Grandson of Harley-Davidson Motor Company founder chosen for EyesOn Design Award.
Willie G. Davidson, Senior Vice President and Chief Styling Officer at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, has been chosen to receive this year’s EyesOn Design Award presented by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology.
Regarded as the most prestigious award in automotive design, each year’s EyesOn Design Award winner is chosen by the industry’s top designers and EyesOn Design award winners from previous years.
Willie G. is the grandson of one of the original founders of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. He attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he was a classmate of Jack Telnack, the father of the Taurus automobile at Ford Motor Company. Willie G. joined Harley-Davidson in 1963; his creations include the design of several of Harley-Davidson’s most admired motorcycles. His artistic vision and passion for riding have made him a legend among throngs of enthusiasts worldwide who consider him the patriarch of motorcycling.
Willie G. will accept the award with his wife, Nancy, during the EyesOn Design 2009 weekend events in Detroit, June 19-21 2009.
In addition to the award presentation, this year’s EyesOn Design 2009 weekend activities will include one or more charity rides. At present, the EyesOn Design Leadership Committee is working with A.B.C. Harley-Davidson Motorcycles of Waterford, Mich., to organize two rides. One would originate at A.B.C. and terminate at the Saturday night black tie event, Vision Honored, at which Willie G. will receive the Lifetime Design Achievement Award.
The second ride may also originate at A.B.C. Harley-Davidson on Sunday morning, Father’s Day June 21, and terminate at the EyesOn Design car show at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.