2023 winners

Zone 28 Dr. Gail Leslie Hoffman
Dr. Gail Leslie Hoffman is a member of the Rotary Club of Midland, Michigan, where she serves as their Peacebuilding Committee Chair.  She also holds positions as District 6310 Peace & Conflict Resolution Champion and Rotary International Peace Fellowship Subcommittee Chair.
 
Gail’s background is as a distinguished educator and leader in the academic setting. She earned a Ph.D from Michigan State University in Higher Adult & Lifelong Education in 2005 and retired from Delta College as Interim Vice President of Instruction & Learning Services and Dean of Teaching & Learning in July 2013.  She has an unwavering commitment to making a difference. She is a role model and champion of student success.  It only makes sense that after retirement each initiative she joined had a youth focus. The first Rotary Club committee Gail joined was Focus on Youth; she is still a member.
 
Rotary International’s vision, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves” is also Gail’s vision. A lifelong learner, Gail educates herself through research, certificate completion (“Creating Wellbeing” (2021) and most recently as an IEP (Institute for Economics & Peace) Ambassador (2023). She embraces opportunities for conference attendance; within the last few years, she has attended the Presidential Peace Conference on Basic Education and Literacy and Peace (Chicago), Rotary Peacebuilding Summit, the World Peace Conference, and two additional Presidential Peace Conferences linked to Rotary International Conventions.  She strives to learn all she can about Positive Peace defined as the “attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies”.
 
Gail’s efforts in nonviolent solutions have resulted in several collaborations with churches and nonprofits in her communities and around the world. She actively pursues grant money and funding for peacebuilding in South Sudan in collaboration with the Juba Rotary Club and with NewGen Peacebuilders (who provide training for peace education and mentoring for young people ages 14-25). She and her husband, Tom Lane, helped support a South Sudanese refugee who was granted asylum and completed his education in the U.S.
 
Gail takes her acquired learnings and shares this knowledge by organizing, encouraging, writing, partnering, chairing committees, presenting, collaborating, and speaking.  In partnership with Nonviolent Peaceforce – Midland, she was instrumental in Midland’s recent designation (November 2021) as an International City of Peace, a nonprofit organization that advocates for a nonviolent world.  She will continue networking and making connections to expand the growing web of peace advocates around the world.  She is currently working on a youth peacebuilding project with Mothering across Continents dba NewGen Peacebuilders in Juba. 
 
Gail’s greatest asset is her expansive reach.  Her undeclared focus is to advocate for Positive Peace. After all that Dr. Hoffman has done, her professed goal is to “continue networking and making connections to expand the growing web of peace advocates locally and globally”.  Gail was recently recognized (June 9, 2023) with a Community Peace Award at the inaugural Mridha International Peace Symposium at Saginaw Valley State University.
 
Zone 32 Richard "Rick" Benson
Richard “Rick” Benson has dedicated a large segment of his life to the betterment of humanity through his decades of Rotary work. He has represented this in his commitment to causes, administration (thousands of hours of service above self on Administration and hands on work) as well as in offering his treasure in terms of being an Arch Klumph Society Member. He is a formidable gentleman with a background that started his service in the Navy decades ago and continues tirelessly today. He completed a three year Rotary Foundation Chair in District but continued this role when needed, then dedicated himself to working on the Zone level assisting.'
 
On a Global Grant trip to Mombasa, Kenya on Polio Day he had spent some days doing hands on work at a school in dire need. Rick did the Polio Walk through the hot streets of Mombasa and arrived at the end he made a presentation – his dedication had many in tears talking about the importance of “humanity to humanity in person” work to best forge ties that lead to Global Peace. Then, in the crowd, he heard that around the corner there was a blood drive. With no hesitation, he handed back the microphone and went to the blood drive. This is a Person of Action of the highest caliber that exemplifies each theme as the Rotary Years roll by. He is a Peace advocate no matter where he travels on Rotary work – some of the most recent places being Guatemala (with great dedication to Education and Literacy) and Uganda (medical needs at hospitals). If there was ever a person that would be most humble and dedicated to furthering Peace AND utilize the award not for self promotion but simply to keep the theme of Peace always present – it is PDG Richard “Rick” Benson, of D-7980 Southern Connecticut.
 
Some additional impressive details, a third generation Rotarian, he joined the Westport (CT) Rotary Club 1989, served as club president 1994-95, 6 terms as an Assistant Governor, DG 2008-09, District Rotary Foundation Chair 2013-19, Council on Legislation Rep 2016, 2022, and 2025 and Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator for 3 districts in metro NYC. (2019-2022). He is currently District International Chair and District Grants Chair. A recipient of the Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award, the Citation for Meritorious Service and the RI Service Above Self Awards, he is a Paul Harris Society member, an Arch Klumpf Society member, and Bequest Society of the Rotary Foundation.
 
Married to Totney Benson for 52 years, they have one son RB, living in CT but working in NYC. Rick has a BA from Denison U, a BS from Carnegie-Mellon U., and an MBA from the Wharton School – U of PA. Professionally he has been a residential real estate developer/ luxury home builder since 1981.