GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Former vice president Dick Cheney is among the national figures who will celebrate Gerald R. Ford’s 100th birthday in Grand Rapids.
The Centennial tribute begins with a dinner on May 6, then there will be a ribbon-cutting for a feature exhibit at the Gerald R. Ford presidential museum on May 7.
The tribute dinner includes a panel discussion about Ford’s legacy. Cheney will take part, along with Ben Stein (White House speechwriter during the Nixon and Ford administrations), Bob Schieffer (CBS White House correspondent during the Ford presidency) and Steven Ford (Ford’s son).
“I am honored to pay tribute to the country’s most humble leader during his centennial celebration,” Cheney said in a media release. “President Ford was a man of great character who led our country through its roughest days. Through his leadership, I learned the importance of honesty and integrity, and admire all he was able to do through his public and private life.”
On May 7, the “Growing Up Grand” exhibit opens, which will explore and illustrate the foundational years of his life. Members of the Ford family are helping to cut the ribbon. Former U.S. ambassador to Italy Peter Secchia, who was a friend of Ford’s, will speak, along with former secretary of treasury Paul O’Neil, who was deputy director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budgets during Ford’s administration.
President Ford would turn 100 on July 14, and events in celebration of his birthday are taking place all year long.
