Our own Mark Hogg, Founder and CEO, has been selected as the Kentucky Humanitarian of the Year and will be awarded with this honor on Thursday, October 3rd at The Inaugural Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards: An Evening of Recognizing Greatness. The event will be a night of celebration, recognition and inspiration honoring humanitarians who exemplify Muhammad’s six core principles in the following categories: Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect and Spirituality for young people (35 and under); Kentucky Humanitarian of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Award. All of these awards recognize individuals around the world who have made significant contributions toward the attainment of peace, social justice or other positive actions pertaining to human or social capital. The event will take place from 6:00-9:30pm that evening at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville.
Mr. Hogg, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Nashville, ended up in Louisville with a combination of skills as a construction company owner and youth minister. It was through church-led missions to West Africa in 1983, that he learned about the world’s water crisis and realized that water could be a connecting point between cultures.
Through WaterStep, Mr. Hogg’s focus is on providing solutions to the world’s water crisis, from bringing safe water to developing countries to providing water for disaster relief and emergency contingency plans in local communities. He launched his non-profit organization in 1995 as EDGE Outreach and he has since championed the cause on a global level. In 2012, Mr. Hogg refocused and grew the organization to become WaterStep. That same year, he founded IF Water, an international water conference held in conjunction with Idea Festival ® and speaks to international audiences on clean water issues.
Mr. Hogg had this to say about being named the Kentucky Humanitarian of the Year: “I am truly honored to be amongst those receiving the first-ever Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards. We fight to save lives at risk from waterborne illness around the world every day. We believe the world water crisis is solvable in our lifetime and that ordinary people will innovate and replicate tangible ways to make this happen. Knowing something is possible is often the catalyst that activates an entire populace. Muhammad Ali’s identified six core principles of confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality are important whether you are standing toe to toe with an opponent, living in community, or facing issues of any magnitude. So, I don’t take this award lightly. I accept it with great respect of a man who not only exemplifies social justice, but is also an iconic humanitarian himself.”
