The raised lettering on the red, yellow, and blue sculpted "Freethought Action Hero" award declares its first recipient: Jennifer Lovejoy of Asheville, North Carolina. It will be conferred during the forthcoming Carolinas Secular Conference, September 28-30, at the Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Boulevard, Charleston, SC. FreeThoughtAction Vice President Joseph McDaniel Stewart will make the presentation Saturday evening, September 29, as one of the highlights of the banquet. FreeThoughtAction is best known for its “Don’t Believe In God? You Are Not Alone” and “One Nation Indivisible” billboard campaigns and is an independent marketing adjunct of the American Humanist Association.
“With this award," said Stewart," Jennifer Lovejoy is being recognized as a true Freethought Action Hero for her courage, persistence and willingness to take a stand. Her ability to weather withering local criticism during the controversial 2010 North Carolina ‘One Nation Indivisible’ billboard campaign has been an inspiration to all of us who work for a more rational and secular America.”
"I've never considered myself a hero," Lovejoy said. "To me the billboard campaign was an opportunity to reach people who may have otherwise felt alone. It is people who matter to me."
Jennifer Lovejoy is a disabled Army veteran, wife and mother of two boys. She currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina, where she has been the spokesperson for Western North Carolina Atheists for three years. She is also founder and current president of Western North Carolina Humanists, a group involved in several community service projects, including Relay for Life and Light the Night. (For more information visit WNCHumanists.org .)
The award is a colorful, sculpted 10.5 inch representation of an androgynous action hero with arms and hands raised, and the letter “A” for "Action" emblazoned on its chest. “We'll be presenting more of these awards in the future," added Stewart, "but I’m honored to be able to confer the very first on Jennifer Lovejoy. This one is long overdue.”
The Carolinas Secular Conference is being organized by the Carolinas Secular Association, a regional coalition consisting of secular freethought organizations across the Carolinas. Other awards to be presented during the conference include the “Carolinas Freethinker of the Year” award, to be presented to Amy Monsky, president of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry and Camp Director of Camp Quest–South Carolina; and the “Special Achievement” award to be presented to Justin Griffith, creator of the "Rock Beyond Belief" festival last year at Fort Bragg.
Featured speakers and special presenters at the conference include: Maggie Ardiente, director of development and communications for the American Humanist Association; Edwina Rogers, executive director of the Secular Coalition for America; and Mike Werner, former president of the American Humanist Association. Also in attendance will be Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. This will be its second annual Carolinas Secular Conference. The first was held in Carolina Beach, NC, in November, 2011.
For a high resolution image of Jennifer Lovejoy, free for media use, please go to: http://www.freethoughtaction.org/images/Jennifer.jpg .
For a high resolution image of the FREETHOUGHT ACTION HERO Award, free for media use, go to: http://www.freethoughtaction.org/images/P9241206-800.jpg .
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FreeThoughtAction ( http://FreeThoughtAction.org ) is an independent marketing adjunct of the American Humanist Association ( http://AmericanHumanist.org ).
The Carolinas Secular Conference ( http://CarolinasSecularConference.org ) is organized to provide an opportunity for learning and sharing, bringing in speakers to inform and train, as well as to award grass roots achievement by individuals across North and South Carolina. Attendees will join in a live network of planning to meet the challenges of the next year and the coming decade. Beyond its role as a working event, the Carolinas Secular Conference aims to be a joyous celebration of the growing secular movement and culture and an opportunity for nontheists of all stripes to make new friends across the region.
The Carolinas Secular Association ( http://CarolinasSecularAssociation.org ) is a recently incorporated regional “coalition of reason” consisting of secular freethought organizations across the Carolinas and is responsible for organizing the conference.
