New York, NY / September 16 — Page today announced the recipients of its 2026 honors: the late Inez Y. Kaiser, first recipient of the Page Catalyst Award; Dr. Bruce K. Berger, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award; and Roger Bolton, who will be inducted into the Page Hall of Fame. All three will be recognized and celebrated during the 2026 Page Annual Conference, September 27–29 at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia.
Together, the three honors recognize different forms of lasting impact on the profession: breaking barriers and opening new possibilities, building institutions that develop generations of communicators, and serving as influential leaders in the profession.
The Page Catalyst Award, presented for the first time this year, recognizes individuals from any era whose early or pioneering work changed who could enter and succeed in communications. Page created it to honor those who made a place for themselves in a profession that had not been built with them in mind — and in doing so, made a place for everyone who followed.
Inez Y. Kaiser opened Inez Kaiser & Associates in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, in 1957, becoming the first African American woman to run her own public relations firm serving national clients. From being denied space for an office by several building owners to counseling clients including 7UP, Burger King, Lever Brothers and Sears Roebuck while lending her skills to the civil rights movement through the NAACP — Kaiser was a catalyst of change. [Read more about Inez Kaiser →]
The Distinguished Service Award honors an individual who has helped strengthen the role of public relations over their lifetime of service to the profession. Successful candidates have benefitted the profession by improving its overall value and effectiveness. The recipients of this award helped strengthen the role.
Dr. Bruce K. Berger, professor emeritus of advertising and public relations at the University of Alabama, turned to teaching and research after two decades as a communications executive at the Upjohn Company and Whirlpool Corporation. He is recognized for founding the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, whose programs, including the Milestones in Mentoring gala and the Leadership Report Card, shaped how the profession develops and studies its own leaders. [Read more about Bruce K. Berger →]
The Page Hall of Fame recognizes lifetime achievement in a distinguished career of leadership in corporate communications and public relations. It honors those who, in the mold of Arthur W. Page, have benefited their enterprises with strong leadership not only on communications issues, but on business and policy matters as well.
Roger Bolton's career spans the Reagan White House, the U.S. Treasury, where he served as assistant secretary for public affairs, and 11 years leading communications at Aetna, where he chaired the executive council responsible for the company's culture change during its turnaround. He went on to lead Page as president and CEO for 13 years, building it into a global association and championing thought leadership that helped define the modern chief communications officer role. [Read more about Roger Bolton →]
"We created the Catalyst Award because the profession's history should include the people who opened its doors, not only those who walked through them," said Rochelle Ford, CEO of Page. "Inez Kaiser is exactly the kind of pioneer we had in mind. Alongside her, Bruce K. Berger and Roger Bolton represent decades of service and leadership that so many of us have benefited from directly. It's a privilege to honor all three."
"Our Honors Committee looks beyond an individual's successful career to ask a more demanding question: would the profession look different without their contribution?" said Sandra Macleod, Chair of the Page Honors Committee. "For Inez Kaiser, Bruce Berger and Roger Bolton, our answer was emphatically yes. Each, in very different ways and different eras, changed the possibilities for our profession and created a legacy that continues to benefit people they may never meet. It was a privilege for our Committee to recognize three such exceptional contributions."
For more information or to register (members and qualified guests only) for the Page Annual Conference, please see here.
Page is the premier global professional association for senior strategic communication leaders. The organization brings together the world’s best communicators to become stronger leaders by learning together, helping each other, imagining a better future for corporate communication and bringing that future to life.
This elite community includes the chief communication officers of leading global companies, non-profit organizations, and government agencies; the CEOs of public relations firms and other companies that serve the strategic communication function of major corporations; and distinguished educators at leading business and communication schools. Membership is selected through peer nomination only, with strict nomination criteria. For more information, visit www.page.org.
Aishik Barua
abarua@page.org
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