	Silver - $10,000 • Preferred seating for 10 • Special recognition in program book*
Individual Reservation - $500

Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, who helped lead his country to a new era of freedom and became the first democratically elected leader in Polish postwar history, will receive the Lincoln Leadership Award from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation during a special ceremony February 9, 2012 in Chicago.

"The Lincoln Leadership prize was established to recognize outstanding individuals whose lives and actions exemplify Lincoln's legacy of leadership," said Foundation CEO Dr. Carla Knorowski. "President Lech Wałęsa embodies these ideals with a lifetime of work devoted to individual equality, reform, and democracy."

Wałęsa's journey from work in the massive Lenin shipyard at Gdansk, Poland to the first democratically elected President in Poland's postwar history was an arduous one. Working as an electrician in the shipyards in the early 1970s, he witnessed violent government crackdowns ordered by Poland's Communist Party leadership against its own citizens. Wałęsa decided to take action and became recognized as a labor leader and activist, but was dismissed from the shipyard in 1976 for his anti-communist rhetoric.

Four years later, when rising food costs led to a general strike inside the Gdansk shipyard, Wałęsa scaled a fence and rejoined his fellow workers, and was quickly appointed their leader. The strike, which was soon joined by thousands of workers from across the country, forced the Polish government to agree to significant labor reforms. For his leadership, Wałęsa was elected the first Solidarity Chairman at the First National Solidarity Congress in Gdansk. These victories, however, were short-lived as the Communist government quickly reasserted its authority across the nation and Wałęsa was imprisoned for 18 months for his activities. After his release in the fall of 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle to win workers' rights in Poland.

Over the next seven years, a deteriorating economy and a reduced Soviet military presence forced the Polish Communist government to negotiate with Wałęsa and his Solidarity brethren. In 1990 he became the first democratically elected President of postwar Poland and helped to usher the country into the modern era by laying the foundation for Poland's eventual admission into NATO, and, as a free nation, into the United Nations. He served as President through 1995.

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The Lincoln Leadership Prize, established in
2006, recognizes outstanding leaders in diverse
fields. In honoring leaders of meritorious
quality, the Foundation celebrates Lincoln's
legacy of leadership. This prize is awarded to
exceptional men and women for a lifetime of
services in the Lincoln tradition, marked by
great strength of character, individual
conscience, and an unwavering commitment to
the defining principals of democracy. It
recognizes those individuals who accept the
responsibilities imposed by history and
demanded by conscience.

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