Commonwealth awards Charles Grodin, Marlo Thomas, Dr. Mae Jemison

This year’s Commonwealth Award recipients are actor Charles Grodin, astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison and social activist Marlo Thomas. They will be recognized at the Common Wealth Awards ceremony hosted by The PNC Financial Services Group on Saturday night at the Hotel du Pont. The awards, a hot ticket in Wilmington, were first presented in 1979 by The Common Wealth Trust created under the will of Ralph Hayes, a business

The awards, a hot ticket in Wilmington, were first presented in 1979 by The Common Wealth Trust created under the will of Ralph Hayes, a business executive and philanthropist. The awards are now made by The Ralph Hayes Common Wealth Foundation, which is funded by the Common Wealth Trust.

The 2017 honorees will each receive an award of $75,000. Past honorees have included Jonas Salk, John Glenn, Mike Nichols, Sidney Poitier, Queen Noor, Kevin Spacey, Joseph Papp, Buzz Aldrin, Walter Cronkite and other luminaries.

“The 2017 Common Wealth Award honorees have shaped our world in meaningful and momentous ways,” said Bruce H. Colbourn, market executive for PNC Bank, Delaware. “In recognizing these believers and achievers, we show our esteem for all the ways they have enriched and enlightened our world through their life’s work.”