Each year, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presents the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to public servants "who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for consequences to their personal or professional life". The award's name came from President Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage, which shares the stories of eight US Senators who took principled stands for unpopular positions.

This year's recipients were honored because of their courageous leadership in tackling the problems caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Both Mayor Bill White of Houston, Texas and Superintendent of Schools Doris Voitier of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, exemplified political leadership to meet the needs of the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Mayor Bill White, in accepting this award said, "Sometimes we identify political courage with unpopular advocacy. By honoring our actions during Katrina, you celebrate a different kind of courage, the courage to undertake and complete a daunting task with compassion, competence, and endurance."

With a lack of an effective federal emergency response, Mayor White opened up his city, in a community-wide effort, to the hundreds of thousands of people who fled the Gulf Coast during the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He was able to open the region's convention center and public facilities to provide refuge and vital services to all those in need.

Under the mayor's leadership, municipal resources were assembled to set up cots in the Astrodome, as well as provide food, clothing, and medical care. The coordinated effort would not have been as strong if not for the help from churches, civic leaders, the regional business community, citizens, and volunteers.

The mayor remained committed to the evacuees even in the face of substantial criticism about the challenges of such a massive influx of people in both the short and long term. Even after the immediate needs of the evacuees were met, the mayor offered innovative programs to provide long-term housing, job placement services, and public education to those in need.

Mayor White was honored by this distinguished organization because of his compassionate and effective response to the disaster. His ability to mobilize public, private business, and faith-based communities to help evacuees rebuild their lives exemplifies the prestigious 'Profile in Courage Award'.