Bozeman’s Greg Mortenson receives national public service award – "Three Cups of Tea"

Greg Mortenson of Bozeman has received a national public service award for his 16 years of work building schools and promoting education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson was one of four people who received a national Jefferson Award for Public Service during a ceremony Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.

Mortenson was recognized in the category of “greatest public service by a private citizen,” while U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was honored for “greatest public service by an appointed official.”

Mortenson, 51, founded the Central Asia Institute https://www.ikat.org/ , a nonprofit organization that has established more than 90 schools since 1993. He is also the co-author of “Three Cups of Tea,” http://matr.net/news.phtml?cat_id=106&catlabel=Three+Cups+of+Tea+-+The+Central+Asia+Institute the best-selling account of how promoting education became his life’s work.

Full Story: http://helenair.com/articles/2009/06/19/state/85st_090619_mortenson.txt