Season of Light is Here!

Marshall Plan Tree Walk Opening Saturday, December 2 from

   4:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Dodona Manor’s signature holiday event kicks off tomorrow – Saturday, December 2 – at 4 p.m. with our annual outdoor tree lighting ceremony.

Join us for hot apple cider and s’mores (courtesy of Purely Picnics VA) while exploring our 17 beautifully decorated trees, each representing a European nation that participated in the Marshall Plan.

Parking is available at the Pennington Lot (112 Church Street NE) with shuttle service by Cartwheels. We ask that you not park in the commercial parking lots adjacent to Dodona Manor.

This year we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of Secretary Marshall’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1953. Don’t worry if you miss the lighting, our tree walk will be open to the public until January!

We are adding a special element to our opening festivities with a handbell performance of holiday favorites by Music to Free, a non-profit performance group that brings handbell programs to low/fixed-income senior living centers, veteran rehabilitation programs and addiction treatment programs.

The event is free, open to the public and perfect for kids and families.

Brighten Your Tree

2023 Ornament Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Marshall’s Nobel Prize

Add the 2023 Marshall Center ornament to your collection!

This year, in honor of the 70th Anniversary celebration of the George C. Marshall accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, our commemorative ornament showcases the award. The ornament is crafted from wood by local artisan Rugged and Rustic Creations.

Marshall’s 1953 Journey to Oslo and the Nobel Peace Prize

Modesty, Malady and a Powerful Message 

Check out this captivating new article on General Marshall’s arduous voyage to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway 70 years ago. In October of 1953, when George C. Marshall learned he would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for proposing and supervising the plan for the economic recovery of Europe,” his response was true to form – humble and magnanimous.

Suffering from an acute bout of influenza, he emerged from his Pinehurst, NC home and told the press the award was a tribute “to the American people.”

Marshall struggled mightily to draft his historic Nobel Lecture on a long and rocky trans-Atlantic journey. We hope you enjoy the story behind one of his most famous speeches, second only perhaps to his address at Harvard on the European Recovery Program. Read More.

Feb 9-10 Ethical Leadership Conference for High School Juniors and Seniors

Future Leaders Apply Today for our Winter Session

Applications are open for the winter session (Feb 9 & 10, 2024) of Five-Star Character: The George C. Marshall Ethical Leadership Conference for high school juniors and seniors. This free program provides students the opportunity to shape their approach to leadership and decision-making drawing on the life of one of the most remarkable and influential leaders in American history.

Our fall session was a great success – we were proud to host an engaged and energetic group that dove in and made the most of the experience.

Participants are also eligible for $1,000 post-secondary education scholarship opportunities. Visit or share this link to learn more and register today!

Book Club December 6

Discussion of “Partners In Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower In War And Peace” by Mark Perry

Join us next Wednesday, December 6, from Noon-1 p.m. ET for a Zoom discussion of this groundbreaking exploration of the relationship between George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower. “Partners in Command” eloquently tackles a subject that has challenged historians for years.

Mark Perry charts the crucial impact of this duo on victory in World War II and later as they lay the foundation for triumph in the Cold War. He shows us an unlikely, complex collaboration at the heart of decades of successful American foreign policy and shatters many of the myths around these two great men and the issues that tested their partnership. As exciting to read as it is vitally informative, this work is a signal accomplishment.

December 21 Foreign Policy Forum with Mike Griffin

Spotlight on Space and National Security

Join us Thursday, December 21 from Noon-1 p.m. ET for a Zoom discussion with Michael D. Griffin, Co-Founder and Co-President of LogiQ, Inc., a company providing high-end management, scientific and technical consulting services, on the interaction between space policy and national security. He was previously the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and in that role shared responsibility with the Deputy Under Secretary for research, development and prototyping activities within the Department of Defense. 

Griffin is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics, an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He has received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, the AIAA Space Systems Medal and Goddard Astronautics Award, the National Space Club’s Goddard Trophy, the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, the Missile Defense Agency’s Ronald Reagan Award and has twice been awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal. 

End-of-Year Giving: Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)

Solicitation Period Ends January 15, 2024

Looking for the perfect end-of-year charitable donation? Federal employees and retirees can make recurring or one-time donations to the George C. Marshall International Center via the CFC’s online giving system by entering our CFC number, 51415, through January 15, 2024.

We hope you will join us in spreading the word and encouraging your friends and colleagues in the federal workforce community to support the Marshall Center through the CFC.

Whether you plan to support the Marshall Center or another worthy cause close to your heart, your generosity is appreciated!

Thank you, Veterans Day Sponsors!

Event drew more than 300 attendees

The George C. Marshall International Center wishes to express its sincere gratitude to its 2023 Veterans Day sponsors, supporters and friends, including: