The Colorado Society Sons of the American Revolution was honored to sponsor and present the National SAR Society Gold Good Citizenship Medal to Grandmaster Sang Chul Lee. The presentation was during the opening ceremonies held on July 26th, 2019 at the Annual U.S Open Taekwondo Hanmadang 2019 at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The SAR Gold Good Citizenship Medal is the highest National SAR Society award
to a non-member and is reserved for outstanding and unusual patriotic achievement and service of national importance. This medal is nominated and approved at the Annual Congress of the National Sons of the American Revolution requiring approval by the Awards Committee and Executive Committee.
Grandmaster Sang Chul Lee is the founder of the U.S Taekwondo Center and was the United States Olympic Head Coach in 1988. Grandmaster Lee is President of the U.S Governing Body for the martial art of Taekwondo. Since immigrating to this country from South Korea with his wife in 1975, Grandmaster Lee never forgot when as a child how his family struggled against hunger, starvation, and disease during the Korean War. It was when his mother in
desperation took her young child Sang Chul Lee to a United States M.A.S.H. Unit that this first encounter with Americans, who saved his life with penicillin, was to play a pivotal role in his life. After immigrating to America he expressed his gratitude by promoting patriotism and love of his new country during his career as an instructor and coach in his Taekwondo schools, and events pursuing his life’s goal of introducing and establishing Taekwondo in
America.
Thanks to COSSAR Compatriot Robert Stevens who is a Taekwondo Grandmaster and a Vice President of the United States Taekwondo Committee for suggesting Sang Chul Lee as an applicant for the NSSAR Gold Good Citizenship Medal. ,Castle Rock Chapter President Wayne Snodgrass for successfully presenting his application to the NSSAR Executive Committee at the Annual Congress, and to COSSAR Awards Committee Chairman Curt Ledall for navigating us through the awards process.
by Rick Neeley, COSSAR President