April 19, 2008 • Coralville Marriott • Coralville

About the Fourth Annual Hoover-Wallace Dinner,
Honoring Exceptional Humanitarian & Public Service

The 2008 Hoover-Wallace Dinner honored three Iowans whose exemplary careers in public and humanitarian service have impacted the world – Senator John Culver, Congressman Jim Leach, and Dr. Ignacio Ponseti.

Serving in the U.S. Congress, Iowa natives John Culver (a Democrat) and Jim Leach (a Republican) were models of bipartisanship in public service and dedication to resolving intractable global issues like nuclear armament, natural resource degradation, and poverty. Ignacio Ponseti, a native of Spain who has made Iowa his home for over sixty years, has similarly won national and international renown for his work to correct clubfoot – the congenital bone defect that leaves children and, when untreated, adults, unable to walk, and is a particularly severe problem in developing countries.

With diverse backgrounds in law, government, business, and medicine, these three men are united by their global perspective and their dedication to service, making each of them an outstanding ambassador on behalf of Iowa to the world.

From 1964 to 1980, Senator John Culver served in the U.S. House of Representatives and then the U.S. Senate, combining vision, pragmatism, and a bipartisan spirit to become a leader on a variety of issues. He advocated for strong American leadership in global affairs through enhanced trade, robust foreign assistance to developing nations, and promotion of peace and stability. During the arms race and international tension of the Cold War, he promoted diplomacy and sought understanding between the United States and the Soviet Union as means of preventing nuclear war, and he was a leader in the Senate in advocating for approval of the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.

Senator Culver also worked on behalf of preserving natural resources and sustainable agricultural production. He built bipartisan support for continuing the Endangered Species Act and partnered with other state leaders to found the National Soil Tilth Laboratory at Iowa State University as a center for research in soil and water quality, agricultural productivity, and environmental conservation.

Since leaving Congress in 1981, Senator Culver has maintained his ties to his home state. In 2000, he published American Dreamer, a celebrated landmark biography of Henry A. Wallace, to acquaint the world and a new generation with the political vision, agricultural genius, and humanitarian dedication of one of Iowa’s foremost heroes.

Congressman Jim Leach represented Iowa for 30 years in the U.S House of Representatives. During that time, he emerged as a leader in ethics, finance, and foreign policy, building on his experiences heading his family business as well as serving in the U.S. Foreign Service. Legislation that he authored encompassed domestic banking reform, strengthening the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps, redressing the loss of property and assets by Holocaust victims and survivors, and relieving the debt burden on several of the world’s poorest countries.

Congressman Leach was noted for his dedication to cooperation in decision-making and politics, whether across partisan lines in the Congress, where he established a reputation for his moderate views and independent voting record, or across national boundaries, as chair of the international Parliamentarians for Global Action association.

Since leaving Washington, Congressman Leach remains widely renowned for his respect for and understanding of the process of government and policy, serving as an educator at Princeton and Harvard universities. He is also widely sought for his expert opinion on international affairs, particularly regarding the United Nations and China.

Now 93 years old, Dr. Ignacio Ponseti came to Iowa in 1941 as a refugee from his native Spain under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Having graduated from medical school in Barcelona and served as a battlefield physician for the republican forces in the Spanish Civil War, Dr. Ponseti was attracted to the University of Iowa’s hospital and medical school, particularly its orthopedics department, and immediately began studying the treatment of clubfoot.

At the time, treatment of clubfoot in infants and children involved forceful manipulation and surgery to twist the affected feet into place, often tearing ligaments and tendons or damaging joints in the process. As patients grew into adulthood, crippling stiffness, arthritis, and other complications were common. To minimize the damage of treating clubfoot, Dr. Ponseti devised a method of slowly repositioning the foot with a series of casts to remodel the bones and ultimately straighten the feet. The “Ponseti Method” has since become the standard means of treating clubfoot internationally, enjoying 95% effectiveness.

Because the Ponseti Method does not involve delicate or invasive surgical procedures, it is easily implemented in communities and clinics in developing countries that have especially high rates of clubfoot in children. Ponseti International, founded in 2006 at the University of Iowa, is now working to train health-care workers in the Ponseti Method and to improve access to the treatment globally. Hailed as a “legend” by leaders in pediatric and orthopedic surgery, Dr. Ponseti’s name and his method are synonymous with innovation and the alleviation of suffering worldwide.

About the Hoover-Wallace Dinner:

The Hoover-Wallace Dinner was established in 2004 to recognize Iowa’s humanitarian leaders and to honor Iowa’s humanitarian heritage.  The event is designed as an occasion where Iowans come together above political, social, ethnic and racial differences to celebrate Iowa’s legacy of feeding the world and alleviating human suffering.

The theme of the dinner is exemplified by the achievements of its namesake native Iowans: Former President Herbert Hoover who arranged for the delivery of food to Europe during World War I, saving hundreds of millions of people from starvation; and former Vice-President Henry Wallace, whose agricultural innovations increased food availability and nutrition for millions more. The dinner is sponsored by the World Food Prize Foundation and the Rotary Clubs of Iowa. Proceeds from the event help fund the World Food Prize Borlaug-Ruan International Internship Program.

Rotary Districts 6000 and 5970