BALTIMORE – At a luncheon ceremony on Monday aboard the Lady Bay, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin received the First Annual Francis Scott Key Award for outstanding contributions to Ft. McHenry from the Patriots a Ft. McHenry. The Patriots of Ft. McHenry is a support organization that works closely with the National Park Service to bring special events and living history programs to the National Monument and Historic Shrine.

The Congressman was selected by the Patriots of Ft. McHenry for this award because of his leadership in helping to restore the Fort to its past glory and to make it a more attractive place for visitors. Rep. Cardin is currently working to secure federal funding for a new Ft. McHenry Visitors Center.

The Congressman, whose Congressional District includes Ft. McHenry, also has been instrumental in getting the needed funds to repair the Fort's deteriorating brick work. He has co-sponsored legislation for the National Park Service to study the creation of a National Star Spangled Banner Trail, which would highlight the Fort's involvement in defeating the British during the War of 1812. He also has sponsored legislation enabling the National Park Service to create a system of historic assets, or "gateways," bordering the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Gateway Program will help attract visitors to the area and Ft. McHenry has already been identified as one of the "gateways."

Presently, 700,000 visitors a year come to Ft. McHenry. By 2014 -- the bicentennial year of the famous battle in which Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner – it is projected that more than one million visitors will visit the Fort.