WHCA Presents President’s Award

The White House Correspondents’ Association this week gave its President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the White House Correspondents’ Association to George Lehner, the association’s counsel for the last 18 years.

Lehner, who has worked countless hours as a champion of the First Amendment and the White House press, all pro-bono, is retiring at the end of the current board term in July.

In his nearly two decades of service, Lehner has been a critical adviser on issues ranging from news coverage during periods of great challenges at the White House, membership during a time of explosive growth, and even on questions of agreements with the entertainer at the WHCA annual dinner.

“George Lehner has provided wise counsel and deep insight that helped our board be more effective in service to the press corps and the association,” said Kelly O’Donnell, president of the association.

“I am grateful for his steady influence and generous spirit.  His knowledge and passion for a free press and the First Amendment have made a huge impact.  18 years of volunteer service to the WHCA is an extraordinary gift that has made many iterations of our board stronger and better.”

Among his many contributions:

–Filed Amicus briefs in both federal courts regarding the denial of access to White House journalists;

–Was a key adviser in opposition to the White House exclusion of press photographers and video journalists in favor of White House-managed photos and videos;

–Advised and coordinated numerous By-Laws updates that govern the association;

–Advised on the financing of the recent renovation of the press workspace and briefing room at the White House;

–Defended the association in court over claims of discrimination in the WHCA annual dinner.

The award was approved unanimously by the WHCA Board.

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About the WHCA

Founded in 1914, the White House Correspondents’ Association exists to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency, and to promote excellence in journalism and journalism education. Each day, we work to ensure that the men and women who cover the White House have the ability to seek answers from powerful officials, up to and including the President. We also support awards for some of the best political reporting of the past year, and scholarships for young reporters who carry our hopes for vibrant journalism in the years to come.  Our association comprises hundreds of members from the worlds of print, television, radio and online journalism. Their work, for outlets based in the United States and overseas, reaches a global audience.

About the President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the White House Correspondents’ Association.

The award was created in 2014 and given to George Condon with the unanimous support of the board in honor of his work on the history of the association.

It was given a second time in 2018, and presented to Martha Joynt Kumar, with the unanimous support of the board, in recognition of her scholarly research on presidential interactions with the press, a resource she selflessly shared with members of the press corps and with the association in aid of its work for access.

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For more information, contact Executive Director Steve Thomma at director@whca.press