Joni Eareckson Tada, CEO of Joni and Friends, Honored with Inaugural Legacy Leader Award at the 2024 Global Leadership Summit
AGOURA HILLS, California, August 21, 2024 – Recognizing decades of exemplary service and courageous leadership, the Global Leadership Network honored Christian speaker and disability rights advocate Joni Eareckson Tada this month with their inaugural Legacy Leader Award.
Joni, who lives with quadriplegia, was honored for 45 years as CEO of Joni and Friends, which has served over 14 million people with disabilities worldwide. She accepted the award at the 30th annual Global Leadership Summit, the world’s largest leadership event, in South Barrington, Illinois on August 9th.
Joni delivered the keynote address in a special public appearance. She spoke on the leadership lessons she’s learned running an international Christian ministry while living with paralysis and chronic pain.
“In the four and a half decades that I’ve led the ministry of Joni and Friends, I’ve had to forget everything I ever heard about personal power leading to effective leadership. Confidence, charisma, and chutzpah count for little over the long haul,” Joni said. “The most effective leaders do not rise to power in spite of their weakness; they lead with power because of their weakness.”
Since its founding in 1979, Joni and Friends has distributed over 220,000 wheelchairs and Bibles to disabled people in low-resource countries around the world and hosted more than 86,000 individuals living with disability and their family members at faith-based Family Retreats. The ministry also serves Veterans, single parents, and married couples living with disability, in addition to training and equipping churches to welcome and embrace people with special needs.
2024 is the 45th year of Joni and Friends, which Joni founded after a 1967 diving accident that left her paralyzed. Her 1976 autobiography, which recounts how God helped Joni come to terms with her injury, sold over five million copies. The evangelist Billy Graham produced Joni’s story into a movie, and she spoke at twelve of his Crusades around the world.
Joni’s impact reaches beyond her ministry. She served on the National Disability Council and helped to develop the first draft of the Americans with Disabilities Act, in addition to serving on other federal and national disability boards. She is also known for her ability to paint with a brush in her mouth.
The Global Leadership Summit, an annual gathering that brings together experts in ministry and the marketplace, reached 300,000 registrants in 123 countries on August 8th and 9th in a two-day simulcast event.
The summit is the flagship event of the Global Leadership Network, which aims to nurture leadership that can change the world by empowering and inspiring others to live out their purpose.
Upon receiving the award, Joni pledged to live up to the Legacy Leader honor.
“I will squeeze every ounce of ministry out of my paralyzed body that I possibly can so that the world’s disabled can be reached with the Gospel of God’s grace. I promise I will lift up my weakness in exchange for Christ’s strength,” Joni said. “And I invite you to do the same.”
About Joni and Friends: For more than 40 years, Joni and Friends has provided the hope of the Gospel and practical care to people living with disability around the globe. Ministry programs include Joni’s House, Wheels for the World™, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training. Joni and Friends also delivers daily inspirational media through radio programs and podcasts.
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Since 1979 Joni and Friends has committed to reaching and serving people with disabilities with practical help and the saving love of Jesus.
