The Thomas Kennedy Award and the Speaker's Medallion take their design from the mace of the Maryland House of Delegates. The mace is the symbol of the independence and authority of the House. It is used to bring order to the House and to summon witnesses before it. The mace first took on special meaning in the context of the history of a legislative body when it was employed by the House of Commons as a symbol of its resistance to King Charles I. The mace of the House of Commons apparently was an ebony rod surmounted by a silver globe bearing the King's coat of arms and other marks of Royal authority.
The first mace of the House of Delegates (then known as the Lower House of Assembly) was presented to it by Governor Francis Nicholson in 1698. Although it is not known for certain, the present mace may well be the original mace. It is capped by silver, upon which is engraved the 1794 Great Seal of Maryland, designed by Charles Willson Peale, a native Marylander and one of the foremost artists of his day. The mace is 24 1/2 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter and is made of ebony. Today it is placed in a wooden holder on the lower rostrum of the House of Delegates Chamber whenever the House is in Session.
Annually, two medallions are awarded by the speaker. One is awarded to a former member of the House in recognition of an outanding career of service. The other is given to individuals chosen for exemplary service to the House and the state. Both are given in memory of Thomas Kennedy, a former member of the House, for his courageous stand on principle.
The Thomas Kennedy Award
Awarded to a former member of the House of Delegates
for his or her personal courage and dedication to the
principles of liberty and freedom.
The Speaker's Medallion
Presented to a Maryland citizen who has made an outstanding contribution to the state
1995: Dr.
William C. Richardson
1996: Judges Robert
C. Murphy & Robert
F. Sweeney
1997: Walter
Sondheim, Jr.
1998: Bishop
L. Robinson
1999: Dr.
Nancy Grasmick
2000: Parren
J. Mitchell
2001: H.
Furlong Baldwin and Susan McCahan
2002: William
Donald Schaefer
2003: Dr. Morton I. Rapoport
2004: Dr.
Freeman A. Hrabowski III
2005: Lieut.
General (Ret.) James F. Fretterd
2006: Edward
E. Cornwell III, MD and Thomas
M. Scalea, MD
2007: Dr.
William E. Kirwan
2008: Sister
Helen Amos
2009: William C. Baker
2010: Helen
Delich Bentley
2011: Edward D. Miller and Ronald R. Peterson
2012: Kevin A. Plank
2013: John M. Colmers
2014: Rebecca J. Landa, Holly Winde Surhoff, and Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse
2015: Dr. Darryll J. Pines
2016: Dr. E. Albert Reece and Robert A. Chrencik
2017: Norman R. Augustine
2018: Barbara Ann Mikulski
2019: Gerald S. Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John P. McNamara, Rebecca A. Smith, and Wendi Winters
2020: Linda R. Gooden
2022: Nancy K. Kopp
The Casper R. Taylor, Jr. Founder's Award
Presented to a sitting member of the House of Delegates for steadfast
commitment to public service and the integrity of the House of Delegates
2003: John
S. Arnick
2004: Pauline
H. Menes
2005: Hattie N. Harrison
2006: A.
Wade Kach
2007: Ruth
M. Kirk
2008: not awarded
2009: Mary
Ann Love
2010: Carolyn
J. Krysiak
2014: Kathleen M. Dumais
2011: Rudolph C. Cain
2012: Brian K. McHale
2013: Veronica L. Turner
2014: Kathleen M. Dumais
2015: Tawanna P. Gaines
2016: Samuel I. Rosenberg
2017: Sheila E. Hixson and Susan L. M. Aumann
2018: Nicholaus R. Kipke and Frank S. Turner
2019: Adrienne A. Jones
2020: Dana M. Stein
2022: Maggie McIntosh
