Leawood Man Awarded Presidential Citizens Medal

The Associated Press WASHINGTON |

A Leawood man is one of 13 Americans to receive the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal. It’s the nation’s second-highest civilian honor.

Roger Kemp of Leawood started a program called TAKE after his daughter, Ali, a 19-year-old college freshman, was killed in 2002. Kemp, who believes his daughter might still be alive if she knew how to defend herself, began The Ali Kemp Defense Education Foundation to train women to fight off attackers. More than 48,000 women have taken his classes, he said after the ceremony.

Kemp said he was overwhelmed by the presidential recognition. “It’s a very nice acknowledgement of what we’re doing but we’ll continue what we’re doing just like we always have,” he said in a telephone interview. “This isn’t the culmination of anything we’re doing.”

Recognizing the good deeds of 13 compassionate Americans, President Barack Obama said Thursday he hopes their work helping the poor, the illiterate, veterans, service members and others will “inspire us to put ourselves in another person’s shoes.”

For their service, totaling decades in some cases in communities stretching from Alaska to Florida, each of the 13 received the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal from Obama during a ceremony in the White House East Room.

Obama said Kemp and the other medal recipients were “chosen not for the work that they do, but for the example that they set.” “We don’t always get to choose the challenges that we face,” Obama added. “But how we respond is entirely up to us.”

Obama opened this year’s nominating process to the public, hoping to recognize ordinary citizens and local heroes. Nearly 6,000 submissions flooded into the White House, which needed nearly four months to whittle them down to the 13 individuals honored Thursday, he said.