DENVER, Aug. 4, 2023 – American Bar Association President Deborah Enix-Ross will award a Presidential Citation to Nationwide, the insurance and financial services company based in Columbus, Ohio, for its longstanding commitment to civics education and recent work with the ABA to promote civics, civility and collaboration in the workplace.
The award will be presented at the ABA House of Delegates meeting Monday morning, Aug. 7.
With leadership from Nationwide’s Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Howard, the company worked with the ABA to present a workplace program on civics, civility and collaboration on July 13. The program also included educational videos produced by Nationwide explaining the Electoral College and how a bill becomes law. A panel featured two members of the Congressional Civility and Respect Caucus — Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) and Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) — and other Ohio election officials and politicians who discussed how respect and civility can exist in politics.
“The role of the business community in promoting civics, civility and collaboration – the Cornerstones of Democracy – cannot be overstated,” said Enix-Ross. “Nationwide has been at the forefront of making sure its employees are informed and engaged. Doing so makes our democracy and our society stronger.”
Nationwide’s Civic Action Program, which has been in existence for 45 years, exposes employees to the voting process and to the issues involved in elections in a nonpartisan fashion.
Howard will accept the award at the House of Delegates meeting7, along with other Nationwide officials Bonnie Wolf, associate vice president of staff administration, Steve English, senior vice president of external affairs and Natosha Prolago, director of political programs.
The Nationwide program with the ABA can be viewed here.
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.