Kathleen Kennedy Receives the 2013 Pioneer Award

Kathleen Kennedy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Sally Field CinemaCon Photo
Kathleen Kennedy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Sally Field at the 2013 Pioneer of the Year Award ceremony on April 17 honoring Kathleen Kennedy at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

Lincoln‘s Joseph Gordon-Levitt had the honor of hosting the gala in which the 2013 Pioneer of the Year Award was given to producer Kathleen Kennedy (President of Lucasfilm). Sally Field, also a Lincoln alum, presented the award to Kennedy at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

The annual gathering of motion picture theatre industry professionals put on the fundraising event, honoring Kennedy for her leadership in the film industry as well as her philanthropic work. More than $700,000 was raised for the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation at the gala, with the funds going toward assisting movie industry veterans “who are encountering an illness, injury or life-changing event.”

The ceremony took place on April 17th at Caesars Palace in Vegas.

Previous winners of the Pioneer of the Year Award include Cecil B. DeMille, Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Frank G. Mancuso, Jack Valenti, Sumner Redstone, Sherry Lansing, Marc Shmuger, David Linde, Dick Cook, and Jeffrey Katzenberg.