January 4, 2010

Click here to view and here to listen to John Hood discussing this press release.

RALEIGH — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich will help the John Locke Foundation celebrate its 20th anniversary next week. Gingrich will deliver the featured remarks at the JLF anniversary dinner Jan. 13 in Cary.

“I think that over the last 20 years, the John Locke Foundation has put new ideas on the table in North Carolina — ideas that did not previously get a lot of attention, ideas about freedom, about personal responsibility, about limited constitutional government,” said JLF President John Hood, who joined the Locke Foundation when it started in 1990. “I think you can see in many ways that the political debate in North Carolina has been transformed by the creation of the John Locke Foundation.”

A free-market, nonprofit, public policy think tank that focuses specifically on the Tar Heel State, the John Locke Foundation employs research, journalism, and outreach programs to transform government. “The John Locke Foundation seeks a better balance between the public sector and private institutions of family, faith, community, and enterprise,” Hood said.

The Locke Foundation’s work has attracted national attention during its first two decades. “The John Locke Foundation is really a pioneer in this movement to set up state conservative think tanks,” said Fred Barnes, Fox News analyst and Weekly Standard executive editor, during a 2008 speech in Charlotte. “They have really been one that people in other states have looked to as a model. These state think tanks — particularly the John Locke Foundation — are really indispensable if you’re a conservative.”

Before serving as vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney also noted the Locke Foundation’s importance. “The John Locke Foundation is doing great work, and I think your fame has preceded you,” Cheney told a Raleigh audience in 1994. “I think a lot of the efforts you mount are very important.”

Former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett also praised the Locke Foundation. “The John Locke Foundation is one of the best organizations of its kind in the country,” Bennett said in 1998. “By its efforts, its groundbreaking work in education, it has distinguished itself.”

The Locke Foundation has welcomed a series of distinguished speakers to North Carolina during the past two decades. The latest is Gingrich, who served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In past speeches to JLF audiences, Gingrich has outlined key elements of his public policy priorities. He’s titled next week’s address “The Future of America.”

Gingrich will speak during the John Locke Foundation’s 20th anniversary celebration. The general reception starts at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Embassy Suites in Cary. Tickets cost $75. Head to JohnLocke.org/events for preregistration and details.

For more information, please contact John Hood at (919) 828-3876 or [email protected]. To arrange an interview, contact Mitch Kokai at (919) 306-8736 or [email protected].