September 13th, 2022
The National Conference on Citizenship is proud to select Josh Fryday as the 2022 awardee of the George A. Smith HOOAH Award. For over 10 years, this award has been given annually to a veteran who defines citizenship through service to our country, both in uniform and beyond.
Serving in the cabinet of Governor Gavin Newsom, Josh currently leads the service, volunteer, and civic engagement efforts throughout California. Josh served in the military as an Officer in the United States Navy (‘09-‘13) as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). He was stationed in the Office of Military Commissions, working on the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detainee cases, and testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the closing of Guantanamo. He also served overseas in Yokosuka, Japan, where he augmented the Navy’s 7th Fleet’s Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief efforts during ‘Operation Tomodachi’ following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster.
In recognition of his exemplary civic and military service, Josh received NCoC’s 2022 George A. Smith HOOAH Award at the 2022 California Conference on Citizenship where he delivered the keynote address.
Watch his full keynote remarks at the first-ever California Conference on Citizenship.
