Churchill Fellows inducted at Westminster College

With R. Crosby Kemper III, far right, looking on, new Churchill Fellows were inducted Saturday, April 1, 2017. Pictured with Senior Churchill Fellow Edwina Sandys (a granddaughter of Winston Churchill) are, front row from left, Duncan Sandys, Ret. Gen. David Petraeus, William "Bill" Roedy, Richard C. Marsh, Lee Pollock and Harold Oakley. In the second row, from left, are Jon Meacham and Westminster President Benjamin Ola. Akande.
With R. Crosby Kemper III, far right, looking on, new Churchill Fellows were inducted Saturday, April 1, 2017. Pictured with Senior Churchill Fellow Edwina Sandys (a granddaughter of Winston Churchill) are, front row from left, Duncan Sandys, Ret. Gen. David Petraeus, William "Bill" Roedy, Richard C. Marsh, Lee Pollock and Harold Oakley. In the second row, from left, are Jon Meacham and Westminster President Benjamin Ola. Akande.

Eight prominent leaders, including former MTV chair person and CEO William Roedy, Ret. Gen. David H. Petraeus and 21st Westminster President Benjamin Ola. Akande have been inducted into the Association of Churchill Fellows at Westminster College in Fulton.

The ceremony took place on Saturday, April 1 in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, home of the National Churchill Museum. Acting as Senior Fellow, Winston Churchill's granddaughter, noted artist and sculptor Edwina Sandys, M.B.E. bestowed the honor on the new inductees.

Other inductees included:

Jon Meacham - Journalist, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author;

Richard C. Marsh - Longtime president of the Winston Churchill Society of Michigan;

Lee Pollock - Former executive director of the Churchill Centre and Trustee of the International Churchill Society;

Duncan Sandys - Great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill and past Lord Mayor of Westminster; and

Harold B. Oakley - Chair of the Westminster College Board of Trustees and Trustee of the International Churchill Society.

The Association of Churchill Fellows is an honorary society of people dedicated to the development and use of the National Churchill Museum at Westminster. In 1946, then-British Prime Minister Churchill was given an honorary degree and delivered his historic "Iron Curtain" speech.

Since 1969 when the Association began, 300 individuals who have demonstrated support and service to the museum have been recognized as "Fellows."

Past inductees include journalist Walter Cronkite, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Churchill Fellows Weekend is an annual event where a national expert on Churchill delivers the Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture and new Churchill Fellows are inducted. Meacham delivered the Kemper Lecture, which was followed by a presentation by Petraeus. This year, for the first time, the International Churchill Society Board of Trustees also met at Westminster over the weekend.

The National Churchill Museum is a state-of-the-art museum that combines interactive sight, sound and touch technology to tell Churchill's story. For more information about the National Churchill Museum, visit www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org.