Fire alarm disrupts Washington Times gala

A false fire alarm interrupted a gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Washington Times moments after former President George H.W. Bush lauded the newspaper's founders in Washington tonight, but the disturbance failed to extinguish the enthusiasm of the 1,500 people there.

The event at the National Building Museum in Washington was set up to celebrate the courage of its staff, and the news organization's commitment to faith, family and freedom. Also being recognized were four Americans who exemplify traditional American values.

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The former president's son, and the current president, George Bush, sent a letter of congratulations.

The crowd was ordered to leave the building in compliance with federal law, but Times President Thomas McDevitt pledged to continue the event after the alarm was silenced, and after a few minutes, attendees were allowed to return.

Newspaper founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon lit candles on an oversized cake in honor of the occasion.

The Times, now with a circulation of 100,258, has defied predictions of pundits who forecast an early demise and earned the praise of President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during their tenures.

It is the major alternative to the mainstream Washington Post, and under the leadership of Wedley Pruden, editor-in-chief, and Managing Editor Francis Coombs, pursues the news of the day with high journalistic standards.

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Its online version, The Washington Times.com, is the fourth largest subscription newspaper on the Internet.

"The Washington Times champions the principles of America's founding and the traditional values that allow our society to flourish – freedom, family, faith and service," said McDevitt. "We have therefore established the Founding Spirit Awards program to recognize people who are living their lives for the sake of others."

Honored were Michele Weiner-Davis, who wrote, "The Divorce Remedy: The Proven 7-Step Program for Saving Your Marriage," Robert L. Woodson Sr., of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, Douglas M. Johnston of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy, and Gregory H. Stanton, founder of Genocide Watch.

Weiner-Davis is into combating divorce, with three books on the topic of saving marriages, with a core message that even the most damaged relationships often can be revitalized and repaired.

The vast majority of troubled marriages can become happy, said Weiner-Davis, married for 30 years. Although not every marriage can or should be saved, she says, as many as 80 percent to 85 percent of the people she sees "are able to turn it around."

"In my mind," she says, "all problems are solvable until proven otherwise."

Weiner-Davis, whose offices are in Boulder, Colo., and Woodstock, Ill., is a popular public speaker and will appear next month at the Smart Marriages conference, sponsored by the Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, in Denver.

Woodson founded the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise in the same year Ronald Reagan was elected president. He was a 1990 recipient of a $350,000 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the "genius awards," based on his track record as an advocate of self-help for the poor.

"Bob is the most innovative, thoughtful neighborhood activist in this country," said former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp. "I have been with him in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, D.C., among others, and he's got his finger on the pulse not only of what people want for themselves and their families but what they need for their community and their future."

Since 1998, his center has been helping neighborhood activists learn basic bookkeeping and staff management so foundations and government will have confidence in their stability and provide operational funding. The center has trained leaders for more than 2,000 faith-based and community groups in 39 states.

Johnston was in Afghanistan not even a month ago, meeting with Muslim Taliban, tribal and religious leaders and explaining the U.S. war on terrorism in terms the Afghans could comprehend: hospitality, loyalty and revenge.

There, face to face with him, Johnston said, "they understood."

Building trust, which he hopes will lead to measures toward peace, is the latest project for the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy, a non-profit that works to resolve and prevent conflicts by incorporating religious considerations into international relations and peacemaking.

Gregory H. Stanton founded Genocide Watch, an international group that aims to prevent and punish genocide and other forms of mass killing, after seeing firsthand the results of that in Cambodia.

He recalls watching as mass graves holding thousands of victims were opened.

"I was actually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder once I returned," Stanton said. "My doctor said to me, 'Depression is repressed anger. What are you angry about?'

"I said I was angry at the [communist] Khmer Rouge and the injustice in Cambodia," he said. "They have gotten away with mass murder – again. And he said, 'Well, what are you going to do about it?' That's when I knew I had to start the Cambodian Genocide Project."