TOM MCCABE NAMED 2011 RONALD REAGAN AWARD RECIPIENT BY AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION

Washington, DC --  Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Chairman David A. Keene last night announced Tom McCabe of Olympia, Washington, as the 2011 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Award, an honor given annually to a conservative leader fighting in the trenches for the principles embodied by Ronald Reagan.  The award was presented during the conference's annual Ronald Reagan Banquet for which Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was the keynote speaker.

In presenting the award, Chairman Keene said, "Tom McCabe, during his tenure as the Executive Director of the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) for more than 20 years, built the organization into a force for free enterprise and conservative principles. Unlike most business associations across the nation, BIAW has been, under Tom's leadership, steadfast in its dedication to the defense of small business and entrepreneurship against the onslaught of the labor unions, trial lawyers, liberals and environmental extremists."

McCabe worked in the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Reagan Administration. In 1989, he and his wife Susan moved to her home state of Washington. In 1990, McCabe was named Executive Director of the BIAW and, over the next 21 years, created the premier business trade association in the state by adhering to the simple truths of promoting freedom, free enterprise, lower taxes and less regulation.

"Tom's strength of character and dedication to conservatism made him a target of the liberals and the Democratic left who always oppose conservatives and even some Republicans who have attacked Tom and BIAW to please the left in furtherance of their own political ambitions. The Ronald Reagan award is given each year to a conservative warrior and we are proud to present this year's prize to such a warrior -- Tom McCabe," Keene concluded.

The American Conservative Union is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization.  The American Conservative Union Foundation’s annual CPAC meeting is the largest gathering of conservatives annually.  Testifying to the exponential growth of the conservative movement, this year’s conference has proven to be the most highly attended in its decades-long history with fifteen percent more attendees than last year and twice as many exhibitors.  With forty percent of registrants being first time attendees, this year's CPAC will emphasize the development of a younger generation of conservatives.