Harold Burson Institute of Public Relations Paladin Award Dinner April 24th 2013 Bryant Park Grill New

York, NY My purpose here tonight is to introduce the stand-in for the person chosen as the 2013 recipient of the award I was honored to receive just a year ago. It is unfortunate that Dan Edelman is not here to receive it in person. But knowing of Dans ubiquity and his everpresence at events of such importance as this one, I am assuming theres at least the possibility that he knows were here to honor him. So I am taking the precaution of being careful about what I say about him. And I would highly recommend the same discretion for Dans surrogate here tonight, his son Richard. I knew Dan Edelman for 50 years. Our careers overlapped in several ways. We were born a few months apart, Dan three months or so earlier than I. We both soldiered in Europe in World War II. We both were at the Nuremberg Trial, Dan with a psychological warfare detachment and I as a reporter for American Forces Radio Network. He started his firm in 1952; Burson-Marsteller opened for business early in 1953. We both attended, with our wives, more than 20 meetings of the Public Relations Seminar. By coincidence, our other frequent meeting places were LaGuardia and OHare Airports. I especially admired Dan for his passion in the power of public relations. He built a solid business providing marketing support for consumer products and services. It was tops in creating newsworthy events that drove sales. Over the past 10 or 12 years I have come to know his son, Richard. He joined Edelmans New York office in 1978, working under its then manager, Dick Aurelio. He was one of 15 employees. Today Edelmans New York office has 700 employees. Richard succeeded his father as CEO in 1996. Knowing Dan, I feel confident saying Richard had to be at least twice as good as the best to win the CEO job. When Richard took the top job, the Edelman agency ranked fifth in revenues with $112 million. In 2012, it ranked first with more than $650 million in revenues from a full range of public relations, public affairs and communication services and offices in every part of the world. Having traversed some of that territory myself in days past, I can promise you that the magnitude of his achievement in growing a pubic relations business has no equal. It gives me great pleasure to introduce Richard Edelman, who, because of or, maybe in spite of a successful father is his own man who has earned the respect and status he has today in the public relations community. Read Richard Edelmans Award Speech.