Approximately 1,000 Urban League supporters, including business leaders and local government and community leaders, gathered at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on April 21 for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts’ 15th Annual Awards Gala and 90th Anniversary Celebration. Raytheon was proud to be this year’s lead sponsor.

Every year, the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM) celebrates the contributions of its corporate and community partners, volunteers and individual donors by honoring outstanding leaders who exemplify ULEM’ s mission. This year, ULEM recognized John Rosenthal, founder, Stop the Handgun Violence campaign, and Joan Wallace Benjamin, former chief of staff for Governor Deval Patrick, for their leadership in the Boston area.

Raytheon Chairman and CEO William H. Swanson served as the evening’s Gala Chair. He congratulated the award recipients and said, "Raytheon is honored to team with the Urban League to support the economic and educational development of our community."

"Together with the Urban League," he said, "we can help Massachusetts continue to develop world-class engineers and scientists."

Swanson thanked everyone for contributing to help make the annual fundraising evening a success. As the lead sponsor this year, Raytheon helped the ULEM raise more than $500,000, a new event record.

Following the welcome came remarks from distinguished guests, including Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, and National Urban League President Marc Morial.

Twenty-five Raytheon employees attended the award gala, including John Harris, vice president of Contracts and Supply Chain, who is also a member of the ULEM board of directors.

The Roxbury, Mass.–based Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts is dedicated to delivering services and programs that aim to increase the economic self–reliance of African-Americans and other people of color throughout the greater Boston area while advocating for core initiatives and civil rights issues that critically affect the community.

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