Two years ago this month, Gainesville lost a true citizen of the world when John A. “Jack" Penrod, veteran of World War II and of the XV International Brigade, Spanish Civil War, died at age 94. Since then, Gainesville Veterans for Peace, the Alachua County Labor Party, and United Faculty of Florida have created the John A. Penrod Brigadas Award for Peace and Justice, an ongoing award in his honor.
A ceremony honoring Jack Penrod and Jessica Newman, the 2010 recipient of the award in
his name, will be held on April 24th from 7:00-8:30 here at the CMC. The ceremony will be followed by a reception with light refreshments and a showing of the documentary classic “The Good Fight,” which tells the story of American volunteers like Jack who fought in the Spanish Civil War.