Ken Makovsky, Distinguished Service Award, 2025 Page Annual Conference

Ken Makovsky's acceptance speech. Distinguished Service Award, 2025 Page Annual Conference.
View the Press Release.

Kenneth D. Makovsky, Chairman and CEO of Makovsky + Company, will receive the Page Distinguished Service Award during the Page Annual Conference on September 28. This honor is bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contributions to the profession through selfless service, leadership, and a commitment to advancing the role of corporate communication in business and society.

Makovsky’s decades-long career has left a lasting impact on the communications profession. He was a co-founder of IPREX in 1983, a global communications platform that today represents more than 100 agencies across 30 countries, and he helped lead its expansion into one of the largest independent PR networks worldwide. At his own firm, he pioneered the Quality Commitment Program, a client- and employee-listening system that set new standards for agency excellence and was widely recognized across the industry.

As a longtime Page member, Makovsky also contributed to the profession through leadership roles with the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), serving as Co-Chair of its Board of Trustees and guiding its research and education agenda. He sponsored initiatives such as IPR’s “Best PR Masters Thesis Award” and the PRSA-NY “Makovsky Mentor Award,” underscoring his commitment to mentorship and developing the next generation of professionals. Beyond his agency and association leadership, he has contributed to academia through service on the National Council for Washington University in St. Louis’s School of Arts and Sciences, establishing a scholarship fund in his mother’s name to support students.

Makovsky and his firm have been recognized and awarded across several prominent organizations. Among them he was named “PR All-Star,” “PR Professional of the Year,” “PR Executive of the Year” and “PR Blogger of the Year,” the “SABRE Individual Achievement Award,” and the PRSA-NY’s prestigious “John Hill Award for Outstanding Achievement.” Ken was also named “Communications Executive of the Year” by the American Business Awards. Makovsky has been awarded small, mid-sized and overall agency of the year, “Best Agency to Work For” and “Best Employee Program.” Makovsky's client campaigns won 200 awards over the years.

“Ken has consistently exemplified the Page Principles in both his personal and professional life. From building one of the world’s leading independent PR networks to guiding IPR’s growth, he has advanced the influence and professionalism of our field,” said Frank Ovaitt, CEO Emeritus of the Institute for Public Relations, who nominated Makovsky. He has also opened doors for many young professionals and demonstrated a deep commitment to developing the next generation of leaders.”

He authored the Forbes column My Three Cents for five years, offering a communications perspective on a wide range of business topics. He was named one of the “Top Ten CEO Bloggers in the U.S.” by Chief Executive Magazine, and his agency’s white papers, Strategies, have been widely cited across the industries the firm serves." Makovsky’s legacy is as much about people as it is about institutions. Known for his integrity, calm leadership, and generosity with his time, he has mentored countless professionals and students, opened doors for underrepresented talent, and led by example in living the Page Principles. Colleagues describe him as a builder, an innovator, and a steady hand whose influence extends far beyond his own agency—strengthening the profession itself and inspiring generations of communicators to follow.

“Ken has dedicated his career to elevating the communications profession,” said Sandra Macleod, group CEO at Echo Research and co-chair of the Page Honors Committee. “His advocacy for ethical practices, his commitment to mentorship and to measurement, and his leadership in building lasting institutions like IPREX and IPR have strengthened the role of corporate communications in business and society. He is richly deserving of this year’s Distinguished Service Award."

Beyond his contributions to communications, Ken has been deeply engaged in civic leadership. He served as diplomatic chairman of the New York Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, where he built relationships with 30 countries, and was a member of its national board for 22 years. The organization promotes human rights and justice worldwide, and under Ken’s leadership broadened its outreach to new communities around the globe.

Page is honored to recognize Ken Makovsky with the Distinguished Service Award for his transformative leadership and unwavering dedication to advancing the corporate communication profession. Recent recipients include Bill Heyman, Don Stacks, Shelley Spector, Bob Feldman, and Sandra Macleod.

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Transcript

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What an honor
it is to be selected to be here tonight

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and receive the Distinguished Services
Award.

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Arthur Page is an organization

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that I have always taken enormous pride

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in being part of over the last 20 years.

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Believe it or not, the connections,

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the education, the community,

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and shared values that bring us together

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are essential to the health
and progress of our industry.

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Plus, you know, it's been a ton of fun.

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Before I get

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into the heart of my remarks,
I want to thank

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some of the people who helped make tonight
possible.

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Thank you to the Awards committee
for your consideration and recognition.

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Thank you to Rochelle Ford,

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our president, whose strategic
and intellectual contributions

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are unsurpassed.

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Thank you to Frank over yet.

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Some of you don't know Frank,
but he was former

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chairman of the board of the Institute
for Public Relations

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who nominated me

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and has been a close colleague,
confidant and a champion

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and who was instrumental, instrumental
in making this award possible.

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I also wanted

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to give a big thank you to Don Wright,
professor of public relations

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at Boston University,
who inspired this nomination.

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Thank you, Don,
and to my family and the hundreds.

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Our clap to that to

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I also want to thank my family
because and I would thank

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the hundreds of employees that have worked
for Makowski over the years

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because without both of those, the reason

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all of this, is possible
would not have taken place.

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So I thank all of these people.

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The growth of the public
relations industry

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since I entered the field in the 60s

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is downright staggering.

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In the 1960s, there were approximately

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30,000 people in the field.

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In 2025, there are 300,000.

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There is a ten times growth.

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And many, as

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many as I

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believe, think we're just getting started.

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Now, there are seven principles

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that have guided the page organization

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and these principles apply
across the industry,

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from telling the truth
to proving it with action

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to practicing calm.

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I've chosen to focus on

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one of them practicing calm

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and one to highlight an additional value,

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which I believe is embedded in all seven
principles.

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It is my call to action.

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Be resourceful.

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What does that mean?

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The value and utility of resourcefulness
are constants,

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regardless of of the tools or technology.

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Resourcefulness is not abstract.

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It is based on mindset,
skills, and action.

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And it's learning how to adapt,

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how to leverage the tools of the time
and how to keep going

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no matter what the circumstances.

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Resourcefulness means being an optimist,

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a realist, and a problem solver.

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Action is required in all
three, but so is creativity.

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Resourcefulness is

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not innate, as some people might think.

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It is a learned skill.

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I like to think resourcefulness has been

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a major throughline in my own story.

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How did I choose
public relations as a career?

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Well, I enrolled in Washington

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University Law School
and have my Juris Doctor degree,

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but I quickly became clear

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that law wasn't for me.

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In fact, I hated it.

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Many nights to 1112

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midnight briefing cases in the law library

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and not the emotional attachment

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that I was looking for.

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So what happened around the time

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I happened to attend

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a Stan Musial retirement ceremony?

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Now Stan Musial, for those of you
who don't know,

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is a Cardinal Saint Louis
Cardinal baseball star.

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And he's a godlike figure in Saint Louis.

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And everybody wants him on their board.

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And I was struck

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by the pageantry of the ceremony and

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of the experience

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I was having while watching it.

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I looked and I was curious
to find out who was behind it.

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And I looked into it
and found that affirm, which we all know

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well named Fleischman Hillard,

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was orchestrating behind the scenes.

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So I decided to take a chance and call out
Fleischman.

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Call.

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I told him I was a law student,

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and I really see how Fleischman

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today is one of the founding fathers
of the industry.

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And much to my surprise, after I finished

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my pitch, our folks were on the phone.

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He said, why don't you come up
to my office and let's talk?

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So I did,

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and he said to me, hey, kid,

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you like the practice of advocacy,
but you don't like law.

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Try public relations.

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And he showed me some books
he had written on communication.

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On communications.

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And he said, read them.

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Come back to me
and let's have a conversation.

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So I did that and

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his big advice to

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me was after
we had a discussion of the field

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go to New York,
that's where the center of the action is.

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And I did.

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That's exactly what I did.

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And I described that moment

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as resourceful enough to ask,

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then resourceful enough to act,

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became the beginning of my career in P.R.

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and changed my life forever.

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I worked at a large agency for ten years.

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When I decided to take the leap
as an entrepreneur.

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And in 1979 started Makowski and Company.

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It was just me and my assistant.

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The economy was in terrible shape,
but I realized

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there is never a perfect time
to start a business.

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So I made the leap.

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I made a commitment to myself.

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I would be resourceful, stay optimistic,

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and I would apply as much discipline

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as I could muster
to get the firm off the ground.

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I set an impossible target of having

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two major feature stories on the firm

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and a key speaking engagement.

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And we met all of
those two targets every day.

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We also set up

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a target of trying
to make 25 sales calls a day.

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And we actually did achieve
that many targets

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at the center of sales.

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In my opinion, is networking.

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And networking has always been

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one of the most important forms
of resourcefulness for me.

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Networking at its heart

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is turning resourcefulness into resources.

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It isn't just about collecting contacts.

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It's about creating connections
that open doors.

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We're numb, seem to exist.

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Resourcefulness is knowing who to call

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when the answer isn't obvious.

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Networking

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can be uncomfortable,
but I think good networking

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you learn to be comfortable

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being uncomfortable.

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One example of of resourcefulness.

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Early on at Markowski in 1983,

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I saw the clients were looking
for a global reach.

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As an independent,
we couldn't match the holding companies.

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So we created something called IPX,

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which is an international network
of independent agencies.

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And we traveled the world
to find partners, and together

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we built something larger
than any one of us could have done alone.

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Today, I product

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is in 100 markets

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and has over 1100 employees
around the world.

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And Greg Berman, our new Orleans
partner, is with us tonight.

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Thank you Greg.

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If resourcefulness

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has been a through line of my career,

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then calm has been its study partners.

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One of our principles,

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the page principle
that has always spoken to me.

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Remain calm, patient and good humored.

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Calm lays the groundwork for success.

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And when a crisis arises, remember this

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cool heads communicate best.

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I've always believed in that

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calm creates the space for people to find

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answers together.

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Panic driven communications

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is in conflict with great leadership.

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Resourcefulness
and calm are not opposites.

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They are partners.

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Calm creates
the clarity to be resourceful,

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and resourcefulness
gives calm its purpose.

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Together, they have guided me
not just in business, but in life.

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Therefore, let me

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recommend that being resourceful

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be considered for a new page
principle number

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eight.

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Once again,

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it is truly an honor
to receive this award.

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I'm excited about the future
and the leaders

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that bring to the table
the best of our industry.

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I feel proud to have played
at least a minor role

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in the growth here,
and humbled to be honored tonight

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by people and by an industry

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that really means the world to me.

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Have a great evening.