“Treat Time as a River” by Aaron Hoover

“Art as an Ambassador” by Aaron Hoover

“Remembering Melosina Harm” by Lani Jordan

“2012 Leadership Breakfast: Be the Difference” by Kim Clarke

“The Energy Challenge” by John Barnes

“Transforming the Landscape: Toward a National Energy Policy for the 21st Century” by Gordon C. Morse

“A Safer, Stronger BP: Our Quest to Earn Back America’s Trust” by John Barnes

“What Keeps Me Awake at Night” by Michael Brady

“Rauch Foundation” by Duarte, Inc.

“Inclusion Is Good for Business” by Paul Begley

“Novus Ordo Seclorum–A New Order for the Ages: The Role of Minority-Serving Institutions” by Boe Workman

“Inspiring to Win: A Leadership Lesson from a Corporate Speechwriter” by Sean Gresh

“Life Reimagined” by Boe Workman

“A Path Forward for American Cars” by Nate Osburn

“Message, Messenger, Audience” by Daniel Rose

“Convocation Keynote” by Paul Nuti

“The Power of One” by Kim Clarke

“George Washington Carver One Man, One Life, Infinite Influence” by Patrick Blair

“Trained to Serve” by Karen Wilson

“Juniata Commencement Speech” by Anna Puccinelli

“How PechaKucha Changed My Life” by Eddie Selover

 VITAL SPEECHES

THESE VITAL SPEECHESTHE BEST OF THE 2013 CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS

2013 EDITIONof the day

GRAND WINNER

HONORABLE MENTION

CATEGORY WINNERS:

“Lord, Please Let Me Provide for My Family: A Wounded Veteran’s Story” by Sarah Gray

“Great Together—By the Numbers” by Lani Jordan

“Dr. Carmel Meeting Farewell” by Anna Puccinelli

“Choice and Image in the Oil and Gas Industry” by Bob Tippee

“How Toddlers Will Save the World” by Sylvia Link

“Greece Will Overcome” by Luke Boggs

“What Newspapers and Higher Education Can Learn from One Another” by Danny Woodward

“Message, Messenger, Audience” by Daniel Rose

“As America Looks Ahead” by Daniel Rose

“Rethinking the American Dream: Post-Secondary Education in the U.S.” by Patricia Thull

“The Auto Industry: Architects of the Future” by Lora Jones

“Together to a Healthier Future” by Luke Boggs

“Female Skills Make the Difference in Two Thousand and Twelve” by Johan Kroes

“Make It in America” by Nate Osburn

“The Natural Gas Revolution: A Secure, Abundant force for Good” by Brian S. Akre

“The Soul of a Pediatrician” by Robert W. Block, MD, and Crystal A. Milazzo

“Leading from the Center” by Marie Lerch

“Oak Hills Church” by Duarte, Inc.

“Getting to the Future Faster” by Hal Gordon

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VSOTD.COM

CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS002

I’m Neil Colomac. And I’m a wounded veteran from Operation Enduring Freedom. I’m here to talk to you about how my

injuries made it hard for me to get a job. But with the help of a special

regulation, I was able to get back into the work

force. My hope is that by sharing my story

today, I can help other veterans and other

people with disabilities. I was deployed to Afghanistan with the 864th Engineer Battalion of

the U.S. Army in 2006. It was around September second,

2007 when my unit was in the Paktika

region of Afghanistan. This is a mountainous area known for

periodic attacks on Coalition soldiers and bases. A previous convoy had mistakenly

dropped a conex, which is a metal container, with sensi-

tive equipment inside. Our mission was to provide security for the unit dispatched to recover it. We were in a Humvee and there were

five of us. My job was turret gunner, so I was like

a prairie dog, sticking my head out of the top with my 50 Caliber machine gun

pointed out. I was looking around for any signs of

danger. We were returning to base after anoth-

er truck had picked up the conex when I noticed that there was some-

thing not right about this valley. The truck in front of us was kicking

up a lot of dust, so it was hard to see.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion about 15 feet

behind our Humvee. I could feel the shockwave through my

entire body. Since my head was exposed, I got hit in the face with shrapnel and

fractured a joint in my jaw. We found a safe place to pull over and stopped the convoy to assess the

damage. I held my jaw with one hand while I filled in the incident report

with the other. We returned safely to base and I went

to the aid station. I received stitches and antibiotics and

went back to my unit. About three weeks later, on Septem-

ber 21, we had another incident. We were on a mission to retrieve supplies from another base.

We had to travel through territory that had not been declared safe by a

Route Clearance Patrol for some time. We didn’t normally do this.As we drove to the area, I got that same feeling that something

wasn’t right. It was a small city with a fair amount

of buildings, but no locals showed up to greet us…

not even to throw rocks at us. There were bicycles, parked vehicles, and trash that normally accumulates

in an active market place. But no people. I relayed my observa-

tions to the convoy commander. He ordered us to get out of the city as quickly as possible.

We drove over a bump in the road. We landed on an IED, and it ex-

ploded. My helmet and radio headset were

blown off,

and I was knocked unconscious. I was hanging out of the top of the

vehicle until my Lieutenant pulled me

back in. The Humvee was so badly damaged that it lost power and would not start. We were in total darkness, wondering if this was the end for us. Fortunately, the driver was able to get

it started again.So our Humvee limped its way out of

the danger zone at about five miles an hour. We used a chain to connect to another

Humvee from the convoy and got towed safely back to base. We were all injured but we survived. I thought we were all going to be OK.

Just another close call. What happened next changed

everything. I got a headache from the blast. Aside

from that, I thought I was fine. However, the doctors were concerned. They said that two head injuries in

three weeks could cause serious damage. So they told me I had to be medivaced

to Bagram Hospital. I felt ridiculous going to the hospital

for a headache. I wasn’t bleeding. I had my arms

and legs. I only went because it was a direct

order. I got to the hospital and was waiting in

a tent for my appointment. While I was waiting, I had a strange coppery taste in my

mouth that I never had before.I stepped out of the tent to get a bottle

of water. And then it happened. I had a grand

mal seizure. It felt like one minute I was outside

GRAND AWARD WINNER“Lord, Please Let Me Provide for My Family: A Wounded Veteran’s Story”

Writer: Sarah GraySpeaker: Neil Colomac

Delivered at: NISH Grassroots Event, Washington, D.C., June 4, 2012

CICERO 2013

003

drinking a bottle of water, And the next minute, I was laying in

the dirt. My water bottle was crushed in my

hand. I had a lump on my forehead. And I

had wet my pants. I was wondering if someone sucker

punched me. Two soldiers were standing over me. They told me I had a seizure. They seemed kind of freaked out

and they ran off. I wasn’t sure if I should believe

them. I was actually wondering if one of

them hit me and knocked me down. I was in a daze. So I saw the doctor. And he told me that these seizures can be caused by traumatic brain

injuries. The doctor recommended I go to

Landstuhl hospital in Germany for more tests.At Landstuhl they did an MRI. The MRI showed a sac of spinal

fluid in my brain where it should not be. It’s called an

arachnoid cyst. These can be caused by trauma to

the brain. To simplify it ... when you bump

your arm, you break blood vessels that make a

bruise under the skin. The bruise heals and the blood gets

absorbed back into your system.With an arachnoid cyst, a trauma pushes a bubble of fluid

into your brain that makes a cyst. And because the brain is enclosed so tightly in the skull,

the bubble can get trapped in there. It’s vacuum sealed in. And it puts pressure on things that should not have pressure on

them. In some ways it can affect your brain

like a tumor. For example,an arachnoid cyst can have different

symptoms for different people. It depends on the size of the cyst and what part of the brain it’s

touching.

Some of them cause no symptoms at all,

and some can paralyze or kill you. Mine is the size of a grain of rice

and it causes seizures. Also like brain tumors, some cysts

are treatable by surgery, some are not. They would have to open my skull

to take it out. Sometimes just getting to the part of

the brain where the cyst is can cause more damage than leav-

ing it there. The doctor told me that, on a cel-

lular level, the brain is like jello. If you jiggle it a little bit, it’s the

same. But if you do something to really

disturb it, like smash it against a wall, or set off

an explosion next to it, the cells will be damaged on a mi-

croscopic level. You might not be able to see the

damage right away, but the damage is there. And in time, cell by cell, you will be able to see that it’s not the

same as it was before.So I was sent to America to recuper-

ate. I was expecting to heal and thencome back to Afghanistan.I didn’t want to leave my unit, the

585th.I knew that my unit was short

staffed. They really did need me. I felt a personal responsibility for the

operation and a bond with the other soldiers. I just wanted to heal as fast as I could

and get back there to help.On October 2, 2007, I came home

on a plane with about 50 other wounded vets. Some had head wounds bundled up

in gauze. Some were missing arms or legs. Some were in cots hooked up to

respirators. And some were not even conscious. We touched down at McChord Air

Force Base in Tacoma. The medical flights don’t get the

same homecoming you see on TV. Crying spouses. Children jumping

into their parent’s arms. Red, white and blue balloons.

American flags waving. That would be dangerous around all

the medical equipment. We were greeted by: an Army chap-

lain, a full medical staff, and a line of ambulances waiting on

the tarmac. Each one of us was taken directly to

Madigan Army Hospital.The doctors did a full assessment of

my injuries. In addition to the brain damage, which they call TBI for traumatic

brain injury, I have a shoulder injury requiring

surgery, and a compressed disc in my lower

back.As a result of the evaluation, I was

reassigned to a new unit—the WTU or Warrior in Transition

Unit.I was shocked. I didn’t think I would

be reassigned. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. I asked, “So as soon as I get better, will I return to my guys in the 585th

of the 684th?”They said, “No it’s not guaranteed. Your next assignment will be based

on Army needs.”That’s when I thought, “Maybe this

is real.”As far as my health was concerned, my injuries didn’t get any better but

didn’t get any worse either. I had seizures about once a month. I was placed on multiple seizure

medications as we tried to figure out the best one. After about seven or eight months of

doctor appointments, I heard the four words that broke my

heart and changed my life forever.Those words are: Not. Fit. For. Duty.My case manager warned me this

might happen so it wasn’t completely unexpected. But it was still hard to hear.I had such a good record as a soldier.

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CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS004

I had excellent marksmanship skills.I had a history of taking on extra

responsibilities and getting promoted.I had won the Van Autreve Award, -- Engineer Solider of the Year.It might seem foolish, but I hoped

they might see my record and let some of my injuries slide by

and let me go back. I still felt that I had tons of abilities. I could still patch someone up. I can still carry a solider away from

danger ...I might hurt my back more- but in

my heart, I felt I could still do it.On the other hand, I understood

why they classified me that way.You can’t hold a gun if you have

seizures. You can’t drive a Humvee if you

have seizures. You can’t protect your fellow sol-

diers. In fact, you are a danger to them. You are: not fit for duty. So,emotionally, I wasn’t done being

in the Army. But the writing was on the wall…it

was done with me.So, like it or not, I had to change

my focus. I started planning a transition to

civilian life.The WTU is an assignment for

soldiers who are recovering and trying to

figure out if they will be leaving the military

or going back to active duty. Between doctor appointments and

physical therapy,I worked on my resume and at-

tended classes on things like interviewing skills

and computer software.I was told that as of December

2008, I was being placed on the TDRL, or Temporary Disability Retire-

ment List. This means that the Army wants to

wait to see if your injuries gets better or

not. I will get an evaluation in five

years– which will be December 2013—to

see if I can re-join the Army. During this time, I keep my military

benefits like health coverage, but my salary is decreased by about

45 percent.My wife had our first son while I

was deployed, and we were expecting another

baby, so I had a family to support. I had to find a civilian job to

supplement my income. It was July, and I had to have a job

lined up for January.The economy wasn’t in the best

shape, but I thought I would be able to

find something by then. All I needed was to get one job.But I found out it wasn’t that easy. I had a few years of experience in

construction. But because of my seizure disorder, I couldn’t use a chain saw or power

tools. I can’t walk on roofs, on scaffolding,

or on any high buildings. So construction jobs were out. I had experience as a vocational

nurse, but to get licensed in a new state, I would need to spend at least a

year in training. We needed income immediately. So

that was out for now.On top of this, in the state of

Washington, anyone with a seizure disorder is

not allowed to drive a car until they are 6 months seizure-free.

I have never had this. The longest I have ever gone with-

out a seizure is one month. To this day, I am not allowed to

drive a car. So I needed to find a job that I

could get to without driving.I had some strengths on my side,

though. I had a good work history. As a noncommissioned officer, I had some skills and experience in

administration and leadership. I set my sights on another federal

job or a job with the prison system. I probably sent out 200 resumes. I don’t know if I wasn’t qualified, or if I am just a bad resume writer. But I didn’t get any calls or inter-

views for about five months. My wife and I were really worried. We cut down on all our expenses. We would only buy things that were

a necessity. And even then we didn’t always

have the money. We started using a credit card to

pay for basic essentials. We racked up thousands of dollars

in debt.We were excited about having a

new baby but also terrified. I used to pray to God every night, “Lord, please let me provide for my

family.” I started to panic and I sent re-

sumes everywhere. I applied to work at fast food res-

taurants and retail stores. I even applied to wait tables in

restaurants. Out of the 200 resumes I sent out, I got exactly 2 phone calls back. One was a rejection for a manage-

ment position at McDonalds. But even a rejection call was better

than nothing. And the other was to set up an

interview at a Sears retail store, as a salesperson in the tools depart-

ment. I went to the interview at a Sears

store in Lacey, Washington. The interview went well and they

offered me the job on the spot. I remember I got in the car to go

home, and I was so happy I cried. I breathed a sigh of relief and

thought, “Thank you, God.” The pay was pretty low.It was below minimum wage, but

with a commission. Even if I were the top salesman

there, My entire paycheck for the month

would not cover our mortgage.Not to mention food or electricity

or diapers.

CICERO 2013

005

But at least I had something com-ing in

while I looked for a better paying job.

I started a few days later. What happened next is something I

think was meant to be. Someone came in to Sears looking

for a combination kit for a drill driver to work on his roof. When I was processing his order, he gave me his work email address,

which ended with skookum.org. I asked him, “Is that the same

Skookum that operates the central issue facil-

ity at Fort Lewis?” He said yes. I told him that I recently retired

from the military and turned my equipment in to his

company. He explained to me that Skookum

hired people with disabilities. I told him a little bit about my

injuries. That’s when he gave me his busi-

ness card and said “We have some job openings, and I

think we can help you.” He asked me to come in for an

interview the next day. My wife and I said a prayer that

night.I interviewed with Skookum, and I

got a new job on the spot as a Supply Clerk. My responsibilities were to process

and issue parts received for the repair of military vehicles. I recieved OSHA training and

learned some new job skills.It was safe for me work there if I

had a seizure. So far I have not had a seizure at

work but I have come close. When I feel one about to come on I

take medicine, eat some crackers and follow my

doctor’s instructions.I got some more good news in

2011. I applied for a promotion at Fort

Meade, Maryland, and I got it. Skookum paid to move my family

to Fort Meade, just about 30 miles from here. I am now the Safety, Quality and

Environmental Officer. I am responsible for making sure all

the safety equipment at Fort Meade is fully stocked and

up to date. I develop, implement and monitor

quality control programs and conduct inspections. My family has a three bedroom

home next to base, so I can walk to work.

We just had a new baby in April—another boy.

My wife is a stay-at-home mom to our three sons.

I have paid off all of our credit card debt, and I can pay all of our bills.

We take advantage of living in a new place.

We go sightseeing in Washington D.C

And visit family on the East Coast.My life did a 360 degree turn after

I got a job with Skookum.I don’t just think about surviving

the here and now anymore. I plan for the future. I can relax

again and enjoy life with my family. We are even helping out a family

member who is living in our house now. It’s a great feeling to be able to help

someone else. And that brings me to the reason

why were are all here today. We are here to plan for the future. And as a group, have a lot in com-

mon.Everyone here, including me, has overcome the obstacle of hav-

ing a disability and getting a job. And while all of our stories are

different, in some ways they are all the same. We have all had our share of dif-

ficult times. When it came to getting a job, our struggles caused us to feel

frustrated. Hopeless. Depressed. Even embar-

rassed.

I didn’t like feeling that way. And I don’t want anyone else to feel

that way. Another thing we have in common

is The Abilityone Program. This Program helped all of us get

jobs. I don’t know about you, but my job

makes me feel productive. It makes me feel useful. It makes me feel confident and also

proud.We could just complain about how

hard it was to get a job.How difficult it is to have a disabil-

ity.How unfair life can be. But instead, we are doing some-

thing about it. We have joined together to be part

of an important movement. I understand that here are 29 self-

advocates here today. Every person’s contribution is im-

portant this week. And all of our stories are valuable. Because when we bring awareness

to our struggles, we make it easier for the next per-

son who comes along. This week is not about us. We already have our jobs. We overcame that obstacle. It’s about the future now. Does anyone here have a child with

a disability? How about a family member, or a

friend with a disability?We are here this week to help

them, and every other person in America who has a disability and needs a job.

We are going to meet with our con-gressmen and congresswomen,

look them in the eye, and tell them that there is a program

that needs their support. And they might not want to give us

their support right away.That is our next obstacle. And if there is a group of people

who can overcome obstacles, I know it’s us.Good luck this week.Thank you.

VSOTD.COM

CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS006

Good afternoon. Those of you who’ve gotten to

know me since I joined CHS nearly two years ago have probably discovered my not-so deep, dark secret.

I like numbers—a lot.So it probably doesn’t surprise you

that I really like this year’s annual meet-ing theme, with its mathematical “greater than” symbol. But my love for numbers is not because my two favorite colors are black and white. It’s because numbers can tell stories that go far beyond beauti-fully balanced financial statements. And even though I served as a chief financial officer at one point in my career, I’m no accountant.

We each have a unique way of un-derstanding the world. Some see things in pictures. For others, it’s what we read or hear that help us understand. I love numbers because of their great ability to tell stories—not only of what has happened, but of what may lie ahead and of relationships between people, places and events. In other words, why things happen.

The presidential election is now a month behind us. And behind the politi-cal rhetoric, pollsters and pundits, there’s an interesting story, about a numbers guy by the name of Nate Silver. A statisti-cian and self-proclaimed “geek,” he first came to prominence a few years back by developing a system for forecasting the performance and development of Major League Baseball players.

But Silver hit his own career home run with the recent election. Now a New York Times blogger, he defied conven-tional wisdom by analyzing pre-election statistics and correctly predicting the presidential winner of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, making him the most successful forecaster of the

election. In short, he was able to cut through the clutter and use the numbers to tell the story.

I certainly would not pretend to be a Nate Silver, so I’ll issue the disclaimer now. But in the next few minutes, I will be toss-ing out a lot of numbers to help tell the story of the world in which we operate, of how CHS succeeded on your behalf in 2012 and of how we’re executing our strategic direction to support your growth. And my prediction is—even with the certain bumps along the way—that we have a bright and exciting future ahead in agriculture and for your cooperative system. And, most important, I predict that you can be a confident owner of a company committed to being a relevant component in your value equation.

(Pause)So let’s look at the numbers, starting

with your energy operations.555. 79.2 percent. 200 million. You’re probably wondering what these

numbers mean. They aren’t some secret code. They represent investments, growth and continued success for your CHS en-ergy businesses. And, they represent our commitment to growing this important part of your company. The end result: Dependable supplies of quality energy products that add value for our owners.

$555 million. That’s the estimated in-vestment being made at the McPherson, Kansas, refinery in a new coker to re-place one that has served us well for more than 50 years. That coker—and the one built a few years back at Laurel, Mon-tana—will maintain our ability to operate these refineries efficiently and profitably by allowing us to process heavier grades of crude oil. This gives our refineries a competitive advantage. I hope many of you stopped by the CHS Global Main Street area yesterday and had a chance to

see and touch the coke we had shipped in from the Laurel, Montana, refinery.

This is among several refining investments underway, including a $75 million project at Laurel known as a mild hydrocracker which will help us squeeze additional gallons of diesel out of every gallon of crude oil refined there.

79.2 percent. That’s our new owner-ship percentage—up from 74.5 percent a year ago—in the McPherson refinery as of September 1st. Last year at this meet-ing, we shared our plan to become the sole owners of this refinery. That’s now underway and will be complete in early fiscal 2015.

And throughout the last two years we’ve been telling you about a variety of investments—more than $50 million in terminal improvements, loading racks, rail cars and storage—to strengthen our fuel distribution in the northern tier of our trade area. Most of these investments are now operational, increasing the speed of access to our products in That region.

So why all of these investments? There’s a dramatic transformation

going on in the energy sector and CHS sits in the middle of it—literally in terms of geography. I’m not sure anyone would have predicted this five years ago, but an international energy research agency reported last month that the U.S. is headed toward energy self sufficiency and may soon become the world’s largest oil producer.

The energy boom in the Bakken re-gion and surrounding areas—with North Dakota crude oil production expected to hit a record 200 million barrels annually for 2012—will combine, this report says, to allow the U.S. to break even on oil and natural gas imports and exports by 2035. This will certainly reshape the energy picture in the decades ahead, particularly

WINNER: AGRICULTURE CATEGORY“Greater Together—By the Numbers”

Writer: Lani JordanSpeaker: Carl Casale, President and CEO, CHS Inc.

Delivered at: 2012 CHS Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 6, 2012

CICERO 2013

007

when you look at this chart depicting global demand growth. Exploration in the Bakken region has also dramatically boosted diesel and gasoline consumption. We’ve also seen local

co-op marketshare growth through-out our trade territory. Our refining is focused on the diesel our ag and other customers demand, so you can certainly see what’s driving the many major invest-ments we’re making on your behalf.

The same holds true for other areas of your energy business—we’re expand-ing the CHS presence in propane and alternative fuels with new distribution facilities. We’re planning investments in our top-rated lubricants business, and we’re taking a global approach to our re-newable fuels marketing and distribution business. Even though there currently are some challenges in this sector, I’m convinced there is a promising future for renewable fuels and CHS will be part of it on your behalf.

The sum of the parts: A commitment to serving our energy customers and to adding value for you.

(Pause)Let’s try grain marketing.9 billion. 100 percent. 40 percent. 10. Nine billion and 100 percent are

numbers you’ve probably heard before—they’re the projected world population in 2050 and accompany-ing percentage growth required by the world’s food supply.

40 percent—that’s the portion of China’s population expected to be part of the middle class by 2020—just seven years from now. It means 700 million people—that’s twice the population of the United States—looking for a better life and more meat in their diets. It takes several pounds of grain to produce a pound of meat, so this will create more opportunity for CHS to meet the needs of our customers in China.

There’s talk these days of a weaken-ing Chinese economy. The eight mem-bers of the CHS senior leadership team visited China this fall. And while we saw some signs of that, in the housing construction sector, for example, we re-turned home extremely optimistic about the opportunity ahead for agriculture in

general and CHS in particular. There is an implicit social contract between the Chinese government and its people that they are guaranteed both affordable food and jobs to pay for it. I’d be more nervous if we were selling high-end consumer goods, but people have to eat and, to maintain stability, China will make sure that they do.

As a country, China is the fastest growing purchaser of soy and corn to support its expanding animal protein industry—its soybean imports are expected to hit a record 57 million tons for 2012. And although not all of these imports will come from the U.S., this is the equivalent of nearly 80 percent of our 2012 soybean crop.

While some sectors of the Chinese economy are slowing, I think food production will remain strong for the foreseeable future. We are also starting to see signs that China will become a net importer of corn, as well.

We also came back very confident that our strategic efforts to expand our global commodities footprint, through geographic presence and significant investments, are essential to keeping CHS competitive in this space year around.

Back to that number 10.Ten years ago we opened our first

international office, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was a first for a U.S. cooperative and one I know raised eyebrows among some of you. A decade later, I think it’s clear our CHS international presence—now expanded to include to grain origination and marketing offices in 18 countries—has delivered tremendous value in a time of rapid global change. In the last three years, we’ve seen in turn severe drought in the Black Sea region, in Brazil and, this season, in the U.S. Our ability to man-age risk through a variety of origination options clearly kept CHS in the market and allowed us to supply our customers in more than 60 countries around the world no matter what. By being able to source globally, we have the opportunity to be the first supplier our customers call. If we source from only one country, we may not get a call.

In the past two years, we’ve com-pleted or announced numerous invest-

ments to help us grow globally, including interior grain origination in several countries, investments in export facilities and joint ventures in crop nutrients sup-ply and distribution.

Our investment in our global grain origination platform extends to U.S. geography, as well. Major investments are ahead for our Temco joint venture terminal at Kalama, Washington, our pipeline to those Asia Pacific markets. And—with a shout out to a Kansas co-op CEO who challenged us to find a way to move grain through the Texas Gulf—we established a through-put agreement in Houston. He’s kept up his end of the deal by shipping 19 shuttles to CHS in the last 12 months.

All of this adds up to building a value-added cooperative presence in global grain marketing.

Before I move on, I want to take a moment to recognize some winners. Education is a priority throughout CHS. To help this company succeed on your behalf, we need skilled and knowledge-able employees. This year, our South America team established CHS Agro University, modeled on a program we’ve had here in the U.S. for several years. In addition to class time, the 14 partici-pants worked in project groups, with the winning team of three earning an opportunity to attend this annual meet-ing. Please join me in congratulating and welcoming these bright young CHS South America employees.

(Lead applause)(Pause)Thank you.Now let’s consider a few numbers for

crop nutrients, the other important piece of our global commodities platform.

34. 1.4 billion. 700,000. 105.It’s been 34 years—the late 1970s—

since a new nitrogen fertilizer plant was built in the United States. Many said nitrogen manufacturing had moved off-shore forever. But this is the place where the booming U.S. energy industry and agriculture intersect. Domestic energy exploration and production—especially that in the Bakken region I mentioned earlier—is bringing tremendous quanti-ties of low-cost natural gas into the

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marketplace, making new ammonia production economically feasible for the first time in decades. This comes at a very opportune time, given the increas-ing global demand for both grain and the crop nutrients needed to grow it. It’s always struck me as ironic that our nation is extremely concerned about energy independence, yet it’s rarely mentioned that we import more than 50 percent of the nitrogen we count on to produce abundant and affordable crops for our country and the world.

We are continually working to strengthen our crop nutrients supply to you, our owners. This fall we announced plans for a what will be about a $1.4 bil-lion nitrogen plant at Spiritwood, North Dakota, not only the largest project in our history, but the largest single invest-ment in that state’s history. At the same time, we announced our participation in a Texas clean energy project which will make us the exclusive marketer of the 700,000 tons of urea it will produce annually.

As I mentioned earlier, we are in-creasingly active participants in the glob-al crop nutrients sector—also sourcing product from 20 countries and pairing our grain origination activities in South America with crop nutrients imports. On the home front, we’re investing in our import facilities, doubling railcar capacity at Galveston, Texas, and in our domestic distribution consisting of 105 owned or leased terminals and, often in relationships with member cooperatives and CHS-owned retail locations.

(Pause)Let’s see how the numbers add up

in our Processing and Food Ingredients business where we’re adding value to the crops our owners raise.

5.2, 3 and another 3.Five-point-two is actually $5.2 billion

which is the value of the soy foods sold in the U.S. in 2011—a five-fold increase in the last 15 years and still expanding.

The first of the pair of number “threes” represents the three million tons of soy protein-based foods and food ingredients CHS now produces annually.

The other number three is the

countries—China, Israel and the U.S.—in which CHS operates soy foods processing plants today. We took a big step forward in 2012 as we acquired an Israeli firm with two facilities in that country, one in China and one in Nebraska. Combined with our existing U.S. processing and foods operations, and a plant we acquired this past year in Iowa, we now produce a full range of soy foods and ingredients—ranging from oils to flour to textured protein to increasingly popular isoflavones for the health food sector. When we started this process 18 months ago, CHS owned three value-added soy processing plants. Today your company owns eight.

Why are we expanding? In a word, opportunity. Through soy foods, we can add value to the soybeans you grow while meeting demand for inexpensive sources of protein in the U.S. and in developing nations and also tapping into the purchasing power of health con-scious U.S. consumers through protein bars and soy-based drinks. Combined with our ownership in Ventura Foods and our flour milling joint venture, CHS is adding value for you right to the consumers’ table.

(Pause)In his report this morning, CFO

Dave Kastelic shared the numbers for fiscal 2012—our record earnings and revenues and, most important, the estimated $600 million CHS plans to return to you in cash during fiscal 2013.

I want to offer you one more ex-tremely important number—$4 billion.

That’s the combined total of what CHS has already invested, is committed to internally and is projected to spend in the next few years on acquisitions, expansions of existing businesses and new projects to add value for our owners and customers. That figure covers the period from fiscal 2011 through fiscal 2017. I do want to point out that it doesn’t include the full estimate for the Spiritwood nitrogen plant as others may partner with us on this project.

These investments are strengthening your diesel supply. They’re enhancing our efficient and dependable crop nutri-ents sourcing and distribution. They’re

making sure you can compete long-term in the global grain markets through in-terior origination and export facilities in the U.S. and around the world. They’re moving you further down the value-added food chain.

No question we’ve already done a lot—in fact, in the last two years we’ve made about three dozen major news announcements on investments and acquisitions. But we’re not finished!

In all, we’ve identified about 60 projects that could further build out our CHS strategies. Certainly, we won’t pursue all of these and new opportuni-ties may arise. So rest assured, we have a very disciplined process for determin-ing whether an upgrade, expansion, acquisition or other initiative will deliver economic value. We do know two things for certain. One, we must continue to invest in your future. And two, CHS has the financial strength to make these investments on your behalf.

(Pause)You’ve heard a lot of numbers

already. When we add them up, what do we get?

(Pause)Not a number, but a word—rel-

evance.To me, relevance requires making

a deliberate choice about your future. Whether it’s investing in growth, choos-ing to stay the course or even deciding to exit a business. And it means, especially if you want to grow, you must sync your products and services to your customers’ needs and then make sure you’re mov-ing fast enough. In today’s environment, I’m convinced we need to move twice as fast as we used to. I’m sure you could all list examples of companies that didn’t change fast enough and eventually no longer mattered.

When it comes to the producers and cooperatives who own us, we at CHS believe this means not only investing in the future, but making sure we provide options for doing business with us that are relevant to you.

And how many ways is that? I’d offer this—3-to-the-nth power.

What do I mean? Today you have three basic choices. You can do busi-

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ness with CHS on a buy/sell basis, with whatever business areas you chose. You can count on good products and services and the opportunity to receive patron-age and earn equity.

Or as five cooperatives did in the last 15 months, you can chose to fully align with CHS and combine local decision-making with the strength of CHS system resources through Country Operations.

Or you can make the third choice—that nth degree, by which I mean that the possibilities for aligning more closely are limitless. In recent years, we’ve established numerous joint ventures and other working arrangements with member co-ops ranging from grain shuttle loaders to energy delivery systems to crop nutrients storage. Long term, we’re committed to working with you creatively and collaboratively to find solutions that meet your needs and this system’s needs.

Whatever your choice for your future, the equation must add up to relevance for you.

(Pause)Being Greater Together, and being

relevant for the long haul, also requires

investing in knowledge, people and com-munities. This year, we can tell part of that story with three numbers.

One. 10,000. Times eight.As cooperative leaders, you now

have one great on-line resource to gain knowledge, share news, participate in dynamic discussions and much more. We’ve created the CHS Center for Cooperative Growth as an interactive, one-stop repository of information to help directors, managers and CEOs succeed in a rapidly changing landscape. For example, right now you can get four perspectives on equity management and be part of the conversation among cooperative thought leaders.

10,000. That’s the number of CHS employees serving you today from more than 500 locations in the U.S. and around the world. They are an in-valuable part of that Greater Together equation not only for our owners and customers, but for the communities in which we operate. In 2012, we launched our CHS Day of Service program, providing eight paid hours of time off for volunteer service to our full-time employees. The response our first year out was amazing. Our em-

ployees volunteered individually with hundreds of schools, charities and other organizations. And, they lever-aged their hours in teams—working in groups to help food banks, disaster victims and, in one case, a whole town—really demonstrating the power of Greater Together.

(Pause)In the last 20 minutes, I’ve tossed

out nearly 50 different numbers—bush-els, dollar figures, percentages, people and more.

So how does it all add up? What story does it tell?

To me, it’s a story of optimism—of what people with a common vision and the drive to achieve it can accomplish. It’s a story of optimism about the value we can deliver together for you, our owners, and for our customers around the world.

And, it’s a story that defies common mathematical rules. Because when it comes to what we can achieve together, one plus one always equals more than two. It equals our commitment to you—to always find ways to be Greater Together.

Thank you.

WINNER: ASSOCIATIONS CATEGORY“Dr. Carmel Meeting Farewell”

Writer: Anna PuccinelliSpeaker: Peter W. Carmel, MD

Delivered to: American Medical Association, 2012 Annual Meeting, Chicago, Ill., June 16, 2012

Mr. Speaker, Members of the Board, delegates, international

guests, colleagues, friends. It is an honor to address this House for the last time as your president.

I thought long and hard about what I would say today. About what the AMA has accomplished over the past year, and the challenges ahead. And I realized that the answer lay no further than my office. The answer lay with my patients.

One of the great gifts of our profes-sion is that our patients always have

something to teach us. Lessons you can-not learn from any book.

The majority of my patients, of course, are kids. And one of the first things I learned as a pediatric neurosur-geon, is that kids can’t stand being lied to. Even if the truth is ugly, they want to know what’s going on.

Unfortunately, most children who come into my office are struggling with a life-threatening condition—a tumor, malignant disease, or other neurological malady. And the first instinct of a parent in these circumstances is to protect their

child. Tell them everything is gonna be okay. They’ll be fine. Don’t even men-tion an operation.

Unfortunately, that approach inevita-bly backfires. Because kids know when things are being kept from them. And it makes them insecure.

So I always sit the parents down and advise them not to hide the truth. I remind them that children are smart, and they pick up on every single thing we say. I tell them the most important thing they can do to prepare a child for a dangerous surgery, is establish trust.

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The amazing thing—the truly remarkable thing—is that when kids learn the truth, they respond with more courage and grace than most adults I know. Understanding the challenge before them, they do not shy away from it. They tend to face it head on, and fight. While victory is far from certain, they believe. And thank God, most often, they win.

There’s a lesson in that for each of us. For all of us.

With exponential change taking place in the health care system it’s easy for physicians to feel threatened. On guard. Even under attack. With all the talk of delivery models, how will small physician practices fit in? With 32 million newly insured patients poised to enter the system, how will we care for them? How can we afford the new health information technology? How can we comply with new quality programs?

These are some of the questions I’ve faced and fielded as I’ve criss-crossed the nation on behalf of our AMA. Questions that give rise to a general sense of anxiety. And the only thing worse than that anxiety, is the fear many physicians have—the fear they’re being lied to.

If Congress really wants to improve the health care system, why hasn’t it eliminated SGR? Why hasn’t it instituted meaningful medical liability reform? And how can Congress hope to increase quality and accessibility, without supporting the very individuals who provide it?

Believe me, I have several answers to these questions. Involving some choice words. But back when I was elected president, my wife Jacqueline gave me two rules. She said, “You can’t cuss, and you can’t hit anyone.”

And I thought, “Is this really a job worth having?”

Almost two years later, I can proudly say I never broke the second rule. And I didn’t break the cussing one either ... at least not in public. So I don’t intend to now.

Instead, I’ll rely on the words of the Greek philosopher Epictetus: “It’s not

what happens to you that matters, but how you react to it.”

Colleagues, in the past year one thing that has really impressed me—how physicians have reacted to the challenges before them. Like the brave patients who come into my office, America’s physicians have risen to the occasion. Rather than close your eyes, pretending that changes aren’t com-ing to health care, you’ve faced them head on. You’ve sounded your voice on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures, and in courtrooms across the nation. America’s physicians have stood tall and fought. And together, we’ve scored some incredible victories.

As I look back, one triumph stands out above the rest—the progress the AMA has made in shaping new pay-ment and delivery models. When I ad-dressed you last November, I described how AMA advocacy had radically improved the rules for Accountable Care Organizations. How we eased the restrictions, reduced the risk involved, and even convinced CMS to provide $170 million to help physicians with start-up costs.

Since then, these policy improve-ments have come to life. In April, CMS released a list of 27 newly approved shared savings ACOs. And amazingly, physicians lead the major-ity of them. Physicians, not hospitals. Even more amazing, five of these phy-sician-led ACOs are taking advantage of the advance funding advocated for by the AMA.

At this time last year, ACOs ap-peared all but dead in the water for most physicians. Today, thanks to all of you, ACOs have become a viable option for many physicians across the country. And this victory has the tone for the conversation going forward ... the conversation on medical homes, bundled payments, and other models. Thanks to your efforts, “physician-led” has become the guiding principle in both the public and private sectors. That’s advocacy in action. That’s phy-sicians making a difference.

Another recent victory is the delay of ICD-10. The AMA heard your fears

about the headaches it would cause—the disruption to workflow and the exorbitant costs. In response, we sent letters to both the House and Senate highlighting the financial and admin-istrative burdens. And again, miracu-lously—the government listened! CMS released a proposed rule that not only postpones ICD-10 implementation until November 2014, but also includes regulatory changes that save physicians valuable time and money.

Regarding the AMA’s advocacy on this issue, one DC trade publication said, “Among healthcare industry bod-ies that lobby, the American Medical Association has few equals. Look no further than the new ICD-10 compli-ance date for evidence ...”

The AMA’s clout in Washington—our ability to help shape policy—has been higher this year than at any point in my lifetime.

But our victories don’t stop there. By now, many of you have received your payout from the AMA’s $200 mil-lion settlement against UnitedHealth Group. A settlement that sends a strong message to insurers: “You can’t pull the wool over our eyes. You can’t take advantage of America’s patients and physicians.”

We’ve also scored numerous regula-tory wins—from eliminating unrealistic lab test order requirements, to protect-ing you from unreasonable audits. They’re the rules you don’t have time to monitor, full of acronyms and fine print ... a proposal to extend EMTALA to the inpatient setting, for example. Rest assured that the AMA has been fighting—and winning—on your behalf. So that you can spend less time shuffling papers, and more time caring for patients.

The AMA has also scored important victories in state legislatures across the nation—65 this year alone. We helped Mississippi, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Utah pass Truth in Advertising legislation ... ensuring that patients understand the difference between optometrists and ophthalmologists, psychologists and psychiatrists, and chiropractors and orthopedic doctors.

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In the area of medical liability reform, we helped North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee achieve caps on non-economic damages. And in multiple states—Kentucky, Missouri, and Louisiana to name a few—the AMA launched a coordinated attack to prevent the Federal Trade Commis-sion from intervening in state licensure issues. To ensure that physicians—not lawyers and bureaucrats—regulate the profession of medicine.

In these cases, and many others, the AMA fought for physician’s rights. And the AMA won.

Of course, not every worthwhile ef-fort results in clear victory. Some of our most important work—such as elimi-nating SGR—is ongoing. Which brings me to a larger question: where do we go from here?

As you know, there’s a debate taking place in the Supreme Court right now that will have tremendous implications for health care in this country. Recently, I reminded the graduates of New Jersey Medical School that regard-less of what happens at the Supreme Court—America’s health care system is already experiencing historic change. As it must.

Let’s not forget that today, in 2012, more than 50 million Americans lack health insurance. That the United States spends $2.5 trillion each year on health care, yet ranks low in many critical health indices. That chronic conditions have reached epidemic lev-els—diabetes, heart disease, obesity and stroke. And that caring for patients with these conditions consumes more than 75 percent of health care dollars.

Continuing down the same path is neither financially tenable, nor ethi-cally tolerable. So where do we go from here?

It must be toward a better, more ef-ficient, and more equitable system.

A system where care coordination is paramount.

A system where prevention and well-ness are incentivized.

A system where medical liability no longer adds tens of billions of dollars to health care costs annually, even when

64 percent of claims against physicians are dismissed.

A system that protects gradu-ate medical education, so our next generation of physicians can complete their training.

A system that supports academic medical centers, the safety net where those most in need of care—and least able to afford it—turn for help.

A system that can sustain the 72 million baby boomers just entering Medicare.

And a system where the federal government acknowledges that annual physician pay increases of less than one quarter…of one percent…year after year ... for more than a decade ... is neither sustainable, nor growing!

We need a system where partisan politics no longer get in the way of doing what is right. Where insurers, hospitals, politicians, and the full spec-trum of health care professionals are all working on the same side—the side of the patient.

Colleagues, I have a confession to make. When I graduated from medical school in 1960, I did not join the AMA. My father, a lifelong AMA member, reprimanded me. He told me I had an obligation to support the profession. But at that time, it wasn’t clear to me what the AMA stood for.

In fact, it wasn’t until 1974, when I heard the young and vigorous new CEO Jim Sammons talk about the importance of protecting patients and protecting the profession of medicine that I decided to join the AMA. And since then, the transformation I’ve witnessed has been incredible.

In 1985, when I first served as a delegate to the AMA, I vividly recall at-tending a luncheon for the specialty so-cieties. And all the specialties, together, could fit around four tables—of eight.

Today, the AMA specialty section is 116 specialties strong, with 201 delegates to this House. Today the AMA includes a Medical Student Section with 47,000 members. A Resident Fellow Section with 36,000 members. A Minority Af-fairs Section. An International Medical Graduate Section. A Women Physicians

Congress. The list goes on. . . Today, the AMA is the indisputable

voice of America’s physicians. Five years ago, we used that voice to

achieve one of the high-water marks in AMA history. We launched a campaign for the uninsured—the patient speaking into the stethoscope. We highlighted the disparities of America’s health care system, and helped accelerate the nationwide demand for reform.

The bottom line is that today, be-cause of a conversation that happened right here at the House of Delegates . . .

• 2.5 million young adults under the age of 26 have gained health insurance through their parents.

• More than 100 million Americans no longer have to worry about lifetime caps on disease coverage.

• 54 million Americans have already benefitted from expanded coverage for wellness and prevention.

• And 5.1 million Medicare recipi-ents have received support during the prescription drug “donut hole.”

All of this has already happened—today—regardless of what the Su-preme Court decides. So I think you’ll agree with me when I say, this ain’t my daddy’s AMA!

Today the AMA is literally front and center, shaping the future of health care in this nation. As Dr. Madara said, no other physician group has the resources or opportunity of our AMA. No other physician group can have this kind of impact. And with the strategic plan Jim outlined, our impact will grow even greater in the years to come. We will tackle the big issues—the ones that matter most to America’s patients, and America’s physicians. We will lead. We will fight. And I am confident ... we will win.

Colleagues, a year ago I told you that my heroes—beginning with my fa-ther—have always been doctors. Today, I want to draw your attention to one more hero. A mentee of mine, Karin Muraszko. And I have Karin’s permis-sion to share her story with you.

Karin’s childhood was different than most. She was born with spina bifida in 1955, when the medical world under-

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stood far less about her condition than we do now. In fact, her parents were told she wouldn’t live—that they should learn to accept it.

But her parents wouldn’t accept it. And neither would Karin. She was determined to fight. Over the years, Karin underwent countless surger-ies. While most children were playing in the park, she spent 13 months in a body cast. She learned to walk—not once—but three different times.

Having spent so many days in hospitals, Karin knew by the age of seven that she wanted to be a doctor. And by the time I met her at Columbia University Medical School, she was well on her way ... extremely bright and tenacious.

But she soon faced a dilemma. During her third year, Karin decided she wanted to become a neurosurgeon. But three obstacles stood in her way. First, she was only four feet nine inches tall, which would make reaching the operating table a challenge. Second, she was a woman, and almost 95% of neurosurgeons are male. And third, she had a disability. As a result of her

spina bifida, one of Karin’s legs is 2 inches shorter than the other. And in neurosurgery, where operations can take 12, 15, even 18 hours, it’s essential that physicians are physically, as well as mentally strong.

While the challenges before Karin were great, her determination was even greater. I told her that she was going to have to prove herself—even “over-prove” herself to achieve her goal. I knew she could. I knew she would. And of course ... she did.

Karin shadowed me and the other neurosurgeons, demonstrating her ability to meet the physical demands. She received honors in all her clinical rotations and superior Board scores. By the time she graduated she was second in her medical school class, and she became the first disabled person to enter Columbia’s neurosurgical residency program.

Since then, Karin has never looked back. When she couldn’t reach the operating table, she had a device con-structed to raise her up.When she met with sexism or prejudice, she fought to overcome them.

Today Dr. Karin Muraszko is the Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan—the first, and only woman to chair a neurosurgical department in the nation. Karin embodies our will to fight. She is an inspiration to her col-leagues, and a lifesaver to the nearly 400 children she sees each year.

My fellow AMA members, as we push forward to reform America’s health care system, there’s no question that it will be hard. And as we look to the future, the challenges are great.

But the opportunities are even greater. And if there’s one thing physicians have in common—whether we’re neurosur-geons or pediatricians, Republicans or Democrats—it’s the courage and convic-tion to fight.

We were born to fight. We were trained to fight. We fight for the lives of our patients every day.

Thank you for giving me the oppor-tunity to lead our charge this past year. It is an honor for which I am forever grateful. And I look forward to con-tinuing the fight in the years ahead ... standing right alongside you, my fellow physicians, my heroes.

WINNER: ENERGY CATEGORY“Choice and Image in the Oil and Gas Industry”

Writer: Bob Tippee, Editor, Oil & Gas JournalSpeaker: Bob Tippee

Delivered to: Houston Petroleum Club, Houston, Texas, Sept. 25, 2012

Here we are: just a little more than a month before an important na-

tional election. It’s an election that will determine the direction America heads in many important areas—not least of which is policy affecting energy.

The choices are quite distinct. One candidate favors aggressive regulation and intrusions into the energy market by government in order to suppress the consumption of oil and gas and to encourage the production and use of costlier alternatives. The other candidate would rely more on market forces and less on the exercise of official authority.

Choices, indeed.I don’t know who will win.I do know that, no matter who

wins, the oil and gas industry will enter whatever battles it must fight in the next political cycle with a disadvantage.

With the American public, my favor-ite industry has an image that would be merciful to describe as abysmal. In most places, the American public hates the oil and gas business.

That has to change. Much is at stake in the politics of energy. America loses much when its political leaders make mistakes with oil and gas.

Yet those mistakes are all too fre-quent. And they’re frequent because the oil and gas industry’s image is so poor that politicians in most states gain favor by punishing it.

That won’t change until the indus-try’s image improves. I didn’t say unless the industry’s image improves. I said until it improves.

The oil and gas industry’s image in fact CAN improve.

I make that assertion confidently because I’ve lived through the transfor-mation of an institution from scorn to adulation in the public mind.

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In the next few minutes I’ll describe that profound change and suggest a few lessons that the oil and gas industry might usefully draw from it.

Don’t worry. I won’t exhort the in-dustry to do more to educate the public. It has to try, of course. But the public doesn’t really want to be educated about oil and gas.

And I won’t encourage everybody to hug the nearest environmentalist.

I’m sure there are hug-worthy environmentalists. I just don’t happen to know any. Or maybe I’m just not the huggy type.

All I’ll do here is suggest an approach to this business of image-improvement that differs from the standard strategy—an approach based on reflection from experience that’s personal yet part of well-known history.

***I’ll start by telling you about a pilot I

saw on television many years ago—not a trial TV program but a person who drives airplanes.

This was when I was in the Air Force during the waning years of the Vietnam War.

In those days, unlike now, serving in the armed forces was not a popular thing to do.

In those days the United States mili-tary had a bad public image—much like the image the oil and gas industry suffers from today.

This pilot was the very embodi-ment of that lowly status—the flight commander of a B-52, a huge, droopy aircraft that dropped bombs in devastat-ing quantity from great altitude.

I had entered his world, the Air Force, through ROTC at the University of Tulsa.

Unlike many colleges and universities in those days, my alma mater was no hotbed of radicalism.

Still, wearing a military uniform and hairstyle on campus could pro-voke insults.

I remember marching outside and ignoring jeers from guys with long hair in a dormitory overlooking the drill area—ignoring the jeers but hearing them nevertheless.

Later, when I was on active duty, the Air Force often issued orders not to wear uniforms in public except while travel-ing—and never to appear off-base in combat fatigues or flight suits.

Worn in wrong places, military uni-forms in those days could incite trouble, even violence.

Now, please don’t mistake me for a military hero. I was no hero.

The heroes were the men and women who fought in that faraway jungle and who died or who came home wounded or emotionally scarred to a nation that greeted them with indiffer-ence—if not outright derision.

I never went to Vietnam. Troops were streaming out, not going in, when I began active duty. I was just a weapons control officer doing what I thought I needed to do, happy to begin my civil-ian career once I’d served my four-year commitment.

Actually, in what I suppose is the clos-est I ever came to heroism, I gave Uncle Sam four extra days.

How radically things have changed.Now soldiers and officers wearing

their uniforms in public receive thanks from strangers for their service.

They deserve it. Military service nowadays is excruciating—and not only because of the frequency with which men and women must confront the hor-rors of combat. Deployments are long and extendable. Military families face extraordinary pressures—life-and-death risk of the military member, uncertain periods of separation, low pay.

They do deserve our thanks.I’m very pleased they’re receiving it.

I’m equally pleased that this reversal of the military’s public image has evoked gratitude for the real heroes of Vietnam.

That’s the transformation of image I mentioned earlier. And it’s the psy-chology of that change that I want to explore here.

My memory of that B-52 pilot will help.

I didn’t catch his name and wouldn’t remember it now if I had. He appeared on a TV news program during my first year on active duty.

He stood on a flight line in front

of a television camera—in Thailand, probably—this focus of popular scorn, wearing his blue garrison cap the cocky way pilots do, in a flight suit the color of shadowed foliage.

The reporter asked a few dare-you-to-answer questions about the unpopu-lar war and the pilot’s role in it. So this guy, a major as I recall, looked at the camera and coolly said something I’ll never forget:

“If you want us to stand down,” he said, “just tell us.”

That challenge put the image of the military, which I’m corresponding with antagonism toward the Vietnam War and comparing with the contemporary image of oil and gas, into very useful perspective.

Americans elect their military’s commander-in-chief.

Despite all the antiwar toxin that infested popular discourse in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Americans could have elected an antiwar president.

They had the chance to do so when Richard Nixon ran against Hubert Humphrey for the presidency in 1968. Humphrey wasn’t the shrillest antiwar Democrat around at the time; he’d been vice-president in the administration of Lyndon Johnson and refused to repudi-ate Johnson’s escalation of the war. Still, for voters who despised the war and the military, Humphrey was the clear prefer-ence over hawkish Richard Nixon.

Yet Nixon won, 301 electoral votes to 191.

By the election of 1972, the choice was more clear-cut: Nixon versus an outspokenly antiwar senator from South Dakota, George McGovern.

Again, Nixon won, 520 electoral votes to 17. He received 18 million popular votes more than McGovern, the widest margin in history.

Americans might not have liked what that B-52 pilot wore to work, how short he kept his hair, and what he did for a living in Vietnam. But they could have stopped him from doing it by electing a commander-in-chief committed to promptly ending the war. They did not.

Public image about the Vietnam War and the military of the day conflicted

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with public action on those subjects—at least as expressed by votes in two impor-tant elections.

Public image about anything has its roots in the shifting sands of popular opinion. Action has roots in firmer, more-complex psychologi-cal ground, which includes but isn’t limited to core beliefs.

Opinions change readily; core beliefs change begrudgingly. Of the two, opinions are much more susceptible to manipulation. Within groups, even with individuals, harmony between opinions and core beliefs can be elusive, even dif-ficult to achieve.

The public image of the United States military changed because opinions about it did what opinions so readily do—they changed. And I like to think those opinions are more closely aligned now than they were in the ‘60s and ‘70s with core American beliefs.

If there’s any hope for improvement of the oil and gas industry’s image in the public square, public opinions about the industry have to change.

As I said earlier, the oil and gas indus-try suffers in politics because so many Americans so passionately hate it.

If the industry’s image were not so poor, politicians would be laughed offstage when they made indefensible al-legations—such as the perennial favorite that oil and gas companies conspire to gouge consumers at the gasoline pump.

A poor public image affects the workplace as well as politics. People who work in the industry must grow tired of continually having to shrug off unlearned yet unyielding suspicions ex-pressed by relatives and friends who live outside petroliferous havens like Texas and Oklahoma. I know I do.

So what changed popular opinion about the military? And what might the oil and gas industry learn from that history?

During my adolescence and early adulthood, two variable circumstances inflamed antimilitary passions.

One was unpopularity of the Viet-nam War, especially among activists and well-positioned elites of politics, aca-demia, and the media.

But that circumstance doesn’t differ greatly from its counterpart today. The incursion to dethrone Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003 was hugely unpopular—as unpopular, I’d venture to say, as the Vietnam War.

In both cases, war in a distant place aroused fierce opposition. Yet opposition to Vietnam led to demonization of the military, while opposition to Iraq did not.

The real differentiating circumstance, I believe, is the draft—a social force strongly at work in the Vietnam era and nonexistent today.

For young men in the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s, the draft limited choice. You took your chances in the annual lottery. You got a school or marriage deferment. You made the best of the inevitable—as I was fortunate enough to do—by attending college and entering military service as an officer. You moved to Canada, where the Draft Board couldn’t get you. Or you went underground and became a radical.

Those were the options. They didn’t leave room for much career planning.

Limiting choices available to young men by any means is a sure way to de-stabilize any society. A related observa-tion, which I’ll mention in the interest of inclusivity, is that limiting the influence of women to anything below parity in all aspects of decision-making is a sure way to make the worst possibilities of male behavior come true.

Anyway, attached to an unpopular war, the limitation of choices available to young men through military conscrip-tion bred resentment. And the resent-ment helped to radicalize American politics and spoil the IMAGE of the American military.

Yet the military, as the B-52 pilot etched into my memory made clear, was only doing what Americans, through their political system, had told it re-soundingly to do.

Opinion about the military and core beliefs about security and American val-ues had been knocked out of alignment by truncation of individual choice via military conscription.

Improvement of the military’s public

image required a reassertion of choice by way of an end to the draft.

By analogy, a reassertion of the EXISTENCE of choice can help the oil and gas industry improve its im-age—and at least its ability to defend itself against the worst political assaults it faces.

The war analog for oil and gas is the price of energy, especially the price of gasoline.

The politics of energy is motivated and shaped by the price of energy—es-pecially gasoline.

People have opinions about all sorts of things related to energy—security, cli-mate change, supposed threats to drink-ing water from hydraulic fracturing.

But people act on price. They buy energy on the basis of price. They vote—when options are clear—on the basis of price.

Price is more than a matter of opin-ion. It’s a matter of economic interest, which is a manifestation of core belief and therefore a prime mover of behav-ior—something over which people will wage intellectual war.

I think the fate of cap-and-trade legislation, proposed as an antidote to global warming early in the 211th Con-gress, supports my view. As effects of the proposal on the price of energy became clear, opinions increasingly conformed with economic interest, and political support for the measure melted away.

If the war analog in energy politics is price, the draft analog is domination of the vehicle fuel market by gasoline.

Americans feel conscripted to gasoline.When gasoline prices reach uncom-

fortable levels, economists talk about limited elasticity of demand, and politi-cians compare the effect with taxation.

Convinced they have no choice, motorists revolt and open themselves to conspiracy theories promulgated by political heroes needing populist dragons to slay.

Yet choices exist. At the most basic level, motorists choose where to buy gasoline among retail outlets that clearly advertise prices.

Americans also can—and do—reduce consumption in times of elevated price.

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They increase their use of mass transit and reduce discretionary driving. Some of them trade in SUVs for less fuel-raven-ous sedans. The effects take time, but they do moderate consumption.

In fact, consumption of gasoline—long the growth oil product in the United States—has flattened, maybe forever.

And another choice—a political choice to require sales of fuel made from biological feedstock—is trimming the need for gasoline made from crude oil. Grain ethanol now fills about ten percent of the U.S. need for gasoline. And its use is growing.

Whether that represents sound policy is debatable. The point here is that it reflects a choice.

More such choices will present themselves in politics. I personally be-lieve experience with renewable-energy mandates will force attention to the high costs of those programs. And as lessons become apparent and widely under-stood, economic interest will prevail.

But, again, these are choices. Ameri-cans are not drafted against their wills into vehicles fueled by gasoline originat-ing wholly in crude oil.

Domination of the vehicle fuel mar-ket by gasoline is not a consumer trap. It doesn’t result from political coercion or industry manipulation.

Domination of the fuel market by gasoline is a legacy of choices based on the fuel’s physical and economic advan-tages related to energy density, mobility, and scale.

Those advantages are very difficult for other fuels to overcome. Other fuels cost more and can’t compete without subsidization by taxpayers or consumers and mandates like the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Subsidies impose cost, which conflicts with economic interest. And mandates represent a political choice that limits economic choice—a para-dox some might see as related to core American belief.

The point here is that reminders about the choices that do exist on energy might help Americans understand that the price of gasoline is not a political

war. It’s a choice.If the reality of choice, including

the historic choices that created present circumstances, gained prominence in political discussions, I believe the image of the oil and gas industry could be lib-erated from the intellectual warfare that frames debate now. Then—maybe—it could improve.

At this moment in the history of oil and gas, it’s more important than ever that the industry work toward this level of happy enlightenment.

The United States is entering a very promising era of oil and gas supply.

The newly recognized potential of unconventional resources, especially shales, other low-permeability forma-tions, and reservoirs containing immo-bile heavy oil and bitumen, is reshaping the energy future of North America. It’s reshaping views about American reliance on oil from abroad. And it’s promising abundant, long-term sup-plies of natural gas for use as a fuel for power generation and manufacturing, as a petrochemical feedstock, and as a vehicle fuel.

Realization of this enormous po-tential requires sound policy-making. I fear, though, that exaggerated alarm over hydraulic fracturing, the comple-tion technique essential to establishing production from tight formations, puts us off to a bad start.

And I’m afraid misconceptions underlying that alarm will be difficult to change as long as the American public distrusts the oil and gas business. That’s why the industry’s image must improve. There’s more than ever at stake.

I’ve tried to show that reversal of a poor public image is possible; the military did it, after all. I’ve asserted, by comparison with changes in cir-cumstances affecting the military, that a reaffirmation of choice is essential to changing the oil and gas industry’s image. And I’ve hinted at elements of strategy: working to change baseless opinions, which are changeable, while il-luminating elements of a stronger driver of behavior, economic interest, which is a dimension of core belief.

My linking of choice to a necessary

effort to improve the oil and gas indus-try’s public image is something new, as far as I know. And if anyone were to consider it a good idea, a practical question to ask would be: Will anybody listen?

To answer that, I’ll revive another military memory. This one is about a sign on walls of many an officer’s club during my years on active duty.

It said: “The mission of the Air Force is to fly and to fight, and don’t you ever forget it.”

I like the pointed brevity. It strikes me as something the B-52 pilot might say. It makes me think the oil and gas industry could be more pointed that it is now in its communication with the American public.

How’s this for a pointedly brief state-ment about the oil and gas industry’s purpose?

“The mission of the oil and gas busi-ness is to deliver energy you need at a price you can afford in the amounts you require.”

By reflex, somebody will want to add something about environmental respon-sibility. But whoever wrote that officer’s club statement didn’t feel obliged to say “to fly without crashing and to fight without getting shot down.”

I’m concerned with essential pur-pose here. Safety and environmental responsibility are imperatives of work and therefore implicit in mission, in a statement of which they should require no mention.

At the most fundamental level, the distinguishing purpose of the oil and gas industry IS to deliver AFFORDABLE energy IN NEEDED QUANTITY.

That essential emphasis on scale of the challenge leads me to one more hith-erto untested suggestion I’ll make about ways to improve image.

A huge industry should figure out how to make size work for rather than against itself.

A big reason people unfamiliar with the oil and gas industry distrust the oil and gas industry is that the oil and gas industry is so confoundedly large.

It has to be big. The requirements of a world growing in population

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and industrialization are huge—and growing.

That world will continue to need all the oil and gas that can be brought affordably to market—and all the coal, nuclear, and renewable energy that can be delivered economically as well.

Because the already huge oil and gas business must get bigger, suspicion about the industry related to its enormity can only deepen unless something changes.

So here’s another observation from outside the canon of oil and gas com-munication with the public: The size of the oil and gas industry is a manifesta-tion of the IMPORTANCE of the oil and gas industry.

Oil and gas together account for just less than sixty percent of the global energy market—a very large market destined to become larger. Oil and gas

together will lose share over time. But requirements for them in absolute terms will continue to grow.

That unpopular but unassailable reality makes the industry that produces, processes, and delivers oil and gas ex-tremely important.

And that makes work of the people in that industry—your work—extremely important. It’s work related to human welfare, mobility, and security. It’s work too frequently disparaged—like military service was in the era of Vietnam.

That—must—change. The image of the oil and gas industry has to improve.

At the dawn of the age of uncon-ventional oil and gas, the industry has to be willing to emphasize choice and to express choice clearly and directly in the context of the importance of the work—like that B-52 pilot did so many years ago.

The industry has to be willing to look at the American public through television cameras and say: If you don’t want affordable energy that’s available in the amount you need when you need it, buy the other kind. You have the choice. Just please don’t deprive other people of their right to choose something different.

We’ve entered an era of excit-ing new potential for the oil and gas industry, its workers, and its custom-ers. We can fulfill the promise, which requires working to improve the indus-try’s image by highlighting choice and asserting the world-scale importance of the work. Or we can assume image never changes and settle for chipping away at the edges of possibility.

That choice is ours.Thank you.

Welcome. It’s hard to believe this amazing national early years con-

ference is almost over. We’ve heard from the top experts, learned about the most up-to-the-minute research and had the opportunity to network for three days with people who share our commitment to early learning and young children.

Whenever I travel, one of the things I do is visit child care centres and kinder-garten classrooms. In between the amaz-ing keynote presentations, I also man-aged to slip out and visit three wonderful early learning programs. I saw kinder-garten and pre-K classes in two schools, as well as a community based child care. I was especially interested in the child care centre that I visited at Peacock Sec-ondary School—which serves some very young mothers who are also finishing their own high school education.

My job this morning is to pull

together the themes we’ve heard over the past three unforgettable days—and to give us our marching orders as we leave today.

If I had to sum up everything I’ve learned and heard and talked about over the past three days, I’d say that I’ve learned how toddlers will save the world.

Well, not only toddlers. Infants, tod-dlers, pre-schoolers and kindergartners. So, in the hour that I’ve privileged to speak with you, I’m going to re-state the reasons why our youngest learners will save the world. It’s a big job they have ahead of them, and so they’re going to need some help from us.

As I was preparing to come out to this conference, I came across a news story that really caught my attention. Construction was recently completed on a nine-million-dollar vault. To build this vault, crews travelled to the

remote Norwegian island of Svalbard, in the Arctic Archipelago. They drilled through permafrost, deep into one of the island’s mountains. There, they built a vault designed to withstand earth-quakes and even nuclear attacks. The entrance to the vault is camouflaged and it’s protected with high security.

What’s in this vault? Well, if you think it’s military secrets, money or priceless gems, you’d be wrong. It’s something far more precious.

The vault contains seeds. More than 1.5 million different types of seeds. This vault is being referred to as the “Noah’s Ark” for the “most valuable natural resource on earth.”

Seeds. Young children. There are definite similarities. Small, but capable of remarkable, inestimable growth. You don’t know, just to look at a seed, what it could grow into. Same

WINNER: GOVERNMENT CATEGORY“How Toddlers Will Save the World”

Writer: Sylvia LinkSpeaker: Jim Grieve, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Education

Delivered to: Ontario Ministry of Education, Saskatchewan, Canada, May 11, 2012

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thing with a young child. But you do know for sure that seeds—and young children—can’t grow without the right environment, without the care and nurturing they need.

In some ways, this conference has been a seed ark for early learning—all of the research and best practices to help us ensure the future success of our youngest learners.

By virtue of the fact that you’re here at this conference, you have demonstrat-ed your commitment to—and belief in—the vital importance of the early years. But we have to be prepared, as we go back to our classrooms and school boards and colleges and universities and ministries of education to carry the torch for early learning. Because many people are not yet convinced. There’s a feeling that early learning is the “flavour of the moment” and can’t live up to its hype. Is it really true that toddlers will save the world?

There’s a lot of conventional wisdom about children. Tell me if you’ve heard any of these before:

• Children should be seen and ... not heard.

• Spare the rod and ... spoil the child.• Youth is wasted on the ... young.While these are still familiar adages,

they don’t reflect what we know now about educating and raising children. Most of what we thought we knew about early human development has been turned upside down.

In fact, our understanding of early learning has exploded over the past two decades.

Today, breathtaking scientific findings are showing that biology is the ultimate level playing field. The human brain at birth holds within it untold, often un-tapped, equal opportunity only slightly influenced by genetic prophecy.

Our understanding of brain re-search, neurobiology and epigenetics is constantly changing.

Early learning experts Jean Clinton and Stuart Shanker each gave us an overview of some of this research in their keynote sessions.

As they both reminded us, when a baby is born, its brain is relatively un-

developed. Different types of research, such as infant brain imaging, consis-tently show the profound similarities among newborn human brains. We all start out with basically the same brain. Many scientists now believe that 20 percent of a person’s outcome in life is the result of innate brain capacity. The other 80 percent is based on what hap-pens after birth.

We heard about the exponential brain cell development that happens between birth and age two. The more nurturing, rich experiences the baby has, the more brain connections are made.

This early development is so impor-tant to what happens in the child’s brain later on. Birth to age six seems to be the prime time for the density of neuron connections to develop. In simple terms, for the first six years, the brain is build-ing up its density of brain cells. The next task for the brain is to make patterns of connection between the cells. That age coincides well with children starting into academic learning in school.

Then, from about age 14 onward through the teen years and into early adulthood, the brain begins to cut away weak pathways—wiring and sculpting of the brain. The wiring of neurons in the brain is hugely influenced by stimulation and the use of these neuron pathways. So, pathways that are not intensely used will disappear.

This is clear evidence that the brain you end up with as an adult is signifi-cantly determined by the earliest years of life.

I’m sure that many of you are fa-miliar with this neuroscience. But we’re talking about much more than just brain development—as my good friend and mentor the late Dr. Fraser Mustard said, it’s about early human development. We know that early human development affects every part of our society and our world. Health, educational attainment, economic well-being and so much more depends on what kind of start we give to our youngest members.

Children’s early learning experiences have a profound effect on their develop-ment and future well-being.

There’s a lot of science to show the

connection between early learning and the health of individuals and commu-nities. For example, a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found that children who received age-appropriate early learning from infancy had significantly better health. These findings were independent of IQ, edu-cational attainment or socio-economic status.

Early education reduced health risks like smoking and depression and improved a number of health outcomes throughout the individuals’ lives. “The health benefits of early learning are dramatic,” said the main investigator.

The connection between early devel-opment and success in school has long been demonstrated through the Early Development Index, which celebrated its 10th birthday in 2011. The EDI, which is a measure of early develop-ment conducted during kindergarten, is a highly accurate predictor of a child’s level of academic success through their entire school career.

As we heard from EDI pioneer Clyde Hertzman in the opening keynote, children need a strong foundation in all five domains—physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emo-tional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge. It’s important to note that a deficit in any one of these areas of early development is a risk factor—it’s not just about cognitive de-velopment, which we normally associate with success in school.

To improve school outcomes at all grades, we need to focus on early childhood. So, it’s certainly true that toddlers will save public education. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen, first we take kindergarten, then we take grade 1. There is no reason inquiry-based, play-based learning must stop at the end of kindergarten. This style of teaching and learning is about engaging all minds throughout our school system.

From Stuart Shanker, we heard about self regulation. We’ve under-stood for many years about the impor-tance of self-regulation for a child’s success in school—and throughout life.

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But, Stuart’s research is helping us to understand why it’s so important.

His insights about the optimal zone for learning are vitally important to our ability to apply the concept of self regulation in the classroom. We now understand we can help young children learn how to stay “calmly focused and alert.” And we’ve learned a great deal about how we can change classrooms and school structure to support children in this process.

The science and research makes a clear case about the importance of the early years. But public investment in those crucial first years is the lowest of any period in an individual’s lifetime.

We’re in a difficult situation. At a time of fiscal restraint, when everyone is looking to make cutbacks in public spending, we’re out there trying to make the case for putting significantly more money into early learning.

But we also know there is such a thing as a false economy—something that ap-pears to be a bargain or a good deal, that doesn’t pan out in the long run.

We experience that in our personal lives. Sometimes, we don’t get the great deal we thought we were. Take a double cheeseburger, for example. If people had to pay the full environmental and health costs, a Big Mac would end up costing more than $200.

Here’s another example. When someone buys a bottle of water, they’re paying about 10,000 times the cost of tap water—including the energy required and the CO2 emissions.

Even doing one Google search pro-duces the equivalent greenhouse gases of making a cup of tea.

Early learning, on the other hand, is a true bargain. Even if you look at things strictly from an economic perspective, early learning is a sure bet. And let’s face it, as public servants, it’s our responsibility to provide the best possible return on the investment of public funds.

As we heard in his keynote this morning, Nobel Prize winning econo-mist James Heckman has demonstrated a seven-to-one return on investment for every dollar spent on early educa-

tion. This is an average for all of early learning throughout the preschool years. (Thank you for this stat, by the way, James. I use it in every presentation, and it never fails to get people’s attention.) The younger we start, the higher the benefit. At-risk populations also see a much higher benefit.

Some studies have shown that every dollar we invest in children before age six saves up to $17 in future social ser-vice costs.

The HighScope Perry Preschool study in the U.S. has followed a group of individuals from age three to today—they’re now about 40 years old. To date, the economic return to society for each person’s early education is $16.14 per dollar invested. And these individuals presumably are only half way through their life.

Here’s another indicator of the eco-nomic value of early learning. I came across this story recently in the New York Times. According to a study done by Harvard economist Raj Chetty and five other researchers, an early educator adds $340,000 in value to her students throughout their childhood and adult lives—in everything from better health to higher overall income.

Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. A number of studies have demonstrated that the costs of inadequate invest-ment in early education can approach $300,000 per child.

So our early learning program makes extremely good economic sense. It makes sense in terms of school readi-ness. It’s good public health policy and contributes to poverty reduction. It makes sense in terms of overall human development. It’s about helping more children be more ready for life.

But we also have to remember that, in the short-term, it’s also very much about providing support to young chil-dren and families here and now.

That’s what we’re doing in Ontario. I would be remiss if I did not briefly share with you the Ontario early learning story.

Ontario is implementing full-day kindergarten for all four and five year olds in the province. Right now, we’re in year two of a five-year implementa-

tion. We’re using this staged approach to make the process more manageable for school boards. But we’re also using what we learn as we go along to make imple-mentation better. This year, we have 20 per cent of children in the program. By September, it will be almost half of children. And by September 2014, one-quarter million kindergarten children will be benefiting from this play-based program with a teacher and ECE in ev-ery classroom and a ratio of one-to-13.

We’ve also brought child care into the Ministry of Education. This is a trend across Canada and around the world.

Right now, there are two options for regulated or licensed child care in Ontario—centre-based licensed child care or home-based child care associ-ated with a licensed private-home day care agency. Only 19 percent of Ontario children are in licensed care.

Licensed centres have a registered early childhood educator in every room. The College of Early Childhood Educa-tors was established three years ago, similar to colleges of teachers or physi-cians. It’s a first in North America.

We have a mandate to bring child care in Ontario in line with the most up-to-date science and research and the best thinking from around the world. So, we’re moving forward on the govern-ment’s commitment to modernize childcare.

This conference has been focused on what’s happening in the early years across Canada, but my topic this morn-ing is not just how toddlers will save Canada, but rather how toddlers will save the world.

There have been remarkable advances in human development over the past 200 years. On average, life expectancy has basically doubled in that period of time and so has individual income. Humanity made those advanc-es by learning to wash our hands with soap, disinfect our drinking water and introduce universal primary education. I know it’s a little more complicated than that. But we have to ask ourselves—how can we continue to advance and develop at the rate we have been?

In the past 50 years, Western de-

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velopment has slowed and developing countries are rapidly catching up. How will we close the gap for those countries that have not yet caught up? And how can Western, developed nations con-tinue to move forward?

My answer—toddlers, of course. Babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers will save the world.

It’s a fact that many countries under-stand, because the focus on early learn-ing is not just being seen in Canada—it’s a dramatic international trend.

I’ve been privileged to make presentations at several global early learning conferences in the past two years and have met with people from around the world.

In Canada, we have much to be proud of and we also have much to learn.

So, I want to take a bit of time this morning to talk about some of the things we here in Canada can learn from the international community.

In September 2010, UNESCO held the first global conference on early child-hood education and care in Moscow. One speaker was Dame Ms. Iritana Tawhiwhiangi, an indigenous person from the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust in New Zealand. And one of the most powerful speakers I’ve ever heard! There is a great deal we can learn from her and others about ways we could be working more effectively with our own Aboriginal peoples.

While in Moscow, I took the oppor-tunity to visit some kindergarten classes and child care centres. I was amazed to learn that in Moscow child care centres operate extended hours during the week and even, when necessary for shift work-ers, a 24/7 option.

In 2011, I participated in a study tour of the early learning schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy—the birth place of the “Reggio Method.” What I saw there that particularly impressed me was an emphasis on outdoor play and bringing the world of nature indoors. Reggio-inspired programs across Canada are placing using the classroom environ-ment and the outdoors as an additional “teacher.” We know that stimulating

materials and spaces can truly spark children to new heights of learning.

Then in January 2012, I was pleased to represent the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada in Oslo, Norway at the OECD international early learning conference. Again, I took a few extra days to see early learning in action. In Norway, early education begins at age one. Right from that age, it’s considered learning, not “just” care.

I visited a particularly interesting early learning school that is totally outdoors. Yes, young children spend the whole day outdoors in Norway in Janu-ary. There was a three-sided yurt for shelter, for meals and some of the learn-ing activities. If that wasn’t surprising enough, a number of the pre-schoolers were whittling with very sharp knives. When I asked the teachers if they didn’t consider very sharp knives dangerous, they replied in surprise that dull knives would be much more dangerous! It was a good reminder to me that we always need to challenge our preconceptions about what young children are capable of accomplishing.

While northern European countries like Norway are generally seen as lead-ers in accessible early education, there is a country poised to be perhaps the first in the world to have universal publicly funded early learning for all children aged three to five by the year 2015. That country? Trinidad and Tobago.

The government there is ensuring that 340,000 pre-school children will be enrolled in early childhood care and education centres with one teacher to every seven or eight students.

I have to believe if it’s possible there, it’s possible here in Canada, with financial resources far beyond those of a small Caribbean island state.

In fact, it’s not only possible—it’s essential. As we leave this conference, we must bring this message of the need for universal early learning to our decision-makers at all political levels.

Last fall, I came across an interesting story from Scotland. While the Scottish parliament was holding a debate about affordable child care, some members of parliament were holding babies. Not

live babies, but very realistic simulator babies—who cry and fill their nappies just like real babies do. The members of parliament who brought the “babies” into the debate were making a point—they were literally putting a human face on the debate, making it personal, rather than abstract. To remind their col-leagues they were making decisions that would affect the lives of real babies and real families.

The same thing is true for us. What we do is no ordinary work. Every day, we are helping children on a path that will shape the rest of their lives. We can’t give a simulator baby to each decision-maker, to hold as they discuss policies and programs. But there is a great deal we can do to make sure they keep those children in mind in every program, policy and decision.

A couple weeks ago, I saw a viral video that’s been going around. A dad started videotaping his baby daughter every week from birth. Now, he’s created a time-lapse video which, in two min-utes, shows her from birth to age 12. It’s remarkable to see the ways in which she both changes—and stays the same—as she grows.

One of the things that almost every parent says after seeing this video is, “I wish I had done that when my kids were born.”

Well, I don’t want us saying the same thing when it comes to the future of young learners. At some future date, I don’t want us looking back on this mo-ment and wishing we had done more to support their development and learning. The time to act is now.

Here is another way to think about it. Right now, the children in early learn-ing represent the high school graduat-ing class of 2025—give or take a year or two. Everything we know, all of the research, tells us that what we do right now with the youngest learners is the most effective way to have an influence over what happens in education for those children between now and 2025—and certainly far beyond.

I want to leave you with this great little story I came across in The Tele-graph. It seems Chinese scientists have

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discovered that baby pandas in captivity develop better if the human caregivers dress up like pandas. So, every morn-ing, the workers who feed and care for the panda cubs suit up before starting their work. The scientists have found this helps the cubs survive and, later on, adapt to life in their natural habitat.

I think this story is a terrific metaphor for our work in early learning. Each of

us needs to “suit up” with all of the early learning science, research and data—to make sure we’re giving our youngest learners the best possible start.

One legacy from this conference must be to continue to advocate for universal public early learning and for greater public investment in the early years. The research, science and the international community are with

us. And, “suited up” with the knowl-edge and the networks of colleagues who share our mindset, I know we can accomplish what we set out to achieve on behalf of our youngest learners.

It’s the right thing to do. But it’s also the necessary thing to do. Be-cause, after all, it’s toddlers who will save the world.

Good evening and thank you so much for having me.

It’s always a pleasure for me to spend time in this wonderful part of the world and in this beautiful city.

I also very much appreciate the op-portunity to be among friends here, both new and old.

I want to thank Nikos Efthymiadis for his kind invitation and the very valuable leadership he provides to this organiza-tion and the Mayor for his inspiring opening comments.

I’d also like to extend a special wel-come to two of our bottling partners, from Coca-Cola Hellenic: Dimitris Lois and Anastassis David… and recognize the man leading our business across Cen-tral and Southeast Europe, our Business Unit president, Nikos Koumettis.

* * * *I want to begin by congratulating ev-

eryone in this room on the 15th anniver-sary of the Business Advisory Council for Southeastern Europe.

It’s especially pleasing and gratify-ing to see that an organization which I helped found 15 years ago is still strong and growing and making a contribution in this part of the world.

What began with only an idea has become much, much more.

For 15 years, you’ve been building the

economic, political and social vitality of this region.

And make no mistake: you’ve made a real difference in the lives of countless individuals and families.

Entrepreneurs seeking partners and capital for growth…

Men and women looking for work and the dignity that comes with it…

People striving to better their lives and those of their spouses and children.

You’ve done all that and more. And you can—and should—be very proud.

I don’t believe it’s any secret that I’m an optimist.

Even now, tonight, I believe that, in many ways, our world is getting better.

Not in every place at every moment, but across the board, generally speaking.

I tend to see the glass not half-empty but half-full or three-quarters full.

At the same time, I’m also a realist.Tonight, the reality is that our world

continues to face significant challenges.Not hopeless or insurmountable chal-

lenges. But serious challenges nonetheless.As parts of this region and the world

beyond struggle to solve the calculus for growth, I believe there are four consis-tent and inter-connected themes that must be addressed:

1. Confidence …2. Governance …

3. Social harmony … and4. Sustainable growth.Worldwide, public trust in our

institutions has reached historic lows in recent years.

People have lost confidence not only in governments and legislatures but in businesses, schools, NGOs and even religious organizations.

All around the world, we must work to restore trust.

Restoring trust, in turn, will require repairing our governance models.

This can’t be done independently, by one organization.

Instead, it will require hard work and cooperation across the Golden Triangle of business, government and civil society to ensure we have processes in place for greater scrutiny and long-term accountability.

The unrest we’ve seen in many countries and even, in some ways, the upheaval that swept across North Africa and the Middle East last year... all these things result from a lack of confidence... a lack of trust... a breakdown in social harmony.

There’s a feeling among many of lost opportunity … especially among young people.

When people start to feel that their social mobility has been impaired, we

WINNER: MANUFACTURING/PRODUCTION CATEGORY“Greece Will Overcome”

Writer: Luke BoggsSpeaker: Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

Delivered to: Business Advisory Council for Southeastern Europe,

Thessaloniki, Greece, May 31, 2012

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begin to see cracks in the mosaic of social harmony.

Those cracks, I believe, can only be repaired by innovation, investment, and job creation … the drivers of sustainable growth.

All of which will require bold action by business …

smart incentives from government… thoughtful collaboration with NGOs

and civil society … and a spirit of cooperation on every-

one’s part.Our friends here in Greece have seen

more than their share of this sort of stress and adversity.

Greece, as you know, has a long and storied history stretching back literally thousands of years.

This city alone dates back 2300 years. For millennia, Thessaloniki and

Greece have endured every single sort of historic challenge. Wars and fam-ines … earthquakes and invasions … tyranny and injustice.

And yet Greece has not just en-dured such hardships. She has tran-scended them.

Again and again and again.Along the way, Greece has made

vast contributions to world knowledge and culture and understanding—con-tributions far out of proportion to her geographic size.

Think about how much our world owes to Greece … the art and archi-tecture …

the play dramas and myths … our languages and mathematics … our philosophies and governments.My entire life, I’ve been passionate

about Greek antiquities—great physical embodiments of Greece’s greatness.

Even olive oil—which, as many of you know, I’m more than a little passion-ate about—comes with a Greek accent.

In recent years, Greece has repeat-edly proven the skeptics not just wrong, but dead wrong.

When doubters said it couldn’t be done, this country hosted extraordi-nary Olympic Games and Special Olympics—both of which I experi-enced myself.

Moreover, I can tell you that—in the

leadership ranks of global business—for its size, no country is better represented than Greece.

Some of the world’s top business leaders—from Andrew Liveris, Chair-man and CEO at Dow… to Aris Chandris at Westinghouse… to Arianna Stasinopoulos Huffington, media mag-nate—share a heritage here in Greece.

Greece also continues to build on her legacy of leadership in shipping and shipbuilding… a heritage stretching from ancient times through the days of Aristotle Onassis to the present.

And Greece, which has made such a large mark in languages and the arts, has been producing great writers and poets from Homer’s era to our own, including Nobel Prize winners Elytis and Seferis.

Even in these difficult days—es-pecially in these difficult days—our Greek friends can and must hold their heads high.

This place has so much to be proud of. Not just for the past but for the future.

My friends, I don’t have a crystal ball tonight.

I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in Greece tomorrow or the day after that.

But I can tell you this: Time marches on … Change comes … Mists clear … And a way forward presents itself.

Why am I so sure?Because I know the timeless things

of Greece… the enduring things of Greece… the things that are constant and lasting.

The beauty. The climate.The natural resources.The rich history and heritage as the

cradle of democracy… rule not by a king or a prince but by the people.

More than anything, I believe in Greece tonight because I believe in its people.

Their wealth of knowledge and understanding and know-how… their experience in leadership and entrepre-neurism and skilled professions.

None of these things are going away, no matter what else happens.

That’s not to say the days ahead

won’t be difficult… won’t be unpleasant at times… won’t be challenging. They most certainly will.

But Greece will overcome, of that I’m sure.

As for Coca-Cola’s future in Greece, we’re steadfastly committed to this coun-try and our consumers, customers and other partners here.

We have a strong and unshakeable commitment to this beautiful nation.

Just in the past two years, the Coca-Cola system has invested 146 million euros in our business here.

Indeed, industry as a whole has a sig-nificant role to play in Greece and other places where uncertainty and doubt loom large.

Businesspeople… like those of us in this room … those in this city … those all across Greece and beyond … we must all be part of the solution:

We must:Find ways to grow …Make investments …Support education and build strong

communities …Reinforce faith and help the disad-

vantaged …Encourage entrepreneurship …and improve governance.When it comes to all these things, the

path forward begins with each of us.As much as this is true in Greece, it

is also true across this region and across Europe.

Even as Europe grapples with fresh challenges, this is not the time to sit back and ride out the storm.

On the contrary, this is the time to confront difficult realities head-on—with courage, determination and strategic dexterity.

At the height of the global financial turmoil, I told my Coca-Cola colleagues, again and again, that we could not af-ford to “waste this crisis.”

Instead, we had to act…and act decisively, putting the stress and strain of the moment to work for us.

I encouraged our people to focus on what matters most to our business…

shed all that’s wasteful and unpro-ductive…

communicate actively with our

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customers and other stakeholders … and continue to invest, as always, in

our brands.History has shown, time and again,

that world-class organizations that proactively manage turbulence exit the tunnel in much better shape than when they entered.

This was something well understood by the greatest leader in Coca-Cola’s history, Mr. Robert Woodruff.

Mr. Woodruff led our business for more than half of the last century—and he left a vast and abiding legacy, one we’re still building on even now.

At the height of the Great Depres-sion of the 1930s, when nearly every other consumer goods company was cutting advertising and marketing budgets,

Mr. Woodruff refused.Instead, he actually increased promo-

tional spending during the Depression, greatly increasing the brand strength of Coca-Cola, growing the business and setting our Company up for even greater growth in the years that followed.

And Mr. Woodruff ’s big bet on brand-building did even more than that.

It helped people and businesses at a time when they needed it most—ad agencies and radio stations, newspapers and sign builders.

And it gave a lift to everyone who saw that Coca-Cola, far from giving up, was hopeful and optimistic about the future.

At times, Europe’s financial and political turmoil can seem like something

entirely new… something businesspeople have never encountered before.

And that’s true in the narrow sense that these difficulties are unique to our era.

In a broader sense, though, there is truly nothing new under the sun.

And we can take inspiration from the great leaders and business legends of the past… navigating today’s troubled waters with the same kind of courage, entrepre-neurial spirit, and inspired thinking.

Despite all that’s swirling around us, now is not the time to be fearful or skepti-cal or pessimistic.

For leaders in business and govern-ment and civil society, this is a time to think about how to best come out of this positioned stronger…

… more responsive … … more flexible … … and more open to new possibilities.For enterprises large and small, this is

a time to focus on the core and the future.How? By asking ourselves a series of

fundamental questions:• Is it core to our future value?• Can we grow these businesses profit-

ably today?• Can they generate attractive returns?This is also a time to anticipate the fu-

ture structure of our industries, whatever they may be.

And a time to have the right priorities for expenditures.

At the end of the day, it’s really all about leadership.

It’s about looking hard into the mir-

ror—looking hard at our current real-ity—and having the courage to confront our challenges head-on while never losing our faith in the future.

It’s about making the tough decisions and choices.

And it’s about taking necessary and needed risks.

Always remember: where there is no risk, there is no reward.

Tonight, we’re toasting the 15th an-niversary of this vital organization.

If that were all we were doing, there would be little point in gathering. But we are doing so much more.

We’re continuing the good work of the past decade and a half, turning the page on a new chapter, yet to be written by everyone in this room and many more beyond.

And I want to commend you: we’ve come together under exactly the right banner:

“Leadership against crisis. Public-private cooperation for growth.”

That’s the enduring mission of this organization in just eight words.

Here in this timeless city, we have the right people, in the right place, with the right purpose and the right motivation to get the next 15 years off to a rapid and rousing start.

That’s the right way to celebrate this anniversary, not by looking back but by looking forward… and working together to realize the great potential of this year and the years to come.

Thank you very much!

Good afternoon. I’m honored to share this stage with Gov. Heine-

man and Mr. Anderson. It’s good to be in Omaha, a great

city for college sports. Every year since

1950, the College World Series has been played right across the street from us. You might know that Vir-ginia Commonwealth University is a great university for college sports. You

might remember our basketball team’s historic run last year, or know that we are new members of one of America’s best basketball leagues, the Atlantic 10 Conference. We really love our basket-

WINNER: MEDIA CATEGORY“What Newspapers and Higher Education Can Learn from One Another”

Writer: Danny WoodwardSpeaker: Michael Rao, President, Virginia Commonwealth University

Delivered at: Omaha, Neb. Oct. 10, 2012

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ball team, but there is so much more to VCU. We’re making important progress toward becoming the nation’s premier urban public research university.

As we advance, the coverage we receive from the Richmond Times-Dis-patch and other newspapers is so impor-tant to us. The RTD is the newspaper of record in Virginia. World Media and RTD are an ideal partnership: a great newspaper and great organization.

I’m really glad to be here to talk with a room full of newspaper executives because we have a lot to learn from one another. Universities and newspapers have so much in common. We both play a fundamental role in shaping society. We have the same purpose, although we approach it in different ways: That is, we educate people and help them understand their world, how they fit into it, and how they can embrace their obligation to lead and change it.

But we cannot do it the same way we used to. We are no longer in the knowl-edge transmission business. We’re no longer just stating or teaching facts. We are now in the critical thinking business. Rather than distributing information to masses, we now have to connect people with what they want to learn, and do so in a context that is meaningful to them. Our audiences want not only to receive information but also to review it, analyze it, and use it effectively.

I recently had a lengthy conversa-tion with my 12-year-old son about newspapers and media. It was very enlightening. He said that his genera-tion seeks several things when they are looking for news. One is graphic color to help represent the story to be told. He also said that comic relief would help: “newspapers tend to be so boring and serious,” which is probably more a statement from a 12-year-old than it is anything else! Finally, though, he said that he would pay to subscribe to an outlet that gathered data into pages of tables that he could access regularly. This was particularly eye-opening to me because he’s 12 and doesn’t have very much money! But he said “we need data sources to check facts about different things that interest us, like public officials

and how they vote, how much money is spent on certain schools, roads, etc.”

He represents a new generation who has the ability to think deeply and are moved to take action. They want to engage in and contribute to their communities. They’re critical thinkers; we cannot do their thinking for them. They’re influenced by technology and the social shift that has come with that technology. They’re more sophisticated in their thinking and can judge what matters vs. what doesn’t, and that raises the stakes of authenticity for us. Their expectations are much higher. They want information they can put into con-text and use in their everyday lives right away, not years from now.

To reach this new type of audience, we both have more competition than ever before, and in all formats. The way to reach them is not by being louder, but more focused, relevant and use-ful to them. For both newspapers and universities, old models don’t work for a new generation. Technology is impor-tant, but it is not enough just to move the same old content to a new format, whether it is news or curriculum. We must innovate our services, products, delivery methods, and more.

Even though the type of audience is new, our obligation is the same as it has always been: to educate globally engaged citizens who will make a dif-ference and be leaders in our world. A recent study by the Newspaper Associa-tion of America Foundation showed that young people who read newspapers are more likely to become active in their community when they enter adulthood.

Which newspaper they read matters too. Two journalism graduate students at the University of Wisconsin found that people who read their local newspa-pers are much more likely to be engaged in their local communities because they feel a social connection—perhaps proving that local newspapers were the first and best form of social media. On the other hand, those who read only national newspapers are less engaged locally because they think in terms of a nation-state, not their communities. This shows that local newspapers of

all sizes are critically important parts of a vibrant, healthy city. Whether it’s Richmond, Omaha, or somewhere in between, what you do matters.

The truth is that when you connect with your audience effectively, you have tremendous power. The stories you choose to tell actually help shape the community. What McCombs and Shaw theorized in the 1970s is still true—the mass media set the agenda for public discourse. They wrote, “Here may be the most important effect of mass com-munication: its ability to mentally order and organize our world for us. In short, the mass media may not be successful in telling us what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling us what to think about.” You have a great responsi-bility to guide the national conversation toward those things that matter most.

From my perspective, what matters most? Consider that for many years, the U.S. was the world’s leader in awarding bachelor’s degrees. We are now in 16th place, with just 41 percent of adults 25 and older holding a college degree. This is a problem that affects our economy, our national security, our foreign policy, and nearly everything else about our way of life. We need to catch up, to award more college degrees.

We’re certainly addressing that in our industry, including in a variety of ways at VCU. But newspapers can play a significant role too by keeping education an important topic in people’s minds. But the fact is that many newspapers no longer employ a full-time education reporter. Rhode Island has a higher con-centration of colleges and universities than any other state and yet the state’s newspaper of record, the Providence Journal, has zero dedicated higher education reporters. There are more colleges and universities per capita and virtually no one writes about them.

This is not uncommon. At many newspapers, the only reporters cover-ing college and universities are writing about their sports teams. Fewer than 2 percent of news stories across all media in 2009 focused on higher education. Yet, what most people know about edu-cation still comes from media. Most of

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these news stories were about budgets, crime, and the diagnosis of a contagious disease on campus—all important is-sues, but issues that do little to advance and inform the national education de-bate. It’s important that we focus more on policy, curriculum, reform, faculty quality, and other critical matters.

In today’s innovation economy, a college degree is required. That’s why between 18 and 20 million people are enrolled in college right now. There are more on the way, and parents and fami-lies are asking more questions about col-leges. Yet, according to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Educa-tion, they are increasingly not finding the answers they need about school performance in their local newspapers. It’s difficult for them to make their best, most-informed decisions—decisions that will affect their future, and our fu-ture, in such a profound way—without the best, most-complete information.

Because newspapers and universi-ties have much in common and can learn from one another, it’s important that we have a good relationship. Enrollment in the nation’s journal-ism schools is increasing, including at VCU, despite the fact that there are fewer journalism jobs—a 20% reduction in the last 10 years. These students will graduate into a changing job market, and together, we need to prepare our students for the realities they will face after graduation.

One way is through innovative new curriculum, and we’re seeing this beginning to happen. The University of Alabama and the Anniston Star partner for a master’s degree in com-munity journalism, a novel program that serves a big market and great pur-pose. Arizona State University hired a former Washington Post executive to create journalism curriculum for the 21st century, supported by the Knight

Foundation among others. At VCU, our students cover the state legisla-ture every spring for several smaller newspapers around the state, called the Capitol News Service. It’s a remark-able experience for our students and a great service to the newspapers that lack the resources to staff the legisla-ture daily.

We can continue to be great part-ners in the classroom and the commu-nity. I appreciate the chance to be here today to talk about what we already do—and can still do—together. We have so much in common and so much to learn from one another as we pur-sue our shared mission of educating and creating globally engaged citizens. As one media mogul said: “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” We both fulfill that critical purpose.

Thank you. I look forward to taking your questions.

“ Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury

Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar.”

That’s how Shakespeare opens one of history’s greatest speeches. What a beginning!

“And gentlemen in England now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.” That’s how he ends another of the world’s most memorable orations.

“I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” Patrick Henry’s ending is part of our national heritage.

That is how great speeches are constructed. A strong beginning, a convincing middle and a rousing end, delivered with conviction by a speaker with authority, whose goal is to convince an audience open to persuasion. At the moment, this seems a lost art.

The speeches at this year’s Repub-lican and Democratic National Con-ventions—with the exception of Bill Clinton’s rousing performance and a few others—reflect what has happened to public speaking in America. Angry polemic, gracelessly expressed, deliv-ered to already-converted partisans, is standard fare.

A nation moved by Lincoln at Get-tysburg and by FDR’s fireside chats, by Jack Kennedy’s asking what we can do for our country and by Lyndon

Johnson’s proclaiming that “We Shall Overcome” deserves better.

Effective public speaking is not rocket science. Twenty-five hundred years ago Aristotle observed that cred-ibility (“ethos”), logic (“logos”) and emotion (“pathos”) underlay all good speeches, and that vivid images and appropriate use of figures of speech would reach the hearts and minds of a targeted audience.

Few of us are called upon, like Winston Churchill in 1940, to revive the self-confidence of a nation, or like Joan of Arc, to encourage one’s compatriots as she was being burned at the stake. We may be Father of the Bride or Maid of Honor, eulogist at a funeral, com-mencement speaker or recipient of an honor; the basic rules remain the same.

WINNER: NONPROFIT CATEGORY“Message, Messenger, Audience”

Writer: Daniel RoseSpeaker: Daniel Rose, Chairman, Rose & Associates

Delivered at: Burstyn Memorial LectureHunter College, New York City, N.Y., Oct. 15, 2012

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Suiting the talk to the occasion is common sense (“decorum” the ancients called it), but many a Best Man does not realize that the bawdy joke well-received at a Bachelor Party is in poor taste at the Wedding; or as Mitt Romney discov-ered, the 47 percent comment that went over well with “true believers” was a disaster before a broader audience.

Good “delivery”—what Demos-thenes called the first, second and third requirements for a great speech—has become rare in American life. Nine out of ten of us mumble to the front row rather than boom out to the back row. Many nervously speak quickly before an audience rather than use the slower pace that experts recommend. Good speakers use judicious pauses for emphasis and dramatic impact, raising or lowering the voice as indicated.

Some techniques used by experts can be dangerous for amateurs. In the Carter/Reagan presidential debate, for example, when Carter passionately lev-eled his fiercest attack, Reagan chuckled, threw his head back and said, “There you go again!” The audience exploded with laughter, and the election was over. An amateur should not try this.

Debates, essays and speeches are different art forms. The Mitt Romney who bored his public with his Conven-tion acceptance speech energized them at the first Presidential debate, while the reverse was the case with President Obama. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clin-ton excelled at both forms, while neither could write a decent essay.

When, in the Spring of 1963, our friend Bayard Rustin invited my wife and me to have dinner with him and Martin Luther King, Jr., we had just been deeply moved by reading MLK’s extraordinary Letter From Birming-ham Jail, one of the most powerful and eloquent missives of all time. Denied stationery in his cell, King poured out his thoughts on toilet pa-per and in the margins of newspapers, while Birmingham Police Chief Bull Connor (a name out of Restoration Comedy) turned fire hoses and police dogs on non-violent protesters.

King’s letter was a reply to eight

white clergymen who called his actions “unwise and untimely.” King’s evocation of St. Paul and of Socrates, Aquinas and Martin Buber—his citing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s refusal to obey the laws of

Nebuchadnezzar—and his por-trayal of the terror and despair of black children throughout the South, should be required reading in every American school.

When we gave our contribution to help plan the Washington protest for later that summer, I hid my fear that bringing together vast numbers of Civil Rights activists and red-necked southern police could result in a counter-produc-tive riot. The Reverend was certain that the event’s tone would be spiritual. And his I Have a Dream speech became one of our nation’s greatest orations.

I Have a Dream has been called the most important and influential speech of the 20th century. Addressing a transfixed audience, standing resolutely, his back to the Lincoln Memorial, King began his speech with “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose sym-bolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”

What a man, what a setting, what an opening!

After evoking the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as “promissory notes,” he declared that America had defaulted, the check had come back marked “insufficient funds”; and he proclaimed (like Amos in the Old Testament) that he would not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” He went on to describe his dream (“deeply rooted in the American Dream”), echoing the powerful reso-nance of the Biblical Isaiah. He cited “My country ‘tis of thee” and finished with the old Negro spiritual refrain “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” And the nation responded by supporting Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights legislation.

In the classical world, Aeschines warned the Athenian Assembly of threats from Philip II of Macedon, and everyone commented on how eloquently

Aeschines spoke. Demosthenes then rose to give his Philippic, and the Assembly shouted, “Let us march against Philip!”

Studying memorable speeches can be helpful, and educational as well. The greatest secular speech of all time, Pericles’ Funeral Oration as reported by Thucydides 2,600 years ago, conveys ideas we would do well to ponder today.

Think of our Millionaires’ Congress: Pericles says, “Advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor does poverty bar the way. If a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.”

Consider the mega yachts of our hedge funders on the political Right, as Pericles notes, “We cultivate refinement without extravagance and knowledge without effeminacy; wealth we employ more for use than for show.” How many on our political Left could dispute his point that, “The real disgrace of poverty is not in owning to the fact but in declin-ing the struggle against it.”

Lou Gehrig’s “Farewell to Base-ball,” at which I cried as a young boy, expressed a modesty, a gratitude for the good things life had given him, that is unthinkable from our gladiators of today.

Studying failures—or lost oppor-tunities—may be even more helpful to mistake-prone amateurs. Studying great “saves” can be instructive, too. Richard Nixon’s emotional “Check-ers” speech, for example, effectively ended talk of the embarrassing “Nixon Scandal Fund.” Mitt Romney’s self-confident, authoritative manner in the first Presidential debate of 2012, his eye-contact with the audience and his smiling gazes at his adversary, did much in the audience’s view to overcome the weakness of his argument.

The failure of Obama’s advisors and “handlers” to prepare him adequately for the first debate will be notable in po-litical history. David Axelrod, Obama’s chief advisor, noted after the debate, “The president showed up with the intent of answering questions and hav-ing a discussion. Romney showed up to

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deliver a performance, and he delivered a very good performance.” As Reagan’s speech writer Peggy Noonan said years ago, “A speech is part theater and part political declaration,” and Axelrod should have listened.

When Axelrod was asked why Obama did not address Romney’s “47 percent” gaffe, he replied, “The president obviously didn’t see the appropriate opportunity.” The ap-propriate opportunity? O’s opening statement could have been, “Gov-ernor Romney is concerned about some of us; I am concerned about all Americans, including the 47 per-cent.”

O’s talk petered out. My sugges-tion would have been: “We have

started the recovery from the disaster we inherited; with your support we will finish it.”

Michelle Obama’s Convention speech was widely praised, and the audience came away feeling that this good woman loved her husband. Necessary but not sufficient! I would have added to her remarks: “The man I live with may look calm, but he spends sleepless nights over our casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, and agonizes over students who can’t find jobs and unemployed workers whose insurance is running out.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his own sermons and speeches. John F. Kennedy’s were written by Ted Sorenson, Ronald Reagan’s were

by Peggy Noonan, Barack Obama’s by Jon Favreau. Franklin Roosevelt corrected his own, but the first drafts were written by skilled writers like Sam Rosenman, Robert Sherwood, Archibald Macleish and others. If you get help for a major talk, or have someone prepare a draft, you are in good company. But writing your own material can not only be fun, but also educational. E.M. Forster’s comment, “How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?” states it clearly.

Plunge in and write your own; but remember Aristotle’s “ethos,” “logos” and “pathos”; Cicero’s “decorum”; Demosthenes’ “delivery”; and the one attribute of all great speeches—say something worth saying!

Serious unknowns face America in the years ahead, but one thing is

certain—those societies able to enhance the human capital and social capital of their citizens will outperform dramati-cally those that do not. The tangibles of mineral, industrial and financial capital will recede in importance relative to the intangible strengths of an educated, motivated, socialized and future-minded public, one that is ably led, with a generally-accepted vision of “the good life” and an ethos of personal responsi-bility—valuing both equality and excel-lence—one that encourages all to rise to the extent their talent and effort permit.

The undisputed American economic, military and geo-political primacy of 1945 to 2000 is now history. We still have the world’s largest military, its reserve currency, most of its best universities and nearly a quarter of its economic activity; but important trends and forecasts have gone negative. The world’s eight tallest buildings, seven

longest bridges, six largest dams, most creative space exploration programs and cities with highest broadband con-nectivity and fastest Internet service are now overseas and the best stem cell research and work on renewable energy are not taking place in America. Sadly, other nations are coming to value higher education more than we do. Traditional American optimism is giving way to widespread foreboding, and our tax-conscious public seems unwilling to pay for necessary investments in educa-tion or infrastructure. Today, nations with larger populations, more effective leadership and more prudent allocation of their resources present competitive challenges that must be acknowledged.

That challenge can be met by an American public that is better edu-cated and vocationally trained than its competitors, one that works smarter and harder, that has the necessary techno-logical and social capital and whose goal is to increase productivity and to

raise living standards for all. At the mo-ment, our fiercely partisan leadership across the political spectrum focuses on immediate electoral issues at the expense of the longer term; social issues, such as contraception, abortion or gay marriage, threaten to displace serious economic discussions dealing with our aging population, our skyrocketing medical costs or the necessary invest-ments in education and infrastructure we must make to secure our future. And no one has the courage to face frankly the unsustainable unfunded pensions of our government employees.

The biblical Joseph’s dream of “seven fat years” followed by “seven lean years” may be upon us, and in the period of austerity we are entering, harnessing our national brain power is more important than ever. Yet today public colleges in Florida and Texas are eliminating depart-ments of engineering and computer sci-ence, and 4l states have made large cuts in their education budgets.

WINNER: PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE CATEGORY“As America Looks Ahead”

Writer: Daniel RoseSpeaker: Daniel Rose, Chairman, Rose & Associates

Delivered to: Yale University,New Haven, Conn., March 26, 2012

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In 2008, 56 percent of the world’s engineering degrees were awarded in Asia vs. 4 percent in the U.S. In 2009, 64 percent of U.S. doctoral degrees in engineering went to foreigners, chiefly from Asia, who are then forced by our immigration laws to return home. U.S.-based companies like 3M, Caterpil-lar and General Electric, now global, have spent billions of dollars expanding their overseas research labs. “Given the moribund interest in science in the U.S., this is strategically very important,” says 3M’s Chief Executive George Buckley.

A nation proud of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Eli Whitney and George Washington Carver (names unknown to most high school students today) must look to its laurels. Today, that requires “mind workers” who pro-cess information.

For America to regain its forward momentum, we must understand why our national median wages have been stagnant for decades, why our students rank poorly in international academic ratings and why 75 percent of our young adults do not qualify to serve in our military, why our national trans-portation infrastructure is outclassed by international standards, why so many of our “best and brightest” college students now choose careers on Wall Street rather than become engaged in the pro-ductive world. (46 percent of Princeton’s class of 2006 entered finance.)

Fresh thinking is required and out-dated “conventional wisdom” must be discarded. For example, we must begin to think of under-educated or vocation-ally untrained young people as poten-tial national assets whose flowering will benefit the nation at large, not only themselves, as they become “taxpay-ers” rather than “tax eaters.” We must recognize the relevance of Schum-peter’s theory of “creative destruction,” in which “old” jobs must yield to “new” jobs with more demanding require-ments. Our dysfunctional, gridlocked Congress must face our pressing need for a national industrial policy and a national trade policy that will permit us to retain high-paying jobs supply-ing the needs of the growing middle

classes of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China). The leaders of our in-dustrial trade unions must understand the constructive role they can play in restructuring our labor policies (stultify-ing work rules, onerous jurisdictional disputes, etc.) to keep our American industries internationally competitive. College leaders must give us a “bigger bang” for our educational buck; finan-cial leaders must prudently channel our nation’s savings into productive uses that keep our economy growing; and political leaders must encourage the proceeds to be applied wisely and fairly. We must balance the tension between short term self-interest and long term national interest, between the demands of the young and the needs of the old, and we must not forget Oliver Wendell Holmes’ sage observation that “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized soci-ety.” Transcending our petty tribalisms of color, religion and ethnicity, we must aim for a meritocracy of true accom-plishment; and all our young people should be encouraged to aim high and to prepare themselves for futures that are demanding and rewarding.

Most importantly, a dynamic, skilled and productive middle class is clearly the key to national well-being, and we must do all we can to repro-duce, sustain and expand ours. Today our middle classes are threatened by two important factors: a) increasing automation, which is performing ever more complex human functions, and b) globalization, which encourages the work traditionally performed by the developed world’s middle classes to be undertaken more cheaply elsewhere.

For the first time, Americans are starting to look over our shoulders to see how other nations meet these challenges. In rethinking the training and appren-ticeship policies of our industrial work force, we can learn from Germany. In rethinking our narcotics policies on ad-diction, incarceration and rehabilitation, we can learn from Sweden. In rethink-ing the selection, training and reten-tion of our public school teachers, we can learn from Finland. In rethinking our early childhood practices, we can

learn from French crèches and ecoles maternelles. In rethinking our national pension practices, we can learn from Australia and Chile. In rethinking our approach to transportation infrastruc-ture, we can learn from the developing nations of Asia. In turn, if we can ever create a health delivery system that is cost-effective, efficient and whose financ-ing is actuarially sound, we can show the rest of the world how to do it.

Singapore in the East and the Nordic countries of the West, though demographically small and relatively homogeneous, are increasingly setting the standards by which the “success” or “failure” of a society is measured today, when knowledge and skills are the new global currency; and Americans are tak-ing heed. International competition in results will encourage critical examina-tion of means, and America will profit from being forced to view with fresh eyes practices, concepts and policies that we have previously taken for granted.

When Americans learn, for ex-ample, that 15 year olds in Finland have the world’s highest standards in reading, math and science, they should also recognize that teaching in Finland (at all levels) is a high prestige profes-sion, and that it is as hard for Finns to win a place in a teacher training course as it is to get into law school or medical school. No Finn can teach high school math, chemistry or phys-ics without having majored in those subjects. Starting teachers in Finland receive pay roughly equal to those of starting doctors or lawyers, and their careers are respected and rewarding. (And 98 percent of Finnish children attend excellent—and free—pre-school programs.)

In New York City, by contrast, too many of our public school teachers come from the lowest quartile of their classes in the least prestigious municipal colleges; they are hired with dismally low standards and are granted tenure with just three or four years in the class-room. New York’s teachers’ unions fight fiercely against reasonable teacher evalu-ations; for poorly performing teachers, the union demands arbitration and ap-

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peal procedures that can keep even alco-holics, suspected felons, sexual predators and violent offenders in the classroom (or at the least on the payroll) for years. Few low-performing teachers are actu-ally fired; the best teachers are often not rewarded nor retained. (Outstanding, dedicated teachers struggle under great handicaps.) Correlation is not the same as causation; but does ineffective teach-ing relate to the 84 percent rate of New York City public high school graduates requiring remedial courses in math, reading and writing when they enter CUNY community colleges?

“American exceptionalism” has been real—reflected in John Win-throp’s vision of a “city on a hill,” in Tocqueville’s portrayal of our unique communal spirit of mutual assistance, in our unparalleled philanthropic tradi-tions, in our culture of risk-taking and innovation, in magnificent national gestures like the Marshall Plan, in our world-leading universities and research institutes that produce our continuing dominance of Nobel prizes; and it can continue if we will it. Until recently, we led the world in social mobility, in the quality of our free public education, in the optimism and self-confidence of our public and our trust in our institu-tions; and these can be regained.

To do so, we must re-orient current public discourse which, sadly influenced by ideologically-driven foundations and their think tanks, sees “govern-ment” as an impediment, “taxes” as an unjustified imposition, unlimited political “contributions” justifiable as free speech, unregulated free markets as the ideal economic vehicle and great socio-economic disparity as the neces-sary Darwinian side-effect of a dynamic society. In all these areas, reasoned dis-cussion rather than acrimonious polemic should prevail, and thoughtful political compromise should be seen as reflecting prudence rather than cowardliness.

In reviewing American standings in contrast to the rest of the developed world, three areas in particular cry out for fresh thinking: 1) personal develop-ment (schooling and vocational training, along with psychological preparation for

a full life); 2) prison incarceration (who goes to jail and what transpires there); and 3) immigration (who enters the country and with what ramifications). Other problems deserve attention, of course; but these three are the “low hanging fruit” which, if

dealt with effectively, will have pro-found effects on the future of Ameri-can society.

A) Personal DevelopmentMost Americans feel they have the

opportunity to achieve their potential; those who do not deserve more atten-tion, for their benefit and for ours.

All the complex factors that make us who we are, are what Americans sim-plistically think of as “education,” with the child widely seen as a passive recipi-ent of what a teacher drops into an outstretched hand. Crucially important parental cultural influences from birth through age three are widely ignored. Our educational establishment’s hyper-sensitivity to charges of “blaming the victim” (e.g. William Ryan vs. Daniel Patrick Moynihan) encourages us to ignore or minimize such home influ-ences, along with the later ones of peer pressure, community values and role model examples of family members and neighbors.

One notable exception, Nobel Laure-ate James Heckman, writes, “If I am born to educated, supportive parents, my chances of doing well are totally different than if I were born to a single parent or abusive parents.” Extend that differential to the child of a semi-literate, traumatized and emotionally withdrawn 14 year old single mother vs. the child of two well-educated parents who from birth talk, sing and read to their child. Imagine both children entering the same school in the same class. If the children react differently to the school experience, it is common today to blame the school, although studies show one-third of the later “achievement gap” is present at the start of the first grade. (All studies show that children raised in a home with two biological parents do better in school and in life.)

As children age, some parents express high expectations, praise achievement,

devote parental time and resources to the child, speak to the child frequently in grammatically correct and expres-sive language, dine with the child in a congenial family setting, serve as positive role models themselves. Others either do not or cannot. Since these factors defy easy measurement, social scientists tend to downplay or discount them.

As the child continues to grow, community values come into play. For example, drug dealers with fancy clothes and expensive cars may be seen as those to emulate, or they are not. Teenage unmarried mothers and high school drop-outs are seen as embarrassments to their families, or they are not. Religious leaders and important community figures praise sustained, self-disciplined effort toward long term goals, or they do not. And lo and behold! A child emerges from adolescence ready for a productive, fulfilling life, or does not.

What next, college? The Department of Education reports that more than 500,000 American students who want to go to college have no access to Algebra II classes; more than two million would-be college students have no access to Calculus classes. And as the cost of col-lege rises, public support for it wanes.

Our education problems are serious. Many on the Left refuse to acknowl-edge that teaching should be a high-skill, high entry level profession; many on the Right, to save taxpayers’ money, attack Pell Grants, scholarships and student loans, not realizing that in do-ing so we are “eating our seed corn.” Yet “advocates for the children” are virtually silent.

Do schools help? Of course, espe-cially those with great teaching—but we forget that “teaching” is what someone does at a chalkboard, while “learning” is what takes place in the head of the child, a process vastly more complex than we acknowledge.

We are all creatures of habit, subject to the influence of those around us. In-culcating life-enhancing values and hab-its and exposing children to constructive role models are continuing challenges. McGuffey’s Readers, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, the mythic stories

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of George Washington and the cherry tree or Abe Lincoln learning to write with charcoal on a shovel helped form American values of the past. What are our equivalents today?

Every nation has some dysfunctional segment of its population “out of the mainstream.” British physician Theo-dore Dalrymple’s important book Life at the Bottom portrays those in England whose economic poverty is relative, not absolute, but whose mental, cultural, and spiritual impoverishment is a charge against their society. Their nihilism, self-destructive patterns of behavior and social pathologies reflect a mindset in which they see themselves as helpless victims of circumstance, with no feeling of personal responsibility. Living in an eternal present with no sense of the future, they not only deride schooling for themselves, but attack those who seek it. Babies for some of Dalrymple’s dys-functional teenage girls are like pets for amusement or vehicles for their sense of self-importance or an economic “meal ticket.” Many other teenage single mothers, Dalrymple recounts, want to be good parents but don’t know how; they don’t understand the difference between “taking care” of a child and “raising” a child.

Dalrymple despairs of Britain’s abil-ity or will to solve these problems. In the 21st century, America must resolve to face our similar social and cultural prob-lems, to deal resolutely with them and to solve them. Appropriate education is a crucial first step—pragmatic experience shows that education is not a consum-able that “costs,” but a matchless invest-ment that “pays,” not a zero-sum game of taking from Peter to benefit Paul but a positive-sum game in which everyone wins from a better educated public.

There will always be differentials of achievement because of varying levels of ability, imagination, energy, ambi-tion and effort. In the society we seek, however, one in which everyone can read, write and count, and all are ex-posed to as much formal education and vocational training as they can absorb, productive and fulfilling careers can and should be available to all.

Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps’ important book, Rewarding Work, dis-cusses employment as a chief source of an individual’s personal and intellectual development, a potential source of pride (Thorsten Veblen’s instinct of workman-ship) and of self-esteem (Ralph Waldo Emerson’s self-reliance). Providing jobs (for earning one’s way) vs. providing benefits (in a culture of dependency) is a major challenge, especially for the “working poor” who deserve encour-agement and help. “Producers” have a different mindset than “dependents.” If we provide employment opportunities for those ready, able and willing to work, we can recall that our Founding Fathers felt responsible not for our “happiness” but for our “pursuit of happiness.”

B) Prison IncarcerationAmerica has 5 percent of the

world’s population and nearly one quarter of its prison inmates. Germany, by contrast, has 93 people in prison per 100,000 of population, while America has eight times that rate, or 750 in jail per 100,000. Yet no one feels safer in Chicago or Boston than in Berlin or Frankfurt. Furthermore, over half those in New York State prisons are recidivists—back again after we have had a chance to “enter their lives.” The American criminal justice system clearly needs rethinking about those we arrest and about what happens to those imprisoned. The Collapse of Ameri-can Criminal Justice, by Harvard Law School Professor William Stuntz, pro-vides a good overview of our problem.

To begin with, we must understand that the same well-intentioned mindset that dealt with alcoholism by instituting Prohibition (1920-1933)—with its crimi-nal aftermath—conjured up our badly thought out and ineptly implemented War On Drugs—with its unintended but destructive consequences. In one of life’s great ironies, certified liberals like Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel and Eric Holder have endorsed incarceration practices that have devastated our inner cities—more than half of all black men without a high school diploma go to prison at some time in their lives.

Second, the quintessentially Ameri-

can application of technology to crime prevention (primarily the inspired work of New York’s Jack Maples’ and Bill Bratton’s CompStat, implementing James Q. Wilson’s “broken windows” theory) has increased police efficiency significantly but with unforeseen social ramifications.

Put these two factors together and the following facts evolve: A) arrests for marijuana possession in New York went from fewer than 5,000 in 1993 to over 50,000 in 1999; arrests for gambling and prostitution remained unchanged. B) Marijuana use, studies show, is signifi-cantly higher among whites than among blacks, and much higher for whites than Latinos. C) Blacks, who comprise 28 percent of New York’s population, account for 52 percent of the city’s misdemeanor marijuana arrests, with non-black Latinos accounting for 31 percent of arrests. Whites, with 35 per-cent of the population, had fewer than 10 percent of marijuana arrests in the years 2004 to 2008.

One conclusion obvious to a grow-ing number of observers is to call for the legalization—but high taxation—of marijuana, a substance all studies show to be no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. (Sixteen states have legal-ized marijuana for medical use, and over a dozen more have such legislation pending.) Nationally and internationally (Mexico being a prime example), the War On Drugs as presently conducted has been a failure, and it must be recon-sidered from all standpoints.

Another conclusion, since data does show that marijuana arrests do indeed relate well to catching violent criminals, is to encourage serious, constructive dialogue on “stop and frisk” and similar controversial matters between the police and the inner city community, which is more afflicted by violent crime than other areas, with staggering “black on black” homicide rates. Insensitivity by some over-zealous (and sometimes racist) police and hypersensitivity by some in the inner city are an explosive combination.

Some paranoid intellectuals (e.g. Michelle Alexander in The New Jim

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Crow) see the whole criminal justice system merely as a vehicle to op-press blacks; they make little effort to understand the problems of the police or to seek constructive solu-tions, such as more effective “com-munity policing.” Public safety, on the one hand, and proper respect for the public, on the other, are each impor-tant “rights.” That is why the ancient Greeks defined tragedy as “the con-flict between two rights.” Those who decry the use of metal detectors in schools, for example, must reflect on the impact of lethal hand guns and switch blade knives in those schools.

The recent widely-publicized issue of Afrika Owes and Central Harlem’s 137th Street Gang is a profoundly thought-provoking example of the breakdown of real world, effective communication between the inner city and the police. Fact A) after the arrest and conviction of the 137th Street Gang, homicides in the police precinct dropped from 11 to one, yes, from 11 to one in a year. Fact B) Afri-ka Owes, the moll of the gang leader, was recorded on her cell phone planning to bring guns into Rikers Island and told to “shoot to kill” if stopped. Fact C) well-known leaders in the Harlem community rose to her defense; the Abyssinian Baptist Church posted her $50,000 bail; and Congressman Charles Rangel spoke on her behalf, saying, “Anyone can make a mistake.” Fact D) nowhere in the local press was there any com-ment on the viciously destructive role of the 137th Street Gang in the life of Central Harlem. The police and the courts were universally cast as the “heavies” for doing their job in pro-tecting the public. In public discus-sions it is as if one side speaks Urdu and the other side Esperanto, with little mutual understanding. (A more promising sign was the recent arrest of a narcotics gang working out of a West 132nd Street Harlem furniture store—on complaints from neighbors. The creation of the Brooklyn Black Clergy—NYPD Task Force on Crime is another.)

“Best practices” in criminal justice internationally treat drug use as a public health problem, with free detoxification programs for addicts; drug sale is treated as a serious crimi-nal problem. First offenders are seg-regated from hardened criminals and are taught (if necessary) to read, write and count before release. Vocational training as auto mechanics, pastry chefs, refrigeration and air condition-ing repair personnel, etc. is provided. The remarkable rate in Nordic coun-tries in successfully rebuilding lives and in turning dysfunctional addicts into productive citizens is impressive. The financial return to any society on investment in “human capital” for first offenders is immense—for the former prisoner (whose life is turned around), for the taxpayer (fewer ex-penditures, more receipts) and for the public (reduced crime).

Many excellent studies have made practical, constructive recommenda-tions for U.S. reforms. Decriminaliz-ing marijuana possession heads most lists, followed by: converting drug possession crimes to misdemeanors or civil penalties (e.g. California in 2010, Kentucky in 2011); limiting pre-trial detention to those who pose high threats to public safety; eliminat-ing mandatory minimum sentences; reclassifying low level felonies to misdemeanors; and total rethinking of parole practices.

No society wants to encourage drug addiction, but no society wants the appalling impact of violent and corrupting drug cartels or drugs’ devastating impact on the lives of the poorest. The presidents of Guate-mala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and other Latin American countries have pleaded with the U.S. to rethink its drug laws, and they are right.

The U.S. rate of homicide and of gun ownership are other scandals. Gun lobbyists have made certain that these issues receive little objec-tive public attention or discussion. Guns are more easily available in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, including hand guns and automatic

weapons like those used in promi-nent recent mass murders; and this is reflected in our homicide rates which, though recently declining, are still “off the scale.” Ownership of hand guns and automatic weapons is largely a “non-issue” in American life. Our Constitution protects “the right to bear arms” just as it does “free speech.” Libel, slander and shouting “fire” falsely in a crowded theater are prohibited, however, and so should be brandishing a loaded submachine gun.

After the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, and the shooting of Ronald Reagan and Gabrielle Gif-fords, it is hard to believe that some states (such as Alaska, Arizona, Ver-mont and Wyoming) require no per-mit at all to harbor a hidden weapon. Thanks, National Rifle Association.

C) ImmigrationA country that calls itself “a nation

of immigrants” is hard-pressed to ad-dress calmly and rationally a subject with such emotional baggage.

On the one hand, we forget the “No Irish Need Apply” signs, the restrictive covenants against Jews, the Chinese Exclusion Act, etc.—all aimed at people whose children and grandchildren became full-fledged, productive citizens. (The current governor of Maine, a Republican leading the battle against immigra-tion, is a direct descendent of French Canadians whose entry into America was fiercely opposed by his prede-cessors.) On the other hand, today’s immigrants are seen by some as competitors for jobs or as expensive public charges.

Emma Lazarus’ verse inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty was written in 1883, when the tired, poor “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” were welcomed as cheap labor for an expanding economy. Frederick Jackson Turner’s “frontier thesis” was put forth in 1893, when the West, still open to settlement, was the home of rugged individualism, personal initiative and personal responsibil-

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ity. Today, the American taxpayer is increasingly reluctant to pay even for increased educational opportunities or social uplift for the deprived in the “hollows” of our rural South or our Northern inner cities, let alone pay for services to immigrants. The time has come for us to ask, “Which of the seven billion people beyond our borders should we admit to U.S. citi-zenship—and for whose well-being should we accept responsibility”?

Sealing our now-porous borders seems a “no-brainer.” Encouraging the entry of immigrants we want and facing frankly the challenge of the eleven million-plus undocumented im-migrants already here are others.

For the undocumented, those who unlawfully entered the country, prag-matism, common sense and a realiza-tion of the profound social upheaval attendant on any other solution would seem to lead to a logical conclusion: granting some form of amnesty, mandatory registration of aliens, and a procedure by which undocumented persons living here productively for a certain number of years—avoid-ing serious crime, paying taxes and not becoming public charges—could become legal citizens, with (hopefully) educated, upwardly mobile children. “Bad eggs” could be deported.

Thereafter, immigration could be limited to individuals meeting appropriate standards of education and skills, or with vocational abilities of value to the U.S. And, impor-tantly, severe penalties should then be imposed on employers of future undocumenteds.

Undocumented immigrants reflect a large percentage of adults in Ameri-ca not possessing a high school educa-tion, with little command of English and with major handicaps to their advancement. It is clearly in the best interests of the American public, as well as of the undocumented, to help them become full-fledged, productive members of society.

The third best financial invest-ment ever made by the United States government was the G.I. Bill, provid-

ing for educational expenses of our WWII veterans (the best investment was the Louisiana Purchase and the second best the purchase of Alaska). Case studies of the lifetime earnings and lifetime income tax payments of identical twins, one of whom went to school on the G.I. Bill and the other of whom did not, show a large return to the government on the funds invested.

There may be a better formula for achieving national well-being than by enhancing the “human capital” and “social capital” of all its citizens; but if so, it is a closely guarded secret.

Conclusion:America of the future will be what

we make it.We can choose to go the route of

recent failed societies—self-indulgent, ignoring future rewards for present benefits, demanding more from the economy than it can afford, treating tax evasion as a great game (distin-guishing public from private morality), focusing on narrow self-interest rather than on the common good, with the richest and most powerful “gaming the system” for their own benefit.

Or, with renewed acceptance of our traditional “social contract,” we can revert to an appropriately modified version of America’s historic ethos—one that values hard work and savings, character and competence; that willingly sacrifices luxuries today for a better life for our children tomorrow; that is proud of contributing to the common good and that has trust in the integrity of our institutions and our leaders. That ethos sees universal education as the vehicle for general upward mobility, with “need-blind” admis-sion as a goal. “And, yes,” Americans have traditionally thought, “I am my brother’s keeper!”

Equality and excellence are not mutually exclusive, and a healthy society reflects both. Equal access to public goods—education and health, museums and libraries, parks and playgrounds—does not require neglect of the needs of outstanding individu-

als whose achievements are national treasures. How to identify, encourage and reward such greatness, while pro-viding opportunity for all, is a continu-ing challenge.

America today is at a major inflec-tion point, as it faces a changing world beyond our borders and complex new factors at home. The more wisely we set our national goals; the more prudently we allocate our resourc-es—human and material; the more effectively our political system adjusts to our emerging challenges at home and abroad, the brighter that future will be.

The difficult choices we must make require more thoughtful, measured considerations than we are devoting to them. Our transi-tion from creditor to debtor na-tion and from budget surpluses to massive deficits will force prudence on us. For example, our public must demand from our legislators some commonsense balance—between the unrealistic profligacy of a California and the stingy backwardness of a Mississippi.

In an increasingly complex world, less government is probably not feasible; but more transparent, more efficient and more publicly respon-sive government certainly is, if not corrupted by the legal bribery of improper political “contributions.”

Our hope must lie with the Internet Generation, those young people who will one day pay the bills acquired when we cut taxes as we increased military spending, stopped investing in infrastructure and prom-ised government workers pensions we cannot afford. Opinion polls say the young understand better than we do that productive free markets must work along with government, that our political institutions must regain public confidence, that taxation must be rationally apportioned, that we are not only heirs of the past but stewards of the future.

The young are our “stewards of the future,” and our hopes are with them.

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I come to this topic with particular passion. I spent many years on

public assistance and food stamps while growing up, and I was the first in my family to go to college. Thanks to financial incentives, I was able to complete my undergraduate, masters, and PhD with only $2,600 in debt … and with tax season approaching, I’m once again reminded of the superb re-turn the government is reaping on its investment. I became a tenured pro-fessor and a department chair before leaving to join the corporate world, and I still have a deep and personal passion for higher education.

What I’m seeing now … as I listen to political discourse, analyze labor market trends, and talk with various think tanks and CEOs…is that the disparity between the skills America needs, and the skills our workers pos-sess, has never been sharper or more polarizing. The pressure to create jobs—and the arguments over whose job it is to create them—consumes our public discourse and will help determine our next President. With more than 9 million people unem-ployed…(an extremely conservative number…the Fed Reserve would put it at 14 to 15 million people)…. more than two million jobs are still going unfilled by companies who say they can’t find qualified applicants. This mismatch in supply and demand has maddened the long-term unem-ployed, stymied skilled recruiters, and frustrated strategic planners at com-panies around the world. It has also galvanized debate about post-sec-ondary education in the U.S.—more precisely, how our failure to produce enough STEM graduates and skilled technicians is feeding the mismatch

and starving our economic progress.It’s a complex challenge. The very

nature of work itself is changing…and in the knowledge economy, the highest-demand jobs often have the shortest shelf life…. as any unem-ployed NASA engineer would tell you. American workers will need to rethink their jobs, and reinvent their careers, time and again. This constant churn in the labor market has led us to acknowledge that the social contract between employers and employees has been irrevocably broken. But the conversation we’re not having, is that the social contract between post-secondary institutions and our society is also broken.

It’s an uncomfortable but undeni-able truth. When the majority of students do not complete a degree…that’s a broken system. When the ma-jority of students leave with more debt than they can repay … that’s a broken system. When government, taxpayers, and businesses are putting money into the system, and can’t get the necessary work and workers out of the system…. that system is broken.

Just as companies and employees have been forced to keep up with the pace of change in a global economy, so too must post-secondary education. It’s an urgent challenge that demands an urgent and collective response. No one pillar—education, business, government, citizens—can achieve the necessary results alone. Together, we face a three-pronged challenge:

• First, we must create a clear, achievable path for all post-secondary students of the 21st century—whether they attend college or not…

• Second, we need to create align-ment between post-secondary at-

tainment and workforce planning to respond to the real-world needs of employers and students…

• And finally, we need to hold post-secondary institutions accountable to their investors: namely, taxpayers, government, and students.

Each of these will require innova-tion, speed, and efficiency…traits we haven’t normally associated with America’s post-secondary environment.

The first step is fundamental: We have to let go of our idealized version of the American college experience, and forge a realistic path for all 21st century students.

This isn’t easy. As a country, we’re loath to relinquish, or even re-exam-ine, the American Dream—and for the past 60 years or so, that dream has included hard-working parents send-ing bright-eyed teenagers off to 4-year universities to become well-regarded scholars and well-rounded citizens. They live in perpetually messy dorm rooms on beautiful, sprawling campus-es … go to frat parties on Friday and football games on Saturday...fill lecture halls to hear world-class, tenured professors … build lifelong friendships over cold beer and Raman noodles … come back home to Mom & Dad every summer … and after four long years of self-discovery, they graduate, start a full-time job, and become pro-ductive members of American society.

Our university system—widely ac-knowledged as the best in the world—was built on this dream. But it really is just that—a dream. 75 percent of today’s post-secondary students are commuters. Half attend community colleges, where most of them work at least 20 hours a week, and 1 out of 4 has a dependent child. They choose

WINNER: PUBLIC POLICY & SERVICE INDUSTRY CATEGORIES“Rethinking the American Dream: Post-Secondary Education in the U.S.”

Writer: Patricia ThullSpeaker: Carl Camden, CEO, Kelly Services Inc.

Delivered at: Denver, Colo., Feb. 3, 2012

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their school because it’s near work, fits their schedule, and is affordable—not because it’s top-ranked academically or offers a great student experience. Their classrooms include unemployed welders, laid-off bank tellers, single moms, and 50- and 20-somethings side by side.

Many of them aren’t even attempt-ing a four-year degree, and have their sights set on a two-year associate’s degree instead. 80 percent of them still won’t have that associate’s degree in 3 years. And if they’re more than 25 years old, their odds of graduating drop to 1 in 20.

Sobering statistics. And they only tell part of the story. The 40 percent of students who attend part-time aren’t even counted in official govern-ment statistics and are missing from most reform discussions. Yet those students are even more likely to be juggling competing priorities … and as part-time students, their odds of graduating slip every single year.

These abysmal completion rates are the high price we pay for clinging to outdated ideals about college life in America. The number one reason stu-dents give for leaving higher ed—and their number one reason for not going back once they leave—is the “need to work and make money.” We are long overdue for a system that reflects that reality. We can’t keep asking 40-year-old unemployed people with kids and a mortgage to spend 4-6 years pursuing a degree they’ll probably never complete. Today’s students need programs that offer much faster, more flexible tracks to success…. tracks that can be completed in weeks or months, not years.

There are promising examples of innovative programs that are adapt-ing post-secondary education to the working student. In some programs, students enroll in entire academic programs rather than juggling a disorganized schedule of individual classes. In others, students attend from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday…. letting them hold down jobs in the evenings.

There’s no shortage of good ideas, but we need to be replicating these innovations on a broader scale. In ad-dition to block schedules, we should be accelerating the educational process across the board … allowing students to pursue degrees and certificates with shorter academic terms, less time off between terms, and year-round scheduling. Online courses can slash the amount of time students need to be on campus. Placement exams that award credits when entering a program—and tests that let students move on once they’ve demonstrated competency—can cut completion time and boost graduation rates. Dual-credit programs that let high school students graduate with college credits or an apprenticeship, can move them closer to employability, faster. Programs scattered throughout the country are proving that when we ap-ply innovative, disruptive approaches to post-secondary education, we can move the needle on completion rates in a meaningful way.

It’s an important needle to move now. By 2018, two-thirds of the na-tion’s jobs will require some form of postsecondary education or training. Not everyone will need a 4-year de-gree. But the data show that associ-ate degrees, bachelor degrees, and certificates that are cost-effective and have value in the workforce will all be critical to meeting future work-force needs.

That key phrase—“value in the workforce”—brings me to my second point. Not only do we have too few people completing post-secondary education … we have too few gradu-ates entering the workforce with skills that are in demand. Left unchecked, this will perpetuate the talent mis-match and high unemployment amidst millions of job openings.

That’s why, even as we tackle the challenge of increasing post-secondary completion rates, we need to acknowl-edge that not all degrees are created equal. We must forge better alignment between post-secondary attainment and workforce planning, to create a

system that meets the real-world needs of employers and students.

Here’s where the talent mis-match—and the shortage of STEM competencies—come sharply into focus. Even as demand for STEM workers has accelerated, supply of STEM graduates in the U.S. has stag-nated. We now rank 27th among the 42 developed nations in the propor-tion of students with undergraduate degrees in science and engineering. In fact, we graduate more visual and performing arts majors than we do engineers. It’s little wonder, then, that some companies have thousands of open engineering jobs in the U.S. that they can’t fill … or that other coun-tries like Japan, where one-third of the employees are engineers, provide a tempting talent pool.

The manufacturing sector provides a telltale window into this growing skills mismatch and the challenge it poses for the U.S. economy. After shedding 2 million jobs during the recession, manufacturing lost its luster to prospective employees. Yet Deloitte ran a study in 2011 that showed, even with stubbornly high unemployment, there were 600,000 well-paying manu-facturing jobs unfilled in the U.S. It’s a scenario that’s playing out across the country, even in areas hard-hit by the recession. I was at a meeting recently in Michigan where an auto parts sup-plier shared that he has 25 jobs open that pay more than $125,000 … not for a degreed engineer, but simply someone who is a very skilled techni-cian. He can’t fill those jobs. Our post-secondary system simply isn’t produc-ing enough qualified people.

In fact, 83 percent of companies indicate an immediate shortage of skilled workers (machinists, opera-tors, technicians, and so on). Most companies expect this shortage to worsen … and they know that with-out access to the right talent, their ability to innovate and grow market share are at risk. Many of my larg-est clients are giving up hope that the American system will produce the workers they need … so we’re

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talking to them about where to move the work, and which countries can provide access to the qualified talent they can’t find here. It’s not about pay differentials anymore … it’s about skill differentials.

There are examples where indus-try and education are beginning to get it right … by aligning specific skill sets with post-secondary cur-riculum. The National Association of Manufacturers has created standard-ized training and tests to upskill the manufacturing workforce, without expecting them to return to school for a bachelor’s degree. We know that programs like that can work. The key is smart, innovative partnerships be-tween business and education … and a commitment from universities and community colleges to become more responsive and flexible.

Just as we can’t expect a 40-year-old to go back to college for 4 years, we can’t expect business to stand still while academia haggles over syllabi and teaching methods. We need to accelerate our retraining programs, so that it takes months—not years—to develop and implement 21st century curriculum that meets the demands of the labor market. Effec-tive alliances between business and post-secondary ed will be critical to developing real-world programs that produce workers the labor market can actually put to work.

(Pause)Even as post-secondary education

evolves to meet the changing needs of its students and their future employ-ers, there is a more fundamental shift that needs to occur…which brings me to my third and final point: We must hold post-secondary institutions accountable to their investors: the taxpayers, businesses, and students.

There’s good reason that “ac-countability” is a top buzzword in the business world…and that CEO ten-ure has declined sharply over the past 5 years. Most corporate boards and investors demanded swift, decisive action during the recession. Busi-ness strategies were turned on their

heads, forecasts were thrown out the window, and leadership teams were dismantled. Adaptability became an imperative, not a nice to have. Some-how, post-secondary education has been granted an exemption from the revolution that is raging all around it. In fact, it has a decisive role to play in whether that revolution propels us forward, or buries us deeper. U.S. tax-payers, students, and the businesses and local governments that partner with education, are the shareholders in America’s public education institu-tions … and it’s time we held those institutions accountable.

The stakes are simply too high to think otherwise. Student loan debt now tops a trillion dollars (and since 60 percent of people who start col-lege don’t finish, that includes a lot of people who owe money for classes that never generated a degree). U.S. businesses invest almost $500 billion each year in education and workforce training. McKinsey estimates the U.S. will need to produce one million more graduates per year by 2020 to ensure it can meet employer demand for skilled professionals.

The linkages between U.S. job growth, economic vitality, and post-secondary education are undeni-able and inextricable. So what does accountability look like in practice? It’s not easy to pin down, but I think three guiding principles are key:

• First, we need to give differen-tial support for STEM education…forgiving loans, creating internships, providing extra funding…to incent students to choose, and then com-plete, STEM-related degrees and cer-tificates. Other countries do this with great success. Everyone has the right to get whatever degree you want; but if you’re getting a degree that has been judged to be in the national interest, and the taxpayers are provid-ing support for that degree, then the government has the right to say “we will provide differential support.”

• Second, along with differential incentives for students….we need differential consequences for post-sec-

ondary institutions. Students should be able to see every program’s tuition, graduation rates, and job placement outcomes so they can make more informed decisions at the front end…and we should be willing to shut down state institutions that don’t have an adequate completion rate or an adequate job acquirement rate.

• Third, we must demand more adaptive and responsive curriculum. There are hundreds of examples of effective partnerships, but many more where no partnership exists, or busi-ness’s efforts are actively thwarted by an outdated educational system that refuses to yield to the present reality. In today’s pace of business, it is simply not feasible to expect companies and prospective employees to wait years for a college to enact programs for which there is a deep and immediate need.

McKinsey recently completed a productivity study that’s a good step in the right direction for accountabil-ity…providing data to support how a more rigorous, results-based ap-proach can improve post-secondary education without raising budgets or lowering quality. That’s the kind of return on investment that America’s workers, businesses, and the economy deserve, and must demand.

(Pause)We are long overdue in ac-

knowledging that “college for all” is not a sound education strategy, and accepting that a 4-year degree program is not the answer for most high school graduates. To move the economy forward, American employers need ready access to the most highly educated workforce in the world…and it’s time we recom-mit to ensuring that workforce can be found on our own shores. Our post-secondary education has long been prized the world over for foster-ing innovation and solving some of the world’s toughest problems. It’s time we apply that same innovation to the education system itself…and in doing so, create new options and opportunities worthy of the 21st-century American dream.

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Good morning everyone! And thank you for this opportunity

to tell you why I am so PROUD to be a part of this great industry!

….From its humble beginnings over

125 years ago… to becoming the largest manufacturing sector in the nation… the auto industry has done PRETTY well for itself. And, in the process has continuous-ly helped shape America and its future.

Now, when it comes to our industry… names like Henry Ford… Lee Iacocca… and Carroll Shelby… are widely known. But what about George Cayley? John Hetrick? or Mary Anderson?

To be honest … I hadn’t heard of them either until we started researching for this speech. But now… I’ve nick-named THEM the ‘Big Three’… be-cause even though they’re not household names… their work affects nearly every person around the globe.

• George Cayley invented safety belts… • John Hetrick developed safety cush-

ions or what we now call air bags…• And Mary Anderson created the

very first windshield wipers.The point is … they changed the

future of the auto industry and had a positive affect on our everyday lives.

And today … ALL automakers are doing the same … creating great things that will have a major impact on our industry … our society … and our future.

But before I delve into what we can expect in the next decade and beyond… let’s talk about what’s happening with our economy and industry today and what forces are in play.

….To start, the U.S. economy grew two-

percent in the third quarter. This is attributed largely to consumers

feeling better about their finances…

• Unemployment dropped to a three-and-a-half year low…

• Consumer Confidence jumped to a 5-year high...

• And, the housing market seems to be turning the corner.

Fueled by these positive economic trends, the auto industry is gaining mo-mentum.

For the total U.S. market… our an-nual sales forecast for 2012 is at 14.3 mil-lion vehicles… or possibly a little higher … an increase of about a million and a half over 2011.

And the forecast ahead looks even better. Analysts predict sales will reach 16 million again in just a few years.

Now, there is data to back up their optimism.

First… there’s pent up demand. In the U.S., there are more than 245 million cars on the road, and the average age of these vehicles have hit a record high of 11 years old. Over

20-percent of these cars are over 16 years old.

Second… historically… car loans have NEVER been cheaper. Banks are charging the lowest interest rates since the Federal Reserve began its survey of loans… more than FOUR decades ago.

Third…and the best news… the J.D. Power’s Information Network says younger buyers have returned to the mar-ket at a higher rate than any other age category… which bodes well for market longevity.

….So, there are a lot of positives help-

ing drive optimism and sales… and all automakers are showing revitalized momentum.

For proof… just look at all the great new products on display here at the LA Auto Show.

It’s good to see such a strong presence from automakers… and the best news is that consumers benefit from the many choices available to suit their needs.

….Okay... but what about further out?

What’s in store for us in the long-term future?

Well, our industry has shown in the past that what we do MATTERS. The Big Three… Cayley, Hetrick and Ander-son have proven that.

And seeing the displays here at the auto show proves automakers are step-ping up their game and developing ad-vanced technologies to meet future needs of both consumers and society.

In fact, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said… our industry traditionally ranks at the top of research and development investments for ALL industries, including computers and pharmaceuticals.

And, these investments are already becoming a reality and creating a new world for consumers.

….So what will our NEW world be like?Well, I’d like to say it will be similar

to the Jetsons with flying cars to get us around. But… that’s probably a bit ambitious.

We will, however, see new types of mobility… cleaner more efficient vehicles… and safer cars.

Let’s take a deeper dive into each one.

First… new types of mobility.From car sharing to connected cars

to autonomous vehicles… consumers will have several choices when it comes to their transportation needs.

You know car sharing actually started back in the 1960’s and 70’s in Europe. It took awhile… but in 1994… the

WINNER: TRANSPORTATION CATEGORY“The Auto Industry: Architects of the Future”

Writer: Lora JonesSpeaker: Jim Lentz

Delivered at: Motor Press Guild Event, Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 28, 2012

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first successful U.S., car share program started in Portland, Oregon.

And… car sharing continues to grow. According to the University of California Berkley… there are now 25 car sharing programs in the U.S. with nearly 720,000 members, sharing over 9,800 vehicles.

You can now find car sharing in most large and mid-sized cities… and on hundreds of University campuses.

This is a great way to make cars more accessible to low-income house-holds and to those who don’t have a regular need for a car. And, as our coun-try’ population increases, car sharing will help reduce congestion and pollution.

….Okay… what about connected cars?

Today… customers have a multitude of choices to stay safely and seamlessly connected to the outside world… from inside their car.

Nearly every manufacturer has its own version. Ford offers SYNC… GM has OnStar… and Toyota has Entune and Lexus Enform.

And as the trend increases to have more access to things your smart-phone and tablets can do… the need to help minimize driver distraction also increases.

Every car maker is dealing with this situation. At Toyota… one of our many approaches is using a skateboard.

Now… I’m not saying people should travel by skateboard… but rather, we can learn from one. Let me explain.

Imagine a dashboard where there are no buttons to push… no screens to tap… and your eyes can remain focused on the road. Well… that’s exactly what Toyota is working on.

The Board of Awesomeness… yes… that’s what it’s called… is an electric skateboard that is run by hand gestures.

As a benefit of our partnership with Microsoft… the board is equipped with a Windows 8 tablet and Windows Kinect motion-sensing software.

By raising and lowering your hand… like this… you control the throttle… and the closer your hand gets to the board… the faster the motor goes.

One of the many real world applica-

tions could possibly be when you raise your hand… the radio volume goes up… when you drop your hand… the volume goes down.

This could potentially work in con-junction with voice recognition which sometimes can be hindered by accents or mispronunciations. Hand gestures are pretty universal.

I’ll wait for a few seconds while you insert your own punch line.

….So, from the conceptual to the con-

crete… a skateboard is leading the way.Now, at Toyota… we’re also going

beyond hand gestures. Back in Septem-ber… our Smart INSECT vehicle made its debut in Japan.

The INSECT is our next-generation communications-linked concept model that supports the driver and keeps them connected to his or her home.

It’s an ultra-compact, single-pas-senger electric vehicle that’s equipped with a bevy of technologies like motion sensors, voice recognition and behavior predictions.

Let me tell you a few fun things this car can do.

It uses motion sensors and facial-recognition technology to detect and authenticate the driver registered as they approach the car. Once the car recog-nizes the driver, it flashes its front lights.

Then, detecting the driver’s hand gesture… the doors will open.

The driver is greeted via the instru-ment panel… with a ‘Hello’ or any other phrase you chose.

Now… through voice recognition a ‘virtual agent’ will communicate with the driver, set the destination and oper-ate various functions of the car like the audio system.

This is sort of like our version of Herbie the Love Bug… but highly up-dated and tricked out.

(pause)We’ve also been hearing the term

‘autonomous car’ in the news a lot lately… but this type of automated tech-nology has been around for awhile with features like anti-lock brakes and vehicle stability control... and the list continues to grow with each new model year.

These days… many manufacturers offer a pre-collision system… lane keep-ing… and automatic parking.

For example… the new 2013 Lexus LS offers the industry’s most advanced pre-collision active safety system. It’s designed to assist the driver in avoiding or mitigating collisions with vehicles and pedestrians under a wide range of city and highway speeds, day… or night.

Now… Toyota’s view of autono-mous technology may differ from others. We believe the driver must ALWAYS be engaged… and this technology must be introduced slowly due to major legal, regulatory and consumer hurdles that need to be made.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about autonomous cars in the near future.

….These are just a few examples of the

many types of mobility automakers are creating for a better tomorrow.

Our industry is also developing greener, more sustainable vehicles that will make us less reliant on foreign oil.

Today in the U.S., there are nearly 300 fuel-efficient models to choose from… including 40 hybrids… 33 clean diesels… and a growing number of plug-ins and pure electric vehicles… that achieve 30 miles per gallon or more. That’s up by an incredible 330-percent in JUST six years.

And you can expect that number of models to increase in the next few years as all automakers launch cleaner, more efficient vehicles.

For Toyota… we’re taking a portfo-lio approach and offering a variety of choices, including plug-ins… electric vehicles… and in 2015… our first fuel cell hybrid.

But, hybrid technology continues to be key for us.

We plan on launching 21 new or re-designed hybrids globally between now and the end of 2015, starting with the all-new Avalon hybrid which will arrive at dealerships next month.

We’re also working on developing a next-generation battery that we ex-pect to have one of the world’s highest performance levels… and we’re working

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on wireless battery charging technology so there will be no more plugs to plug-in.

Compound our efforts with the technologies other manufacturers are developing… and you start getting a picture of what cars in the future will be like… and how different they will be than what’s on the road today.

….The third way our industry is im-

proving the lives of people and society overall is making cars safer.

One way we will do that is by overcoming a huge issue… distracted driving.

Last year, one-in-six highway deaths were attributed to distracted driving. One in six!

Consumers are accustomed to con-necting any time… anywhere. And ... they want that same ability in their cars.

That’s why nearly every State has some type of cell phone and texting laws. We have them

in California, but I bet when you drove here today… you probably saw someone talking or texting on their phone.

So, the best thing we can do as an industry is bring more awareness to this issue… and integrate and adapt in-car technology to help minimize distracted driving.

Our industry has done a great job banding together on this issue, but we can… and will do more.

For instance… the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers partnered with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons to launch…’Decide To Drive’… an interactive, multi-media campaign highlight-ing the importance of hands on the wheel… eyes on the road.

This campaign has taught children how to discourage their parents from using handheld devices while driving… and has brought awareness to drivers themselves about the deadly risk of texting while driving.

In addition, companies continue to develop other technologies that will help make cars safer.

For instance… Nissan has a goal of having ‘virtually zero’ accidents with

their vehicles… so, they’re working on a steering wheel that doesn’t shake or vibrate even while driving on a bumpy road… and a vehicle that will swerve on its own to avoid a pedestrian stepping out in front of the car.

Volvo announced that in 2014… it will offer a traffic-jam assistance system allowing cars to automatically follow the car ahead of them in traffic… moving as much as 30 miles per hour.

At Toyota… one idea we’re exploring is like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.

Many cars on the road today have a back-up camera with a display showing what’s behind you when you’re in re-verse. But… it’s still hard to be absolute-ly sure you’re not going to hit something or someone.

So, researchers from Keio University in Japan have developed an optical-camouflage technology making the back seat seem invisible... which would help eliminate blind spots.

This system was showcased in a ‘See-Through-Prius’ back in September at the Digital Content Expo in Tokyo.

How it works seems like magic… but the cloak is made of reflective ma-terials that captures footage from cam-eras behind the car which then projects the image onto the cloak visible to the driver. The illusion of invisibility is amazing.

One of the developers said it will feel like you’re driving a glass car.

….We’re also doing some other non-

magical work through our Collabora-tive Safety Research Center.

The center is working with univer-sities, hospitals, research institutions and federal agencies on a variety of projects. Our goal is to develop new safety technologies to help reduce the number of traffic injuries and fatalities on our roads.

The best thing about this center is that it focuses on research that will benefit the ENTIRE industry rather than purely focusing on proprietary technologies. This way… ALL cars… no matter what brand… can be im-proved in the future to help consumers all around the world.

Currently, the center has a total of 26 different safety research projects with 16 partners targeting our most vulnerable populations, teens, seniors, and pedestrians.

A few of the newer projects include:• Working with the University of

Iowa on how in-vehicle technologies like advanced driving assistance systems can help seniors with declining driving abilities.

• With the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies, along with NHTSA and the Chalmers SAFER project… to study mild traumatic brain injury in adolescents… which is the most com-mon injury to children in car crashes.

• And… with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to conduct what we believe to be the most comprehensive driver distraction study to date, involving over 5,500 teens and adults. Based on miles driven, teens are now four times more likely than other drivers to be involved in a crash so, we want to develop ef-fective ways to help change dangerous driving behaviors.

In fact… yesterday we announced some of our preliminary findings. They range from:

• Teens’ distracting behaviors are related to their parents’ distracting behaviors…

• Teens text while driving 26 times more than their parents think they do…

• And, teens regularly drive with young passengers in their car with no adults…which is associated with dou-bling of the driver’s risk of being killed in a crash. And, the more passengers in the car… the higher the risk becomes.

You’ll be hearing more over the next few months as we continue to analyze the data and develop recommendations.

As a father, one of the key takeaways I got from the study is… you need to be the kind of driver you want your teen to be.

Again, these results will be shared so that we can all make important steps to improve safety for consumers all around the world… no matter what

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brand they choose.With us today are Dr. Ray Bingham

from the Michigan research institute and Toyota’s principal investigator, Dr. Tina Sayer. I’d encourage you to speak with them about this very important study.

….Well, I hope you can see why I’m so

PROUD to be a part of this industry! Look, there will always be some

healthy competition amongst auto-makers… and that’s good. In fact… make sure you check out the all-new

Toyota RAV4 in just a few minutes… and our newest Lexus coupe concept, the LF-CC… they’re both fantastic vehicles.

But, bigger picture… when it comes down to it… TOGETHER…we ARE a great industry.

125 years have come and gone… and the advancements we’ve made in that time CANNOT be overstated. And, I know… those of the future will be EVEN better.

So… let’s all be proud of the fact

that… we are part of an industry that truly makes a difference… and positively impacts peoples’ lives and society.

We ARE architects of the future. We ARE creating a prototype

community of tomorrow with new advances in mobility and technologies for safer and greener days ahead.

And… we ARE committed to making the next 125 years better and brighter than EVER before.

Thank you.

WINNER: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CATEGORY“Together to a Healthier Future: Keynote Address to GBC Health Conference”

Writer: Luke BoggsSpeaker: Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

Delivered to: GBC Health Conference, New York City, N.Y., May 14, 2012

Thank you, Alison, and thank you all so much for your welcome.

I’m honored to speak with a group of people who share so enthusiastical-ly my belief in the power of business to change this world—our world—for the better.

Not in theory.Not in the distant future.But right now. Each and every day.Doing something extraordinary

in the ordinary course of doing business.

And I applaud and encourage you in that.

Given the scale and complexity of today’s health issues, it’s chal-lenging for one business or even one industry to make a material differ-ence on its own.

Instead, we must rely on partner-ships that connect across what I call the Golden Triangle of business, government and civil society.

Indeed, more and more companies are finding that we have something more valuable than our dollars or yen or euros to contribute.

And that’s our expertise. Our

know-how. Our unique and specific strengths.

And you are at the forefront of this movement.

For Coca-Cola, this means fully leveraging, for the public good, our expertise in, among other things, marketing and distribution.

Last Tuesday, Coca-Cola turned 126 years young.

And, from the start, our company was known for innovation in market-ing and advertising.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of generations of promotion giants.

Coca-Cola is also known for its global ubiquity.

In fact, for years, people have been wondering: If Coca-Cola can reach the world’s most remote corners, could they help others do the same?

The short answer is yes.Today, I want to share some of

what we’re doing—with our part-ners—to address health challenges including obesity, under-nutrition and disease.

And I do so not to puff up Coca-Cola but to explain our particular approach to creating shared value

and leveraging Golden Triangle partnerships.

At The Coca-Cola Company, we know our business can only be as strong and sustainable and healthy as the communities we serve.

Our wellbeing, as a business, is wholly interwoven with the wellbe-ing of our people, partners and communities.

Today, one of the most profound threats to that wellbeing is over-nutrition.

Obesity, as you know, is a serious and complex global health concern.

It’s costly in monetary and human terms. And it has the power to un-dermine the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities.

Increases in global prosperity and food production are making more food more readily available to more people than ever.

To maintain a healthy weight, energy balance is critical—balancing calories in with calories out.

And, in general, people are mov-ing a lot less these days.

Even as no single food or beverage is responsible for obesity, we under-

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stand that all calories count, and we’re committed to being part of the solution.

To this end, we’re using evidence-based science to guide the choices we offer and how we inform consumers about those choices.

In fact, over the next five years, we’re investing more than $50 million dollars in this research.

We’re also investing in innovation across sweeteners, products, packag-ing, equipment and marketing that fosters active, healthy living.

One key priority, as you might imagine, is further developing natu-ral, non-caloric sweeteners.

Already, we use stevia sweeteners in more than 30 products, including vitaminwater zero.

As of two months ago in France, we’re now using our stevia sweetener to replace 30 percent of the calories in Sprite while maintaining the deli-cious, refreshing flavor.

And we’re launching a limited test here in the U.S., just reported this morning, of two new mid-calorie sparkling beverages using a natural sweetener blend—Fanta Select and Sprite Select.

Choice is another way we’re help-ing consumers avoid over-nutrition.

Today, we offer more than 500 brands and 3500 beverages.

That’s three times as many choices as a decade ago and ten times as many as 20 years ago.

Nearly 25 percent of our bever-ages—more than 800—are low or no-calorie. And 19 of our top 20 brands either offer a low- or no-calorie alternative or are themselves low- or no-calorie.

Moreover, we stand behind the quality and goodness of every single product we make, starting with the original formula of Coca-Cola.

Now, however, we offer 23 varia-tions of Coke… a Coke for every person, every lifestyle and every oc-casion: Coke, diet Coke, Coke Zero, caffeine-free versions and flavors like Cherry Coke.

Nothing better shows our com-

mitment to choice than Coca-Cola Freestyle—a new fountain capable of dispensing more than 100 of our beverages, including sparkling drinks, waters, sports drinks and lemonades.

Coca-Cola Freestyle features 70-plus low or no-calorie options, more than 90 caffeine-free choices and 80-plus brands not available anywhere else.

And, if that’s not enough choice, you can create your own combina-tions of our drinks.

If you’re thirsty later, there are nine Coca-Cola Freestyle locations inside a mile from here, with the closest just three blocks down Madi-son at the McDonald’s at 18 East 42nd Street.

What can I say? I looked it up on the Coca-Cola Freestyle Face-book page!

We’re also innovating with packag-ing choices.

In Sao Paulo, for example, we have 17 different packages of Coca-Cola alone.

Our fans in the U.S., Australia, Korea and beyond really like our mini-can, which debuted in 2009.

At 7.5 ounces, the Coca-Cola mini-can offers delicious refreshment along with portion control and just 90 calories.

To help consumers make informed choices, we’re leading with transpar-ency in communicating calories.

We provide clear, detailed nutri-tion information.

Leading our industry, we became, in 2009, the first beverage company to make a global commitment to front-of-pack labeling on nearly all our products by year-end 2011. And we’ve followed through.

In addition, we’re committed to responsible marketing.

This means not directly market-ing to children under 12 and follow-ing a global set of school beverage guidelines.

In primary schools, our products are not available, unless requested by parents, caregivers or school authorities.

In secondary schools, we of-fer school authorities the choice of waters, juices and other beverages, including regular and low-calorie options of Coca-Cola and all our beverages.

Coca-Cola also promotes active, healthy living among our associates, fans and communities.

We now have 43 such programs in North America… 40 in Latin America… 71 in Europe… 79 in Eurasia and Africa... and 18 across our Pacific group.

By 2015, we’ll have active healthy living programs in every country—200-plus—where we operate.

Our programs include Street-Games, which uses sports to encour-age positive behavior among teens in disadvantaged communities across Great Britain.

Over three years, we hope to reach 110,000 young people.

Coca-Cola is also a founding part-ner of Exercise is Medicine, a global drive to urge doctors to encourage patients to exercise.

Along with the Philippines Basket-ball Association, we sponsor Coca-Cola PBA Youngstars—a grassroots basketball program that shows Filipino teens just what we mean by active, healthy living.

Coca-Cola also believes in the power of premier sporting events to inspire active, healthy living, which is one reason for our longstanding part-nerships with the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.

For the 2012 London Games—which begin in just 87 days—we’re encouraging young people to live active, healthy lives with a campaign that artfully blends music and sport called “Move to the Beat.”

Take a look: [“Move to the Beat” video: 60

seconds]I don’t know about you, but that

makes me want to get active—and I’m not exactly in the intended de-mographic!

We also use our beverage expertise to help with under-nutrition.

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CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS040

For us, this dates to the 1960s, when Coca-Cola worked to bridge the “protein gap” in impoverished nations with three protein-rich beverages.

Today, we’re ramping up products with vitamins, minerals and other beneficial ingredients.

These include Del Valle Fresh—a fruit drink with calcium and vitamin D in Colombia… and Nutrijuice—which is helping kids overcome iron deficiencies in the Philippines.

With Project Thrive, Coca-Cola is developing a global fortified juice product to give schoolchildren needed vitamins and minerals.

We’re partnering with govern-ment, nutrition experts, and organi-zations like the World Food Program and the Howard G. Buffett Founda-tion to get this beverage into school lunch programs, together with nutri-tion and physical activity education.

Globally, our partners include Cutrale, DSM, TetraPak and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutri-tion, an NGO related to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Late last year, we launched three pilots in Malaysia, Ghana and Colombia, and we’re continuing the work this year.

Of course, our concern for health and wellbeing extends beyond obe-sity and undernourishment.

Since 2006, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation has been involved in NetsforLife—a Golden Triangle partnership battling malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

To date, NetsforLife has distrib-uted 8.5 million nets, saved the lives of more than 100,000 children, and trained nearly 74,000 malaria con-trol agents.

AIDS, of course, is one of the great health scourges of our time.

Building on an existing partner-ship with The Global Fund, we joined with (RED) late last year to raise money and awareness in the fight against AIDS with our music platforms and other resources.

And the tide is turning, with the

chance to achieve the first AIDS-free generation of our time by virtually eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015.

The Coca-Cola system is also working with The Global Fund, the Gates Foundation and the Yale Health Leadership Institute to increase access to vital medicines in Tanzania.

Using our supply chain expertise, we’ve joined with Tanzania’s Medi-cal Stores Department to develop a new distribution strategy, redesign core processes, and train more than 50 medical stores staffers.

To me, this is a very exciting Golden Triangle initiative—one revealing the vast, largely untapped potential of business, government and NGOs to collaborate creatively together.

Even now, we’re working with our partners to replicate what’s happen-ing in Tanzania in Ghana, which has an acute need for vaccine distribu-tion. In March, we launched a 15-week assessment phase in Ghana.

Around the world, we’ve seen firsthand the positive impact wom-en’s economic empowerment has on the health and wellbeing of families.

In fact, we’re striving to enable the empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs worldwide by 2020.

With this effort, called 5 BY 20, we expect to reach 300,000 women by the end of this year, as we test, learn and scale what works with our partners.

And our partners in 5 BY 20 will be critical to our success, includ-ing—very prominently—Michelle Bachelet of UN Women, who you heard from earlier.

Water is another focus for us—and one closely related to health and women’s empowerment.

By 2020, we’re committed to “giv-ing back”100 percent of the water used in bottling our beverages.

Already, we’ve conducted 386 community water projects in 94 countries since 2005.

These projects not only have a powerful direct health impact but they also empower women, given the time many women must spend car-rying water —particularly in parts of Africa.

Our worldwide Coca-Cola system is also honored to contribute to the health and wellbeing of communities in their most-desperate hours.

I’m speaking now of disaster re-lief, and we’ve formed an important Golden Triangle partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies.

Building on nearly a century of cooperation, we’re now able to do more good for more people more quickly than ever before.

So, as you can see, there are many reasons to be optimistic.

And what you’re doing, each and every day, is critically important as you advance the health of your em-ployees, your communities and the broader world beyond.

In fact, I believe we’re just begin-ning to harness the power of busi-ness to improve global health.

Even over these two days, new Golden Triangle collaborations are coming to life thanks to the conven-ing power of GBCHealth.

In this audience, I see business, government and civil society leaders all working to improve global health.

Progress is happening right here, thanks to you and GBCHealth. And you can all be proud.

Today is the 216th anniversary of Edward Jenner’s first smallpox vacci-nation—a day that changed history for the better and for all time.

In our world, the next step-change of this magnitude could hap-pen any month, any week, any day.

And you may very well help make it happen.

So keep pushing forward…Keep leading the way…Keep building momentum toward

the health breakthroughs the world is so eager to see.

Thank you very much!

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041

Ladies,Tonight, I would like to intro-

duce you to Carly. Carly was an insecure student,

whose foremost aim was to win her parents’ approval.

Her mother was a good painter. Carly was not.Her father loved the law and

teaching.Seeing no way of following in her

mother’s footsteps, she decided to fol-low in her father’s.

So Carly decided to study law.She worked extremely hard and

did her level best. So much so that it started to affect her health. She suffered headaches more and more often.

One day she went to spend a weekend at her parents’.

She felt miserable about her stud-ies and future prospects.

But that Sunday morning, while taking a shower, it struck her.

She realised that her life couldn’t be all about pleasing others.

She realised that if she really wanted to make something of her life, she would have to find something that suited her abilities and talents.

She realised it was time start chas-ing her dreams.

I’m talking about Carly Fiorina. Between nineteen ninety-nine and

two thousand and five, she was the CEO of IT giant Hewlett Packard.

The first ever female CEO of a company in the top twenty of leading American companies.

The influential business magazine Fortune named her the Most Power-ful Woman in Business in nineteen ninety-eight.

I think Carly’s story is a familiar one. It’s not so much about the fact that

he has made it to the top. It’s about character, about making

choices, and about making the most of your abilities.

It’s the story of someone who took control of her own life, and learned to recognize and use her own strength.

That’s what Overijssel needs. That’s what the Netherlands needs.

Your association has a highly diverse member base.

There are those who are still in the middle of their working lives, and others who are enjoying their retirement.

But I think these principles apply to everyone.

It is with great pleasure that I deliver this lecture and I would like to delve deeper into this subject by rais-ing the following issues:

1. The need for full participation of women in modern society.

2. The current state of affairs in terms of women in leading positions.

3. The importance of tackling the typical pitfalls women should avoid and the typical qualities they should exploit.

4. And finally, I would like to put three things into a different perspec-tive to paint a balanced total picture.

1. Ladies,I read the following headline

somewhere: ‘Female skills make the difference

in two thousand and twelve.’ I think there’s an element of truth

in that.We are living in a society that is

developing extremely rapidly.We are living in a time of crisis

and in an ever more flexible network-based economy.

In order to adapt to that new reality, we need to share, stay con-nected, and notice each other, as well as communicate accurately and act intuitively for the greater public good.

And those are precisely the things women are good at.

Within the context of my personal position and that of the government in general, the important thing in my view is that we—now more than ever—are in a position to make some important choices that society calls for and supports.

And that while the gap between citizens and authorities and politics has grown larger than ever before over the past few years.

Authorities and politicians are mistrusted.

Instead of their decisions, politi-cians’ expense claims make headlines.

What we need are authorities and politicians that manage, more than ever before, to penetrate to the core of our society.

Politicians who sense what society asks and expects of them.

We as politicians, representatives of the people, and civil servants will have to find a new way of work-ing, one that is all about raising awareness, facilitating, and kindling enthusiasm.

And perhaps more women in positions of authority is just what we need to achieve that.

Or at least a more balanced ratio of men to women in leading positions.

WINNER: DIVERSITY CATEGORY“Female Skills Make the Difference in Two Thousand and Twelve—The Need for Full Participation of Women in Modern Society”

Writer: Johan KroesSpeaker: Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, Queen’s Commissioner, the Netherlands

Delivered to: a meeting of “Woman of Today.”Bathmen, Overijssel, the Netherlands

April 16, 2012

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CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS042

And the question is whether we do.2. Ladies,Across the entire scope of educa-

tion, women are currently doing better than ever before, right down from year one in primary school up to university.

You may perhaps appreciate that in your own children.

Champions of equal rights for women in education—such as Aletta Jacobs—never even dared to dream this could happen.

But a hundred years later, this success still does not give women a reason to celebrate.

And that is exactly what I want to talk about.

Since two thousand and eight, we’ve had the ‘Talent to the Top Charter’ aimed at getting more women in leading positions.

At the end of two thousand and ten, the province of Overijssel also signed on to this Charter.

As many as one hundred and sev-enty organisations, representing a to-tal of six hundred and fifty thousand employees, have meanwhile signed on to the Charter.

Last year, the committee oversee-ing the results announced that the share of women in leading positions rose by one point two percent in two thousand and ten.

As nice as that may be, it is hardly impressive.

Men are still three times as likely to get a promotion as women.

We are still seeing too few women make it to the top.

Here are some more figures:Of the one hundred and twelve

members of the Boards of Directors of the Dutch companies that make up the Amsterdam Stock Exchange Index only one was a Dutch woman.

Looking at the world of science, the figures do not paint a much rosier picture.

Figures published by the VSNU, the Association of Dutch Universi-ties, show that the percentage of female university professors barely

makes it above ten percent.Women make up seventeen per-

cent of senior lecturers, and thirty percent of lecturers.

The higher up the ladder you go, the lower the percentage of

women.And there is also plenty of room

for improvement in public adminis-tration.

I myself happen to be Overijssel’s first ever female Queen’s Commis-sioner.

There are now two female Queen’s Commissioners in the Netherlands, and the number of women on pro-vincial executives can also be counted on the fingers of one hand.

At least our current provincial executive is fifty percent female.

I will come back to that later.The number of women mayors

should also be higher. When I was mayor of the munici-

pality Hof van Twente, I used to be the only female mayor in the prov-ince of Overijssel for many years.

I was consequently always prompt-ed to stand in the middle for group photos at mayors’ meetings.

I would always make sure to wear a colourful outfit to contrast with all those dark suits.

I was therefore happy to see several women join the ranks of the Netherlands’ mayors, albeit that it is still a male-dominated position.

And that while there is plenty of talent around!

I just think that women perhaps fail to esteem themselves highly enough.

What has struck me over the past year, for example, is that where may-oral vacancies arose for larger cities, we received very few application let-ters from women.

We can do better!And we must do better!And for me it’s not about the

figures, but purely about the fact that society is fifty percent female.

Both the corporate world and pub-lic administration should reflect that.

And that also makes financial sense!

Mirjam van Praag, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Organization at the University of Amsterdam, conducted research that showed that mixed teams generate more sales and higher profits.

The positive effect of more women at the top is, according to Ms Van Praag’s research, greatest when half or slightly more than half of a man-agement team is female.

I believe that to be true. You need a certain critical mass,

which impacts the functioning of that body.

Contrary to councils with only one or two women, a ‘trinity of women’ leads to normalisation:

gender is then no longer a barrier for acceptance and communication.

As I said earlier, our Provincial Executive meets this three-women rule nicely.

With the arrival of members Ineke Bakker and Hester Maij, we are now three women and three men.

That has generated greater atten-tion to the things that unite us.

And it has also positively affected the executive’s image.

Responses I received showed that people find it surprising and impor-tant that we have achieved this.

And it is receiving more attention than I thought it would, which is something I welcome.

Ladies,The question that still looms large

is: how do we get more women in leading positions?

Should we set quotas? Recently, news emerged that Eu-

ropean Commission member Viviane Reding is planning to set quotas for the whole European Union.

Personally, I’m not in favour of quotas.

In my days as a State Secretary I always had tough discussions about this topic with then Minister Guusje ter Horst, whereby I always main-tained that quotas have a stigmatis-ing effect.

My view has always been that quotas might actually make women worse off.

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043

Professor Van Praag’s research confirms that.

She showed that quotas are counterproductive, because what matters is to get the right women in the right jobs.

In practice, forcing quotas has been proven not to benefit quality and profitability.

Van Praag does, however, argue in favour of target figures, as adopted by increasing numbers of companies and public bodies.

That is something I do agree with. I’m all in favour of striving for

equal numbers. As long as it is based on equal quality.

A good way of working is, in my view, to have women join at middle management level.

That is something I sought to in-state when I was the State Secretary responsible for the Senior Civil Ser-vice, the highest level of civil service in the Netherlands.

Women can prove themselves in that middle management position and then move on to a leading position.

And there are several other ways I see that could help improve women’s position.

Create the right circumstances to enable women to function at the top.

I was the first Member of Parlia-ment in the Netherlands to have two children during my tenure.

There were no maternity leave schemes in place back then.

I always wanted to have children at some point, but my intensive job made that quite difficult.

My first daughter was born during summer recess, while I had to report sick for the final stages of my preg-nancy of my second child.

And whenever there was an im-portant vote, I would come to parlia-ment anyway.

Upon my return to parliament I teamed up with Ien Dales to propose a maternity scheme for Members of Parliament.

This proposal was initially rejected by the Upper Chamber of Parliament.

But eventually the scheme made

it through. It is, in my view, also important

that we consciously look for com-petent women during application procedures.

Experience has taught us that men have greater belief in their ability to be up to a certain job and are there-fore quicker to apply.

Women, on the other hand, tend to be more reserved, often without reason.

You may know that I was involved in coalition negotiations over the summer of two thousand and ten, which eventually led to the first Rutte cabinet.

During such negotiations numer-ous people offer themselves for minis-terial posts, and most of those people are men.

This is such a strange phenomenon!Whenever it comes to appointing

new mayors, I always set out to con-sciously focus on female candidates.

And that starts with the profile meetings.

What I do, for example, is encour-age suitable women to apply, and ask a number of female candidates to appear before the council’s nomina-tion committee.

Needless to say, I do that while never losing sight of quality, and definitely not purely based on the fact that those candidates are women.

3. Ladies,That brings me to an important

point. Like Carly Fiorina from my intro-

duction, the trick is to not wait for others to take action.

We need to step up and take control ourselves, and work on over-coming our pitfalls, and consciously deploy our female qualities.

And more than anything else: make conscious choices.

Evelien Tonkes, Chair of Active Citizenship Studies at the Univer-sity of Amsterdam, described three pitfalls that many women will be familiar with.

I don’t want to keep these from you.

As far as I’m concerned, they not only affect women on their way to the top, but also women in general who are striving to achieve certain goals.

The first pitfall is: Diligently doing your best, and

then just hoping someone notices and rewards you.

Research shows that many women do this.

And that while men are far pushier when it comes to getting ahead.

I mentioned that before. In the world of politics and public

administration this is a very common phenomenon.

The second pitfall: Thinking that you already have to

have mastered a position to be able to fulfil it.

This is what keeps many women from making a promotion, let alone demanding one.

Most men, on the other hand, take it as read that you need a year to master new tasks, and are more than happy to give themselves that time.

That is yet another reason why men are more successful in the labour market.

And the third: Making your way through life

asking questions. Men make statements, in a low

voice. Women ask questions, in a high

voice. Guess what’s more effective?Indeed, the former is considered

more self-assured and has better results.

Ladies,I’m not advocating that we women

should adopt a male strategy. Know your female strength and

use it. Ellen Söentken wrote a very inter-

esting book about this. In her book, she describes a host

of core female qualities, stating that women have an innate ability to:

tempt, mother, tap into emotions, clarify, act, observe intuitively, and give meaning.

Every woman possesses these

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CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS044

qualities to some degree.The problem is that many of these

qualities have a negative ring to them in society.

They are considered faults. Here are two examples:1. Tapping into emotions. Hillary Clinton brushed away a

tear when she lost the Iowa caucuses to Obama.

Bad form, many women said.But the result is what matters. And that result came the next

day; Clinton won the New Hamp-shire primary.

The tear had worked. Human resources consultants say:

men cry during tough talks, over their car, their home, their wife.

Women are good criers, but often fail to cry when that would be expedient.

They save their tears for the ride back home.

2. Another pre-eminently female trait is the ability to clarify matters.

Whenever emotions run high dur-ing a meeting, women can use that talent to settle everyone down.

They tend to be the ones asking: ‘what exactly is the problem?’

But unfortunately, women don’t use their intuition enough, because it is alleged to be unscientific and wrong.

But it does work. Men, on the other hand, call it

people skills, which are generally ac-cepted and widely used.

Women will for example—even when alarm bells are ringing—shy away from confrontation.

Lying, political games, they can see right through it, but they will let it go.

After all, they lack proof, “it’s just a hunch.”

The fact of the matter is that women are more finely tuned when it comes to reading non-verbal commu-nication.

Women have a better developed sense of smell, see more details, are better listeners.

The extent of what women can perceive is just unbelievable, so be

sure to use that tool! Besides using and further develop-

ing our qualities, we must also dare to make choices.

If you really want to achieve something, you must be prepared to accept the consequences, and do so in close consultation with your partner.

In our case, this meant that my husband started working less.

I used to stay in The Hague dur-ing the week, because The Hague was too far from Overijssel for a daily commute.

And besides, during my time as State Secretary, I used to spend 1 week out of every 6 in the Nether-lands Antilles.

All in all, my husband took care of our two daughters most of the time.

I’ve had to learn to partly let go of their upbringing.

That wasn’t easy. Sometimes, when I got home, I

still tended to interfere. My husband and I really talked

this through very well at the time, because his career was going to take a backseat to mine.

You simply cannot want and have everything when you have a family. But I never wanted to fully push my personal life aside for politics.

The trick is to talk things through properly.

You must recognize each other’s singularities and keep doing your own things.

Make sure you keep communicat-ing about that!

4. Ladies,And finally, I would like to put

three things into a different perspec-tive to paint a balanced total picture.

1. I mentioned that female quali-ties are indispensable in modern society.

But we also need decisiveness, guts, action, and structural thought. Qualities that are generally found in men.

We need to work on a situation

where male and female values and qualities are balanced.

We are now seeing the emergence of a new generation of leaders that quite visibly has that balance.

High-profile examples are Obama and Princess Máxima of the Neth-erlands.

2. We will also have to think about our balance in a literal sense.

As women, we sometimes tend to want to be overly caring, and end up overdoing it.

You will probably know the bibli-cal parable of the Good Samaritan.

He is praised for his efforts in helping a man who had been beaten and robbed.

The parable describes what the Samaritan did.

He saw the wounded man lying by the road, felt compassion, went over to the man, dressed his wounds, and took him to an inn.

The Samaritan paid the inn-keeper to ensure the wounded man could stay at the inn until he’d made a fully recovery.

And the Samaritan then contin-ued his journey.

A striking example of love for one’s fellow man!

But also consider what the Samar-itan did not do.

He didn’t take the wounded man back to his own home, to stay in a room he cleared out for him, and he didn’t have his wife cook for him.

And neither did he stay at the inn with the wounded man for a week to take care of him.

He didn’t go after the robbers who had left the man in such a state to retrieve the man’s money.

And he didn’t abort his journey either, but instead continued to where he was headed the next morn-ing.

There are certain things you must do, but many more you should not do!

Otherwise you’re bound to fall victim to a burn-out!

As I mentioned before, I used to stay in The Hague during the week.

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Once you get settled in that environ-ment, there are also lots of things you can do in The Hague on weekends.

But I consciously chose to reserve my weekends for my family as much as possible.

3. And finally—and this may even be my most important message today—stay true to yourself !

At the end of the day, ambition is relative.

If you’re not true to yourself, but

act out a role, you will sooner or later always be exposed.

Stick to what you’re good at and interested in, and really go for it.

I know it’s a cliché, but that’s because it’s so true.

I personally never set out to become a Member of Parliament or State Secretary.

I was just interested in politics and wanted to contribute to shaping our society.

And I just happen to be the kind of person who really sinks her teeth into something.

People notice that. I was a local councillor first, and

was subsequently asked to become a Member of Parliament.

To make a long story short: it fi-nally led to me being in a position to give you the following advice today:

believe in yourself, use your quali-ties, and go for it!

Thank you, Lauri (Fitz-Pegado). It’s a treat to share the stage with a

renowned trade expert. It seems that I’m always running into alumni of the Commerce Department. I tell people to watch out—we’re everywhere.

I want to thank the Council for inviting me, and I look forward to our discussion.

We have come a long way since the economic freefall that we were expe-riencing in late 2008. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month. We’ve now cre-ated 5.1 million new jobs over the past 30 months.

We’ve experienced nearly three years of stable economic growth, but we know that there’s still work to do…

Growth has been steady, but slower than anyone here would like. Unem-ployment has fallen substantially, but is still too high.

The good news is that all the growth forecasts for the next two years suggest that this recovery will accelerate, par-ticularly now that the housing market is showing clear signs of recovery.

That means we’ve reached a moment where we can’t think just about next month or next year. If we care about our nation’s long-term competitiveness, we have to think about policies that will

pay off over the next several years, if not the next several decades.

I’ve spent a lot of time at Commerce thinking about—and talking to various experts about—America’s long-term competitiveness.

Today, I want to talk about one topic that I think is crucial to our competi-tiveness, namely, increasing the level of business investment in the U.S. Business investment can occur in many sectors, but I’ll focus on manufacturing, because outsourcing and lost manufacturing jobs in the U.S. has been such a major public concern over the last two decades.

As you may know, manufacturing has been a particularly bright spot in our recovery—with over half-a-million new jobs in manufacturing since 2009. This is a real turnaround, compared to the previous decade in which we lost six million manufacturing jobs.

America will retain and strengthen its manufacturing base only if we are the global place-to-be for high-end and advanced manufacturing… that is, manufacturing that relies on high-tech new processes or that makes new products. That’s what’s going to keep us both competitive and attractive as a place to invest.

How do we lead the world in

advanced manufacturing? In a word: Innovation.

The president gets it. That’s why this administration has been pursuing mul-tiple policies designed to keep the U.S. at the front end of research and innova-tion…and thereby support American manufacturing.

• This includes working to reverse the erosion we’ve seen since 1980 in federal support for basic R&D, much of which supports our manufacturing base. President Obama set a goal of doubling federal dollars in R&D over five years, and we’ve made a good start on that.

• We’ve also launched the pilot for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation—an effort to speed up the tech transfer process through regional collaborations. I’d be happy to discuss that more in our conversation.

• And the president continues to ad-vocate for investments in infrastructure as well as crucial investments in educa-tion and training to ensure that we have a skilled and flexible workforce.

Better infrastructure, skilled labor, and advanced research and innovation are all critical investments that build a stronger environment for manufacturers to thrive.

And a major reason that these invest-

WINNER: ECONOMICS CATEGORY“Make It in America”

Writer: Nate OsburnSpeaker: Rebecca Blank, Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary

Delivered at: Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 2012

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CICERO SPEECHWRITING AWARDS046

ments are so crucial right now is because I believe that we have a unique op-portunity to attract business investment into the U.S. in the immediate future, particularly in manufacturing. I’d like to focus the rest of my time today talking about that.

There are two parts to increasing business investments in the U.S.:

• One: We want U.S. firms to expand here at home and bring jobs back—sometimes referred to as insourcing or reshoring.

• Two: We want foreign-owned firms to locate their next plant in America through foreign direct investment—FDI.

I’m very optimistic that we will see substantial increases in both of these areas over the next several years.

In my travels both at home and abroad, I frequently ask CEOs and busi-ness owners where they are thinking of making their next investment. I’m hear-ing more and more of them say that the U.S. is where they have to be.

Business leaders list a number of rea-sons for why the U.S. looks so attractive to them right now:

First, our energy outlook is bright. This is crucial for companies that rely on energy for production, including foreign-based manufacturers which have accounted for the largest portion—about 40 percent—of all FDI flow into the U.S. over the last three years.

• We will be meeting more than half of our oil needs with domestic produc-tion by 2014, leading to more stable and lower costs for oil.

• In addition, we have seen a dra-matic, 14-fold increase in natural gas production from shale in recent years. For example, from just 2009 to 2011, Pennsylvania quadrupled its natural gas production.

• So it’s no surprise that natural gas prices overall have dropped fourfold since June 2008. This provides us with an important advantage as our natural gas costs drop relative to other coun-tries. For example, right now natural gas costs in the U.S. are one-quarter of prices of Europe.

• Finally, many alternative energy sources are reaching the tipping point

in terms of cost-benefit, in part due to the fact that we’ve doubled the genera-tion of many renewable energy sources since 2008.

A second area where the U.S. is gain-ing a stronger competitive edge is with labor—in both costs and productivity.

• In recent years, as wages have gone up and the middle class has grown in countries like China, the labor-cost advantages to these countries has dimin-ished.

• At the same time, U.S. manufac-turing workers now produce about 9 percent more each hour than they did before the recession.

• In fact, it’s notable that we’re now seeing increasing investment flows from Asia to the U.S. Asia accounted for less than 4 percent of the entire world’s business investment to the U.S. in 2009… but now it accounts for more than 20 percent

A third major reason why the U.S. is becoming a more attractive invest-ment location is because other devel-oped countries’ economies are looking less robust.

• After the global slowdown, this Ad-ministration took hard steps to put our financial sector and our economy on a stronger footing. Many observers believe that our banks have restructured more fully than in other countries and that our recovery is stronger and more stable.

• In contrast, the Eurozone remains in crisis—the IMF projects a decline in growth this year and only 0.7 percent growth in 2013. Elsewhere, growth is also slowing in countries like China and India.

The list of reasons that CEOs give for investing here is longer still.

• We have a strong rule of law and a good regulatory environment. The U.S. ranks 4th of 183 economies in the World Bank’s Ease-of-Doing Busi-ness Index ...

• The U.S. has the strongest level of intellectual property protection—and our patent system (housed at Com-merce) is only getting better due to the America Invents Act ...

• We have the best universities in the world—producing graduates that drive

entrepreneurship and feed innovation into our private sector ...

And, of course, we have the largest consumer-driven economy in the world.

• On Tuesday, I was at the Virginia plant of STIHL [steel]—the German-based company that makes chainsaws. They have expanded their presence in Virginia Beach in recent years—and hired 50 more workers—largely due to the strong demand from U.S. consumers.

• More than ever before, compa-nies need to be near their customers to respond to their changing tastes and demands. Consumer spending is growing here in the U.S. at a moderate but steady pace—and if the President’s middle-class tax cuts go through—we will ensure that it continues to grow.

Overall, domestically, it’s difficult to track the increased number of U.S. busi-nesses that are engaging in some form of insourcing. We don’t collect that data, but it’s clear that the trend is real.

In January, the president held a sum-mit with about 20 U.S. businesses that are bringing jobs back to America. And, this year, on the pages of major U.S. newspapers, we have seen dozens of feature stories of manufacturers—both U.S. and foreign-based—that are choos-ing to make their products in America.

It’s a little easier to quantify the overall growth in FDI. FDI flows into businesses in the U.S. have jumped from $144 billion in 2009… to $227 billion last year. The U.S. already attracts about one-fifth of all of the FDI flows coming out of other countries—and we want to increase that.

So how do we build on these trends?First, the president has called on

Congress to end tax breaks for compa-nies that ship jobs overseas and—in-stead—give relief to companies that bring jobs back. That’s common sense. It’s something we should all be able to agree on.

Second, we’re implementing a new program at the Commerce Department called SelectUSA, which the President launched last year. SelectUSA’s mis-sion is to promote investment in the U.S. using the full power of the Federal government.

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As the former Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, Lauri will appreciate the fact that SelectUSA involves some of Com-merce’s most dedicated public ser-vants—our commercial service officers around the world.

Traditionally, these staff have been focused on helping U.S. firms export to foreign markets… But now they’re also helping foreign investors who want information about how to invest in the U.S… and who want to link up with local and state economic development leaders to get the deals done. We just finished training the officers who are stationed in the top 25 foreign markets where 90 percent of America’s FDI comes from.

And we can’t stop there. When I was at STIHL on Tuesday,

we announced yet another effort aimed at promoting U.S. investment. Make it in America is a major initiative to give American communities the help they

need to attract businesses.Through the Make it in America

Challenge, the Departments of Com-merce and Labor are teaming up to find communities that are poised to attract a major investment, but just need a little more help to get the deal done:

• Maybe the city needs a better road to an industrial site,

• Maybe manufacturers looking to relocate are asking for better informa-tion and technical assistance,

• Maybe local workers need a tai-lored training program to fill a particu-lar skills gap.

Through this competition, we will evaluate a community’s potential to use these tools and resources to promote insourcing… to attract FDI… and most importantly... to create good jobs. And we’ll fund the best proposals that we receive. All in all, we plan to give up to 15 awards totaling $40 million through this Challenge.

Overall, we’re trying to do everything

we can to give businesses both here and abroad every possible reason to believe that the smart choice is to Make it in America. Or, as we like to say at the Department of Commerce, to “build it here and sell it everywhere.”

These efforts are crucial because we know that when a company builds a new factory here, the likelihood of jobs staying here long-term is very high. And that means a stronger middle class for generations to come.

So let’s take full advantage of this moment.

In the coming years, we have a window of opportunity to ensure that America is home to the most innovative and dynamic businesses in the world—including our manufacturers.

Let’s make sure that the world’s busi-ness leaders—both here and abroad—know that there has never been a better time to invest in the United States.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions and comments.

It’s been called “the natural gas revolu-tion,” the “golden age of gas” and the

“shale gale.”Whatever title we give it, the natural

gas story is being rewritten as I speak. It is developing into a far more compel-ling narrative, one with the potential to change the world for the better.

Thanks to new technology and in-novation, today we can affordably tap into vast fields of tight gas and shale gas embedded in rocks deep in the earth, re-covering a resource that just a few years ago was considered out of reach.

Today I will share with you my view on the implications of the natural gas revolution and the role gas can play in meeting our future energy needs as a “secure, abundant force for good.” I will

also take a look at what our industry and policymakers need to do now to ensure society benefits from this abundant resource for decades to come.

You are all well aware of the scope of the global energy challenge. Our world is headed toward what we at Shell describe as a “zone of uncertainty,” a period of significant stress between en-ergy supply and demand between now and 2050.

Underlying global demand for en-ergy is likely to double or even triple in the first half of this century. The world needs to invest heavily in energy produc-tion, both in traditional sources and in renewables.

Natural gas likely will play a far more significant role in meeting this challenge

than we previously assumed. In fact, this year—for the first time—Shell expects to produce more natural gas than oil.

But while we expect gas to play a larger role in meeting the world’s future energy needs, it’s not entirely clear today how this new story will play out. How will policymakers around the world ad-dress its challenges and opportunities?

Most importantly, can our industry earn the public trust by developing this cleanest fossil fuel responsibly and safely—in a way that protects the envi-ronment and reduces greenhouse gases?

I think we can and will. But we face some hard work ahead.

A secure, abundant force for good First, while we all recognise the signifi-

WINNER: ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY/SUSTAINABILITY CATEGORY“The Natural Gas Revolution: A Secure, Abundant force for Good.”

Writer: Brian. S. AkreSpeaker: Peter Voser, CEO, Royal Dutch Shell

Delivered at: 31st Annual CERAWeek Executive Conference, Houston, Texas, March 7, 2012

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cance of this opportunity, our industry needs to do a better job of convincing the world that natural gas is a force for good.

It’s affordable, it’s clean burning and it benefits the economy. It’s a natural ally to renewables like wind and solar. And its supply is diverse, which enhances energy security.

That last point is particularly signifi-cant here in North America. President Obama recently said the United States could become “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” That’s no exaggeration. But while the potential of the natural gas boom is dramatic, it is just one chap-ter in this evolving story.

The others include: increased oil production from the Gulf of Mexico; potentially huge deposits in Alaska and elsewhere in the Arctic; and the growth in tight oil and heavy oil, including oil sands. Together, these developments promise to dramatically improve the outlook for energy security here and elsewhere around the world.

Production of tight oil in the United States alone has increased five-fold since 2000, helping reverse a nearly 40-year decline in oil production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration re-cently estimated this resource could help increase U.S. oil production by one-fifth in this decade.

And this is not just a North American story. The addition of these resources to the world’s energy bank, especially natural gas, is already changing global energy dynamics.

While the Western Hemisphere will still need to import oil, CERA estimates the need could fall by as much as half in this decade. This will mean less oil from the Middle East and West Africa. That oil will instead flow in increasing volumes to Asia.

As (IHS CERA Chairman) Daniel Yergin has noted, the Western Hemi-sphere is emerging once again as an energy powerhouse. In his words: “Inno-vation is redrawing the map of world oil … and remaking our energy future.”

Global economic impact The growth of the U.S. energy market

also is having a ripple effect, contrib-uting significantly to the economic recovery.

The President, in his recent State of the Union address, noted natural gas activities alone could support more than 600-thousand U.S. jobs by the end of this decade.

The new abundance of gas is helping the United States and other countries rebuild their economies and become more competitive. It’s doing this not only through job creation, but by reduc-ing energy costs and boosting other critical industries, such as chemicals manufacturing.

In fact, several major chemical com-panies have recently announced plans to open or re-open plants in this country, bucking the trend of recent years.

At Shell, we have also been working hard to find other ways to use this abun-dant resource, by investing in the natural gas value chain. Liquefied natural gas for transportation is a great example. LNG holds tremendous promise as a cleaner transport fuel. As an alternative to diesel, it’s a smart way to reduce emis-sions of sulphur-oxides and particulates.

For example, in Singapore and the Dutch port of Rotterdam we are look-ing at opportunities to use LNG as a marine fuel. In western Canada, Shell’s preparing to make LNG available this year to fleet operators along the busy truck route from Calgary to Edmonton.

We will install a small-scale gas-liq-uefaction plant in Alberta and dispense LNG at Shell/Flying J truck stops throughout western Canada. Drawing on the region’s natural gas to produce the LNG, we believe fleets on this route could see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 20 percent on a well-to-wheels basis.

We are also investigating ways to use LNG as a transport fuel in the rail and mining sectors, as well as in oil and gas drilling. And natural gas can provide a cleaner source of electricity than coal for the world’s growing fleet of electric vehicles, which would further reduce many countries’ need to import oil.

Another example of the expanding value chain is gas-to-liquids technology,

which transforms natural gas into high-er-value liquid fuels and chemicals. Shell is a pioneer and leader in GTL technol-ogy, with a track record of research and production going back four decades.

Last year, we opened the world’s largest GTL plant in Qatar. The Pearl GTL plant produces GTL gasoil, a clean-burning diesel-type automotive fuel; GTL kerosene that can be used for jet fuel; and a variety of chemical feedstocks for lubricants, detergents and petrochemicals.

We think GTL technology could make a lot of sense in North America. It would further reduce the need for imported oil while deriving greater value from this region’s natural gas resources.

Safety & Environmental Issues So, yes, there are a lot of positives about the gas revolution. But, as you know, we face serious issues around the safety and environmental impact of developing these resources. This has generated increased public scep-ticism.

Many of those who live in areas where natural gas is being developed worry that modern production tech-niques will harm their environment and endanger their health. The irony, of course, is that those tech-niques are tried and tested—they are what have made the abundance of gas possible.

And, yes, not all of the concern and criticism is based on facts or rational argument. But it is our real-ity, and these concerns need to be addressed.

And let’s be honest: As an indus-try, we have not always done our best to engage in the public debates about these issues. This has resulted in some misconceptions taking root, especially about the impact of hy-draulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

We need to do a better job of listening and responding. To this end, Shell last year announced five operating principles for our onshore tight oil and gas operations. These provide a framework for protecting water, air, wildlife and the communi-

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ties in which we operate. We have invited comment on

these principles, and we are commit-ted to support regulations consistent with them. Our hope is they can be applied over time to all tight oil and gas operations around the world.

To that end, the U.S. Energy Secretary’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee (on which Mr. Yergin sat) examined potential measures to ensure public safety and protect the environment in shale gas produc-tion. As it notes in a recent report, “a prudent balance between devel-opment and environmental protec-tion is best struck by establishing a strong foundation of regulation and enforcement.”

The fact is hydraulic fracturing has been performed more than 1.1 mil-lion times in the United States alone over the past 60 years. Documented instances of freshwater contamina-tion have been extremely rare.

When problems have occurred, they were simply due to poorly de-signed wells. When a well is designed and constructed correctly, ground-water will not be contaminated.

As an industry, we should insist on strong regulation and enforcement to ensure everyone in the industry does the job right.

We also support President Obama’s call for regulation to disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids. Indeed, we support regulations to promote transparency and public engagement by the tight and shale gas industry in relation to all of its activities.

In the United States, Shell already publicly discloses its fracturing fluid chemicals through the FracFocus on-line registry to the extent permitted under our supplier contracts.

Another major public concern about hydraulic fracturing is exces-sive water use. Sound operational practices can keep water consump-tion to a minimum. We design our operations to reduce the amount of drinkable water we use. Wherever practical, we use non-potable water

and recycle water from our opera-tions.

That said, it can take twice the amount of fresh water to extract shale gas than conventional gas. But this is not the whole story.

The extraction phase only ac-counts for a small fraction of the total amount of water used to gener-ate power. Studies done by Harvard and MIT researchers show the water intensity of shale gas ranks among the lowest of all fuel sources. Across the life cycle, shale gas-fired power consumes only half the volume of fresh water per megawatt hour con-sumed by coal and nuclear.

At our operations in Groundbirch in Canada and Pinedale, Wyoming (USA), Shell re-uses gas-processing water for hydraulic fracturing, re-ducing water use by half.

A third area of concern is green-house gas emissions, especially methane, from shale gas production. Some environmental groups that once supported switching from coal to gas for electricity generation are no longer doing so over concerns about methane leakage.

This is an issue we need to take seriously.

This controversy was sparked by a couple of well-publicised studies that we believe greatly exaggerated the emissions released during the production and distribution of shale gas. They also overlooked the steps the industry takes to contain the amount of methane released during production.

The International Energy Agency found on a well-to-burner basis, emissions from shale gas exceed those of conventional gas by as little as 3.5 percent in the best-case sce-nario and by 12 percent in the worst.

At Shell we manage our opera-tions to keep emissions to the lower number. It is obviously in our eco-nomic interest to capture as much gas as possible. We know methane releases can be significantly reduced by using proven technologies. For example, at Pinedale, we installed a

system to help us stop methane leaks detected with an infrared camera.

But clearly more research and hard data are needed to understand the true extent of methane releases from the natural gas industry. To that end, Shell is among operators working with the Environmental Defense Fund to accurately measure methane emissions from natural gas production here in the United States.

It’s also important to remember overall greenhouse gas emissions from shale gas-fired power are still only around half of those from coal, across the lifecycle from production to use.

Conclusion In summary, the gas revolution

offers the world a tremendous op-portunity to help meet the growing demand for affordable energy in the coming decades. At the same time, it offers the fastest and cheapest route to reduce power-sector emissions of CO2 significantly.

These gas resources , combined with new oil opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico, in Arctic Alaska and in deposits of liquid-rich shale and heavy oil, mean North America is positioned to become far more energy secure than it has been in decades.

This growth in the energy sector, especially the abundance of afford-able natural gas, is leading to a re-birth of the petrochemicals industry while helping to make this region’s manufacturing industries more com-petitive globally.

The scale of the gas revolution makes it vital that the public discus-sion and policymaking be based on hard facts and rigorous analysis.

There are environmental and operational challenges associated with the production of tight and shale gas. But our industry has the expertise to effectively deal with these challenges, especially if we are governed by well-targeted and robustly enforced regulations.

It’s time we address these issues

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and get the word out that natural gas is a secure, abundant force for good. As an industry, we need to listen and respond to public concerns, to become more transparent about our operations, to build trust.

And we need to cooperate with government and non-governmental organisations that have a stake in de-veloping this resource the right way.

Finally, it’s time to ensure the

work of each and every operator is done to the highest standards. The reality is the lowest performer in our industry sets the standard by which we are all judged.

This “gas revolution,” this “gold-en age of gas,” this “shale gale” is the best, most promising opportunity we have today to make substantial progress towards a cleaner, more secure, more abundant and more

affordable energy supply.The story is being rewritten now.

But how the final chapters play out will be based not on what we say here today, but on what we do in the months and years ahead.

Our industry has the talent, the experience and the capability to do the job right. It’s time we make it happen. I’m confident we will.

Thank you.

Family and friends, members of the American Academy of Pediatrics,

ladies and gentlemen: I have chosen to deviate somewhat from the traditional President’s plenary address, usually focused on an update of the many accomplishments of our AAP during the past year. Although I will speak to a few of the many issues needing our attention as an Academy, I will initially focus primarily on a concept I introduced at our Annual Leadership Forum, the Pediatric Academic Societ-ies’ meeting, and in a speech to the American Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs.

During those presentations, I dis-cussed the many opportunities available to pediatricians, retaining our common interest in children whether we pursue primary care practice, subspecialty practice, research, hospital-based pe-diatrics, academic pediatrics, or other opportunities. However, regardless of our professional pathways, all of us, I said, have the Soul of a Pediatrician. Today I have the privilege of explain-ing my meaning. If we discuss the soul in a context of spirituality, we must first define spirituality. Phrases I’ve found to define my intent in a context that does not intrude on personal religions

include the following:• From Philip Sheldrake: spirituality

is the essence of being—deepest values and meanings by which people live.

• From Kees Waaijman: a source of inspiration or orientation in life.

• And, from the Dalai Lama: love, compassion, patience, tolerance, for-giveness, contentment, responsibility, harmony and a concern for others.

I believe it is our ongoing concern for others, for children and their families, that serves us well as an introduction to “soul.” Our concern is reflected, and our soul is defined as:

• The emotional part of human na-ture—the seat of feelings or sentiments.

• The ultimate internal principle by which we think, feel, and will.

• The principle of life, feeling, thought and action.

• And the core, the heart and the spirit of who we are.

Why is this important? If we are to succeed in our advocacy for chil-dren… their health and well-being…we must—regardless of our varied voca-tional choices—recognize the sometimes tumultuous and ever-present change affecting our work and our lives. As first mentioned in a speech to the section on the diseases of children during an AMA

meeting in 1898, J.P. Crozer Griffith, a leading pediatrician and textbook author of the day, remarked:

“Now, what a change! How the profession throughout the country is awakening to the demands of the times!” As I said last year in Boston, during one of my most exciting and humbling professional moments—my first speech as AAP President—we must recognize change, and we must manage that change—a concept I first learned from a recent former AAP President, Dr. Judy Palfrey. It is up to us to reunify the profession of pediat-rics. I believe it is our collective soul that will enable us to retain our focus on infants, children, adolescents and young adults, regardless of our identi-fication as a generalist, a subspecialist, or whatever it may be. After all, we are pediatricians, and we are fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics. I also wish to acknowledge the many other health professionals who work alongside pediatricians, contributing to our goal of supporting and improv-ing child health.

Allow me to share a few thoughts that help to explain soul, gleaned from the writings of others. A name many of you will recognize is Theodor Billroth,

WINNER: HEALTHCARE CATEGORY“The Soul of a Pediatrician”

Writers: Robert W. Block, MD, and Crystal A. MilazzoSpeaker: Robert W. Block, MD

Delivered to: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012 National Conference and Exhibition, New

Orleans, La., Oct. 20, 2012

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whose words come from his Lectures on Surgical Pathology and Therapeutics:

“Let what you observe penetrate your inmost soul, let it so warm and replenish you that your thoughts constantly refer to it, and then you will find true pleasure and delight in your intellectual labors.”

I hope all of us, as pediatricians, and as our colleagues, find “pleasure and de-light” in the work we share. Perhaps we can even include pleasure and delight in our evolving understanding of soul.

Another medical professional, C. Jeff Miller, writing in the 1931 journal, Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics: “Body and soul cannot be separated for purposes of treatment, for they are one and indivisible. The cure—which really means the CARE—of the sick, the relief of suffering, the salvation of life, these are the high aims of the medical profession.” I believe it is our care, and our caring, that helps define the soul of a pediatrician.

I will next borrow a thought from a nineteenth century British writer and social thinker, John Ruskin. His words have helped me understand the mean-ing of soul.

He wrote, “The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” Let’s think about that as pediatricians. It’s not what we receive for our work—but what we become by doing that work well. One of the most important aspects of the work we do every day is listening.

For many years my experiences with leadership have been fueled by some-thing I read in Stephen Covey’s first Sev-en Habits book. He wrote, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” In addition, Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “It is the province of knowledge to speak. And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” The soul of a pediatrician cre-ates a special capacity for us to listen to the voices of children, and—on a daily basis—to the concerns of parents and others who count on us to hear those concerns and to act on them. As we think about listening, and our work, our toil, let’s also focus on those who benefit from our work—our patients, our chil-dren. I think it’s appropriate to assist our

focus with a quote from Theodor Geisel. Who better to teach us about children than Dr. Seuss?!

In 1958, Dr. Seuss wrote, “A child is the last container of a sense of humor, which disappears as he gets older and he laughs only according to the way the boss, society, politics or the race want him to. Then he becomes an adult. And an adult is an obsolete child.”

The quote from Dr. Seuss provides a segue to an important theme I have been reciting at every opportunity during the past couple of years. Many of you now know this by heart: Al-though, in spite of our best efforts, not every child becomes an adult. But it is certainly true that every adult once was once a child.

Who we are as adults, the status of our health as adults, is significantly related to our ecology, our biology, and our social, physical, and cogni-tive development during early child-hood. As we learn to recognize and teach the rapidly evolving science that underscores the need to think beyond advocacy to economics, policy, and system development, by emphasizing children’s health—the return on invest-ment for investing appropriately in our young children will allow us to do what we must do: manage change!

Dr. Alan Gutmacher, director of the NICHD, The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, recently said, “When you become 18, 0r 21, or 30, you don’t get a new passport to health.” Alan knows the evolving science. He knows that a young adult enters this phase of life with his or her brain, indeed the entire body, reflecting the health, education and well-being of all his or her ecology, social conditions, and life experiences through the previous years already determining the path of subsequent adult life.

This is the reason EBCD, Early Brain and Child Development—at-tention to early and subsequent brain and body development—is so vitally important, not only because caring for ALL children is the right thing to do; but because it’s the BEST thing

we can do to protect the forerunners of lifetime health and well-being. It’s the only thing that universally impacts all components of health care. It’s the answer to our troubled economy, so entangled in a health cost system that rewards fixing things that could have been so easily prevented.

Are you thinking something like, certainly everyone knows this. Cer-tainly the concept of the importance of children is a common thread running through everything we do. Do you really think so? During the last several months when this country has focused on the upcoming presidential election, how many times have you heard, from either party, the words “child” or “children?” I am not encouraging advocacy at this point. I am pointing out that other countries have moved from advocacy to important and significant policies, and the United States must not only follow, but lead, if we expect to realize a future led by healthy, well educated, civil, and cooperative leaders.

At this point, let’s revert back to tradition as I speak about a few accom-plishments of our AAP during the past year that underscore our attention to the lifelong importance of early, compre-hensive, pediatric care:

As pediatricians, we know the important role that safe, stable and nurturing relationships play in build-ing healthy brains. For better or worse, plasticity makes the developing brain exquisitely sensitive to early experienc-es. Brain development is also a cumula-tive process, with simple connections and circuits forming the foundation for more complex pathways and behaviors down the road. That is why the AAP has designated Early Brain and Child Development…or EBCD…as one of the strategic priorities in our Agenda for Children.

EBCD, for example, was a featured issue at the 2012 Annual Leadership Forum and Chapter Advocacy Sum-mit. Feedback from these sessions indicated that the EBCD message resonated, but that more information and tools were needed to assist with actually implementing it. Letters were

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sent to committee, section and council chairs as well as AAP chapter leader-ship encouraging them to put EBCD on their respective agendas. Our EBCD Leadership Workgroup suggested how EBCD principles could be incorporated into the Bright Futures guidelines. Our new EBCD website is anticipated to be up and running by the middle of next month. And, next year’s Pediatrics for the 21st Century program will focus on EBCD. The symposium…titled “Early Brain and Child Development, Healthy Adaptations to Stress and Life Course Trajectories” …will take place immedi-ately preceding the 2013 AAP NCE on Friday October 25 in Orlando.

Another significant accomplish-ment this year was the January 2012 publication of the policy statement and technical report on early child-hood adversity…toxic stress…and the need for pediatric leadership in the Medical Home and beyond. The documents were jointly developed by our Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health…Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption, and Dependent Care…and Section on Developmental and Behav-ioral Pediatrics, in collaboration with Dr. Jack Shonkoff. They are intended to serve as a framework for a broad, transformational vision…and provide the basic science of toxic stress and its inherent application to pediatrics. The statement and report were widely cov-ered by the media…and well received by professionals in many fields that work with young children.

We’ve also officially launched the new Head Start National Center on Health in partnership with the U.S. Administration for Children and Families. Since receiving funding last October, we’ve developed more than 95 training programs and technical as-sistance resources for Head Start health managers and family members aimed at improving the health outcomes of children in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. These materials cover a broad range of health and safety topics, and include formats such as webinars, training curricula, practice guides, fact

sheets and e-newsletters. A second strategic priority…epi-

genetics…was added to our Agenda for Children in recognition of the interplay between genes and the environment…and the impact such interplay has on child health. It’s important that we capi-talize on this increased understanding so that medicine tailored to an individual’s unique genetic traits and needs can be-come the standard of care. To that end, the AAP has established the “Genetics in Primary Care Institute” to increase primary care provider knowledge and skills in providing genetic-based services. The Institute…a 3-year cooperative agreement with the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau…has three components: a quality improvement project…systems and policy develop-ment…and continuing medical educa-tion and training.

And this is just a start. Institute offer-ings you can expect to hear more about in the coming months include a primary care quality improvement project…a new public website where you can access information, tools and resources…and a summer 2013 conference on integrating genetics, genomics and epigenetics in primary care.

A third area where the Academy has called attention to the importance of early, comprehensive pediatric care is in the federal and state-level advo-cacy arenas. The Affordable Care Act became law in March 2010 and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2012. The AAP supports the law for all it does for children and pediatri-cians, which includes addressing the Academy’s three over-arching priorities of providing health care coverage for all U.S. children…age-appropriate benefits in a medical home…and access to vital health services through appropriate payment rates and workforce improve-ments. We continue to work with the Administration, AAP members and chapters at the state and local level to ensure that the law is implemented to provide the best possible outcomes for children and pediatricians.

The ACA also includes a critical provision to increase Medicaid payment

for primary care services to Medicare levels for calendar years 2013 and 2014. This federally-funded increase will bring Medicaid payment up to more appropriate levels…and should lead to improved access to care for Medicaid patients across the country. The Acad-emy worked hard to secure this parity provision in the ACA…and to ensure the proposed rule applies this pay-ment increase to primary care services provided by specialists and subspecial-ists, and includes a number of pediatric services not recognized for payment by Medicare. This is an important provi-sion of the ACA, and we’ll continue to work with our state chapters to ensure its implementation.

In another federal level effort, we advocated strongly for the passage of the final FDA user fee bill, which renews and strengthens three essential laws to improve the safety and effectiveness of pediatric drugs and medical devices used in children: the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act…the Pediatric Research Equity Act…and the Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act. The final package included hard-fought pediatric provisions, negotiated after diligent advocacy by pediatricians and Academy staff.

Our AAP chapters are equally ar-dent advocates for early, comprehensive pediatric care at the state level. Last year at this time, for example, we cele-brated the Florida Chapter’s success in suing the state over its new law restrict-ing pediatricians from asking about firearms in the home. A U.S. district judge granted a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of that law this past summer, citing it as unconstitution-al. In her ruling, the judge sided with the AAP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians…ruling that the law interfered in the patient-physician relationship by limiting practitioners’ ability to counsel patients and their families on the importance of storing firearms safely. The judge also ruled that the law harmed patients by impos-ing restrictions that prevent them from hearing important preventive health

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messages from their physicians. The state has since appealed the

decision. The Brady Campaign and their associated legal counsel stand ready to fight the appeal, and we’ll be closely watching this case that has implications for all pediatricians and their First Amendment rights to exchange information with patients about gun safety.

The last area of accomplishment I wanted to mention this morn-ing is our work related to disaster preparedness. Many of you in this room can attest to the extraordinary efforts you’ve taken to protect chil-dren during or after a disaster. You can also attest to the fact that, in general, children’s unique needs are often overlooked in such situations. That is why I’m pleased to report that the Academy and our Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council are making strides in ensuring that chil-dren’s basic needs are attended to in disasters and their aftermath.

Earlier this year, AAP leaders and staff met with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials to discuss ways we can work together to ensure the basic needs of disaster victims are met. For children, this starts with ensuring that each child has a safe physical environment, food, and safe drinking water. Other issues we discussed are the importance of keep-ing families together and striving for family reunification plans…and the importance of preparedness in child care facilities and schools.

We also are extremely pleased that key federal agencies, such as the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Pre-paredness and Response…the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-tion…FEMA…and others…have appointed members of the Academy into key disaster preparedness and response positions.

Obviously, these are but a few examples of the Academy’s many accomplishments that reflect not only our recognition of the rapidly chang-ing environment in which today’s

children live…but also our intents and efforts to manage that change. Perhaps even more important, they reflect our care…our caring…and our fervent desire that, one day, there will be no such thing as an adult who is only an “obsolete child,” but adults who will be healthier and who will enjoy a greater sense of well-being, because our collective pediatric soul convinced our nation’s leaders to invest in the resource most likely to create the greatest return on investment—our children.

I will close with a few important words of gratitude. I have previously thanked my family for their love and support—because if I first expressed the depth of my appreciation right here, I might not be able to continue. My wife, Sharon, my daughters Erika and Andrea, and their husbands Mike and Matt are here today. Please join me in recognizing their important role in supporting my year as your president

Additional thanks go to our AAP Executive Committee: Drs. Errol Alden, Tom McInerny and Marion Burton and to Roger Suchyta who keeps us all on track. I offer a heart-felt thank you, and congratulations on so many jobs well done, to the wonderful, intelligent, industrious, and always available AAP staff, including the 425 or so folks in Elk Grove Village who manage every detail necessary to support the leader-ship and our many, many member volunteers. I have been constantly amazed at the talent and work ethic displayed by our staff in Washington, DC. They have supported me and taught me everything from how to testify before a Senate Committee to how to manage a Twitter account!

You may have read my advice for our next president, Tom McIn-erny, in our AAP News. I advised him to “relish the opportunities,” as his year will unfold before him as my year has done, exposing us to the full panoply of AAP activities designed to support children and our fellow pediatricians. One of the most enjoyable opportunities I’ve

experienced has been the chance to meet so many AAP members, from residents and young physicians to our senior pediatricians.

To recap; we have work to do. We must manage change; recognize the power of the soul of a pediatrician; continue our advocacy for children’s health and well-being; and teach the importance of the “all adults once were children” introduction to lifes-pan health.

Above all, we must continue to remind all who will listen, and all who should be listening, about the need for this nation to reject our current status, reflected in child poverty, in health disparities, and in lackluster education. We must re-mind them also about the need for increased attention to the eco-bio-developmental model of childhood as a foundation for a healthier and more productive country.

To borrow from President Ken-nedy, who said in 1963, “The needs of children should not be made to wait. We can say with some assur-ance that, although children may be the victims of fate, they will not be the victims of our neglect.” Yet, I’m not comfortable with our last 50-years’ record of concern for children. Have they really escaped becoming victims of our neglect? Our children are important rep-resentatives of the future of our nation, and of the world. As we must recognize their value to us now and far into the continuing development of the human race, so must we protect and nurture them today and every day. It will be the voice of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the soul of each and every pediatrician that will combine to continue the essential message—We are dedicated to the health of all children.

Thank you all for the life-changing opportunity given to me; and thank you for continuing the soul-driven work we do so that our children will someday soon reflect success, health, and happiness.

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I’d like to thank NVTC for consider-ing me a titan of technology, and

thank all of you for being here this morning. Two weeks ago, I began Booz Allen’s earnings call by referring back to my remarks in February about an eventful winter quarter. On May 30th, reporting on the spring quarter, I said: “The adventure continues.”

Certainly all of us in the Washing-ton area, all of us who serve the U.S. federal government, are navigating white-water conditions today. And we see even bigger rapids ahead—with the debt ceiling, presidential elections, and prospect of sequestration before us. These are challenging times to say the least. But, most of us here have met challenges before—and don’t shy from adventure.

This morning I’d like to share some adventure stories with you, and offer my perspective on leading through dramatic change. I trust there will be ideas relevant to your own leadership challenges—and I’d be happy to take your questions at the end. Q and A really is my favorite part, so please jot down some questions.

I’ll start with a “Cliff ’s Notes version” of some major milestones of the past decade and a half. The external events you’ll recognize, of course. And, then I’ll talk about the concept and practice of “leading from the center” and how I believe that can provide both a way to navigate through dramatic change and a way to maintain the essential elements that you don’t want to change.

As noted in the program, I’ve been Chairman and CEO of Booz Allen since 1999. I had been with the firm for 25 years in line management roles

in both our government and com-mercial businesses when I became CEO, and had had the opportunity to serve on Booz Allen’s Board almost continuously since the early 80s. So, I guess you could say I’m a proponent of “inside” CEOs—something I’ve thought about a lot lately, as it seems that barely a week goes by that an-other company in our industry names a new leader.

When I became CEO, Booz Al-len was a private company with two distinct segments, and most of the partner-shareholders were in the commercial management consult-ing business. I had most recently led the government technology business. Both businesses were growing, and our biggest challenge at the time was the so-called “war for talent,” especially among young people who saw more excitement and earnings from riding the dot-com boom than in coming to work for a traditional professional services firm. I remember speaking to the MBA class at the University of Chicago in 2000, looking out on t-shirts that read, “Will work for equity.”

A year later, the bottom fell out. In rapid succession, the dot-com bust, Enron and Worldcom scandals, and a global recession battered our com-mercial consulting business. And then, September 11th. Booz Allen lost three employees who were working at the Pentagon with our Army client. I’ll never forget the memorial service we held in our auditorium– many of us struggling to speak through tears… and the immense sadness, disbelief, and fear we all felt. Coming out of that tragic loss—Booz Allen, like many of your companies, worked to

help safeguard our nation, to improve homeland security against terrorist threats. As the decade went on, we responded to a growing threat of a dif-ferent kind: in cyberspace.

Internally, during this time, Booz Allen grew rapidly– our revenue shot upwards and we sustained a com-pound annual growth rate in the high-teens for the first decade of the 21st century. I saw an opportunity to real-ize a dream I’d had for a long time—to bring Booz Allen’s two business sectors together to gain the synergies of the “power of both”– internally within the firm and externally in the marketplace. We called this strategy, the “One Firm Evolution.”

It turned out that “One Firm” wasn’t meant to be. Growth was faster by an order of magnitude in Booz Allen’s government technology busi-ness, and the differential growth rate compared to our commercial manage-ment consulting business, the different economic and people models, and a cultural divide between the sectors came to a tipping point.

The inability to bridge this cultural divide was the biggest surprise and les-son learned for me—it’s the ultimate reason the One Firm strategy didn’t work. I was convinced that the part-ners would clearly see the competitive and financial advantages of bringing all of our service offerings to all of our clients. But our commercial leaders didn’t want the firm to be larger and more successful, if it meant dilut-ing their vision of being boardroom strategists.

The answer was to get back to our center, and at that point in our his-tory—we had two centers. The forces

WINNER: LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT CATEGORY“Leading from the Center”

Writer: Marie LerchSpeaker: Ralph W. Shrader, Chairman, President and CEO, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

Delivered to: Northern Virginia Technology Council “Titans of Technology” event, McLean, Va., June 13, 2012

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pulling the sectors apart were stron-ger than the historical ties holding us together.

It became clear that our best path forward was a “de-merger.” And, in 2008, 99.76 percent of shares were cast in favor of separation. Because the market value of our firm was concen-trated in the much-larger government business, while two-thirds of the owner-ship was concentrated in the commer-cial business, the government partners could not afford or borrow enough to buy out the commercial partners on their own. We needed a financial part-ner—and we found an exceptional one in The Carlyle Group, which remains our majority shareholder today.

In November 2010, we filed for our initial public offering. I’m happy to say with much less fanfare, and much more smoothly, than Facebook. Today, Booz Allen is a Fortune 500 NYSE-listed company. We were named in February of this year to Fortune’s list of “The World’s Most Admired Companies,” and our May 30, 2012 earnings call was our sixth straight quarter of top and bottom line growth since our IPO.

Nonetheless, like many of your com-panies, we are today facing the most challenging market conditions since I took office as CEO thirteen years ago. This past January, as you may have read in the press, the Booz Allen Leadership Team made the difficult—and important—decision to reduce our senior and middle management ranks and take significant cost out of our overhead. In the month of January, we cut our headcount by approximately 2 percent overall, which included deeper cuts on the order of 10 percent, in our senior and middle management ranks and in our internal operations. These changes were not easy, and I assure you, they were not undertaken lightly. The hardest thing any of us has to do in our jobs is to tell a long-serving partner or hard-working staff member there is no longer a position in the firm for them.

The cost reductions have given us greater flexibility—and very impor-tantly—they have freed up investment

money for us to put into areas we believe have strong potential for future growth. These growth areas include: our health market area and our new commercial and international business-es that we launched last summer, after the end of the three- year non-compete agreement with our spin-off company.

We’re also investing in cross-cutting functional capabilities where we see growth opportunities—specifically in cyber, cloud-based services, engineering services, and enterprise effectiveness and efficiency.

As I look back on the boom times and hard times—and think about what works—the key has been holding and leading from the center.

So… what do I mean by “leading from the center”? I’m an engineer by training, and envision a gyroscope as my mental image of leading from the center. As external conditions spin and swing, the center of the gyroscope—the “rotor” as it’s called—remains balanced and in control. The opposite image to me, is that of a windsock. I believe it’s essential in times of dra-matic change—in stormy conditions, if you will—to stay centered, not to shift to-and-fro with the wind.

As with the war on talent during the dotcom era, boom times have chal-lenges too. Whether racing to keep up with 20 percent growth, or grinding out the 4.8 percent growth we reported this past fiscal year—it’s important to hold to the center of what is essential and differentiated—while being agile to seize the opportunities and meet the challenges of the future.

For Booz Allen, the center of our gyroscope is a circle with four quad-rants: Client Service, Core Mission, Core Values, and Culture.

First, let me talk about client service. Booz Allen serves clients, we don’t sell to customers. That may sound like a semantic distinction, but it goes to the very core of what we are. We don’t use the term ‘customer’– you won’t hear it from a Booz Allen person or find it on our website. In addition to the way our management consulting heritage has taught us view to our clients, it also has

taught us to ask probing questions. It’s a fundamentally different way to

approach a client problem. Before we start on an assignment, we ponder this: is the client asking the right questions? If we think “perhaps not,” we raise the possibility of a different viewpoint with the client. And, once agreed on the way forward, Booz Allen people are pas-sionate about client success.

Second, Core Mission. There are essential missions that government agencies and commercial companies need to do—their reason for being. For NSA the core mission is code-making and code-breaking… For NIH, the core mission is healthcare… for the FBI—law enforcement… and for financial services companies—it’s the protection of assets and transactions. This is important work, and in these lean times, we believe clients will priori-tize to spend their funds on their core mission rather than peripheral support roles. And, we believe clients will pay for quality—not look for the lowest-cost provider—when it comes to work that supports their core mission.

Next, Core Values. Booz Allen’s core values form the basis of everything we do. The origins of Booz Allen’s commitment to ethics trace back to the 1930s, when one of our founders, Carl Hamilton wrote the firm’s first formal code of ethics. By codifying our com-mitment to integrity and values, he set the course for the firm’s focus on ethics, integrity, and professionalism. Booz Allen Hamilton was one of the first organizations in the United States to adopt a formal statement of its business ethics, which translates into the ten 10 Core Values we live by today: (client service, excellence, teamwork, fairness, respect, diversity, entrepreneurship, professionalism, integrity, and trust).

And, the final quadrant is culture. Our collaborative culture is defined by teamwork and reinforced by a com-mon bonus structure, and it extends to a strong spirit of service to clients and community. Culture is more important than ever—and maintaining and evolv-ing our culture is harder today. We’re a big company—25,000 people, and

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many of our staff members work at the client’s site.

Over the past few years, we’ve dispersed our employees, reducing the size of our once mega-headquarters campus in Tysons Corner, VA while opening and enlarging other offices closer to where our employees live and work. The reduced commute is good for our people and good for the planet—but having employees further apart, hoteling staff to better utilize our facilities, and supporting the growing interest in telework—makes it harder to connect and inculturate, especially new people.

In hindsight, we initially focused too much on the facilities and tech-nology requirements for hoteling, and not enough on the people and cultural dimensions at our center. Booz Allen has a very collaborative, team-oriented way of working, and our most effective means of develop-ing people is through an apprentice model. So, we have to pay a lot more attention to helping managers and staff connect, collaborate, learn, and grow in a distributed environment. We’re working hard on that.

Recognizing that it is inherently more stressful to work in times of lean budgets and slower growth—we are redoubling efforts to connect with our people at all levels. This year, ev-ery senior manager and leader—what we refer to as our “top 2000” has an explicit people commitment to en-hance connection and understanding of our culture. On Monday of this week, as part of my people commit-ment, I hosted a town hall that had both a live audience and was webcast to thousands of employees.

Leading from the center around client service, core mission, core values, and culture has served Booz Allen well for 98 years. In the past 13 years that I’ve led the firm, we’ve seen markets boom and bust, we’ve changed our ownership structure, and spun off a historical part of our business—but our central precepts as an institution have not changed.

The present market environment

is challenging for us, as I know it is for many of you. Budgets are lean—and unpredictable. Large companies in general, and government contrac-tors in particular, are often cast as the bad guy.

The procurement process has changed, and in many ways not for the better. Technical clients whose missions we support are less and less in the driver’s seat when it comes to decisions about contracting. And the current emphasis on “Low Price Technically Acceptable” awards, I believe does not provide government clients with the best solution or best value. When inappropriately ap-plied to challenging mission-critical problems, this method of contracting inevitably leads to minimally-accept-able solutions with significant mission risk, and reduced innovation.

We need to find a better balance because it is innovation and creative solutions that will lead to improve-ments in quality and true long-term costs savings for our clients. Cost is an issue for everyone, and Booz Allen is committed to always deliver value to clients in excess of our fees. I’m con-vinced there are ways to make smart cuts, and there are opportunities for us to help our clients make smart cuts that still preserve their important missions.

Today’s market challenges are sig-nificant, but they are not insurmount-able—not to Booz Allen, and not to your companies. We need to look for shared solutions, not opposition and blame.

The political rhetoric in Washington and the culture of frustration among vocal elements of our citizens obscure this fundamental reality: Government, industry, and employees are on the same team, facing the same challenges. We are working toward the same goals on missions that matter—missions that matter to our nation’s security, health and safety, and economic prosperity.

Collaboration on the part of our industry is essential. Booz Allen has teamed with many of you—large busi-nesses and small businesses—and we

continually seek opportunities to work together. When we compete, we want to compete in a way that reflects well on our individual companies and our industry as a whole. When we deliver quality and value, it serves our clients well and serves our contractor commu-nity well.

Organizations like NVTC play an important role. I’m especially proud of the pro-bono work that Booz Allen co-led with a consortium of 17 NVTC members to identify process and technology improvements for Arlington National Cemetery.

Looking ahead, I’m excited about Booz Allen’s opportunities—both in our core federal government market and our growing commercial and international businesses. I believe our success lies in being essential and dif-ferentiated—and that we will achieve that success by leading from the center, focusing on client service, core mission, core values, and culture.

We know it won’t be easy. Our CFO Sam Strickland said on our earnings call two weeks ago, “There’s probably not a company or country in the world today that wouldn’t wish for a bit less excitement.”

In that regard, I’d like to close with a quote from one of my favorite books, Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Having faced too much adventure already, and worried about what peril the future holds, the Hobbit Frodo says to the wizard Gandalf: “I wish it need not have happened in my time.”

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Hobbits didn’t have a gyro-scope with them on Middle Earth, but Gandalf ’s wise advice gave Frodo the perspective to navigate the challenges ahead and stay the true course.

Colleagues, these are turbulent times. These are the times that are given to us, and there’s no question that it’s our time to lead—to lead from the center.

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Hello and welcome. I’m Randy Frazee, the Senior Minister at

Oak Hills Church. We’re excited that you’ve taken the next step in finding out what it means to be a member of our community. I’d like to begin by exploring God’s grand story. You see, God’s been writing a story since the beginning of time. His story has a purpose but he’s not finished writing it yet, and everyone has a part in it. We want to help you discover your part in this story and your role here at Oak Hills Church.

But first I’m going to take you across the world to Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is a small land locked country in West Africa, the world’s third least developed nation. Gaining access to clean water has been a chal-lenge for the people of Burkina Faso for a long time. Take, for instance, the village of Salipour. The 600 residents of this small village have never tasted or even seen clean water before. The only water they have access to is dirty runoff from creeks during the rainy season. When those places dry up, their only other option is to walk six miles to the nearest water source, which is a large pond.

Things changed dramatically for Salipour when the first deep water well was drilled in the village.

This well provides all the villag-ers with a clean source of water and will literally save them hours of time they used to spend retrieving it. This well is just one of many wells trans-forming the lives of individuals by providing access to clean water. To date, over 75 wells have been drilled, with each supporting on average 400 people. That’s 30,000 people who now have access to clean water in

just less than two years. This has also opened amazing doors for sharing the Gospel. As a result, many thousands of people have not only received the gift of clean water, but they have heard and experienced the Living Water of Jesus Christ.

Now, let’s go back to the western hemisphere so I can tell you about the Miskito people. The Miskito are an indigenous tribe that has lived along the Nicaragua’s Rico Coco River since the 1800’s. Through-out their history, the Miskito have remained autonomous, and in 2009 they officially declared their inde-pendence from Nicaragua. Their independence, however, has led to isolation. They receive little to no intervention or support from the gov-ernment or other organizations. This isolation led to mal-nutrition, disease, and unsanitary living conditions, which make them especially suscep-tible to parasites. If you don’t know what at parasite is, let me tell you, it’s not pretty. Parasites make their home in the human body and weaken the immune system from fighting off disease. It is not uncommon for a Miskito mother to see worms crawl out of her children’s noses and mouths at night as they sleep.

Several years ago, a group of Christians felt called to reach out to the Rio Coco region of Nicaragua to minister to the Miskito people. Within a short time, it was clear that one of the most impactful things they could provide for the people was medicine to treat the parasites. Since their work began, they have distrib-uted 120,000 anti-parasite pills to the 12,500 people living in the region. Along the way, they have provided

much-needed medical care, and have been able to share the message of Jesus to thousands of previously un-reached people up and down the Rio Coco River. The transformation has been dramatic, with countless stories of mothers whose children had be-come weak and listless from parasites now being happy and energetic.

So what do these two stories have in common? Why did I take the time to share them with you?

Each of them is about a group of people who saw a need and made themselves available to meet it.

These are stories about the Church: God’s church at work, making a real impact on the lives of individuals. And they show us that we serve a great God who does good things.

I share these stories with you to give you a glimpse of what the world looks like from God’s perspective. And when we look at things from God’s perspective, we can better understand the big story He is telling through the body of Christ and how we fit in to His overall plan. At Oak Hills, we like to think of this as God’s grand story. It’s what He’s been work-ing on since He created the universe and His plan has not changed. If I were to sum up the major theme of God’s story in one single sentence, here is how I’d say it: “I want to give you a way to come back to me so we can do life together.” It’s as simple as that. He wants to be in community with us.

If we look at the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, we see that they existed in perfect relationship with God. He created a big universe full of life and beauty that was capable

WINNER: PHILOSOPHY/RELIGION CATEGORY“Oak Hills Church, Discovering God’s Story”

Writer: Duarte, IncSpeaker: Randy Frazee and Max Lucado

Delivered at: Oak Hills Church,San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 1, 2012

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of sustaining all that He created. But ultimately, it’s because He wanted to come down and take a walk with us in the garden—our neighbor-hood—to hang out and do life with us. Yet because of their sin, people (including you and me) fell out of relationship with God. But here’s the good news: since that time, He’s been working on getting us back. The rest of the Old Testament tells of God’s continual efforts to restore relation-ship with His people…

Whether it was Noah and his fam-ily surviving the flood, or

Abraham and Sarah having a son in their old age, or

Joshua leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land, or

Isaiah’s prophecies about the Mes-siah soon to come…

All of these stories are part of God’s relentless pursuit of His people and point to the central character in the story—the person who changed everything. Jesus Christ is the culmi-nation of God’s plan to restore His vision for community and relation-ship. All of the Old Testament pointed to the first coming of Jesus, where He arrived in a manger as our King—100 percent man and 100 percent God—to bring us back into relationship with Him. Now we, as His body, get to participate in God’s original vision for community. He has invited us–you and me–to be a character in His story as we eagerly await His coming.

You see, when you accepted Jesus as your personal savior, you became a member of the Body of Christ. As His body, our mission is to extend the pres-ence, purpose, power, and promise of Jesus on earth. We are literally called to be His “hands and feet” in the world, carrying out His work and bringing the good news of His love to others so that they can come to know it now and experience it eternally. By joining His mission of restoration, we as the Body of Christ are working to establish His kingdom. This is what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 4:17 “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”

Remember those stories I told you in the beginning? Those people who have provided clean water for thou-sands in Burkina Faso and anti-par-asite medicines in Nicaragua? They are all members of His body—and they’re members of our Oak Hills body, too.

Geoffrey and Suzanne Richter began serving as missionaries here in the U.S. back in the 1990s, working with the needy in Utah, Oklahoma, and Texas. That work stirred a long-ing in the Richter family to be used by God on missions in the develop-ing world. In November 2008, their prayers were answered when Oak Hills Church sponsored them on a trip to join the Dagara Mission Team in Burkina Faso, where they would help run a water resource development operation. In partner-ship with Living Water International and local churches, Geoffrey and his teams rehabilitate broken wells and restore water to villages among the Dagara people in Jesus’ name. As of December 2012, they have brought clean water and the Word of God to 40,000 Dagara people.

Scott Felder was a successful builder of homes in Austin, San An-tonio, and Dallas. As God continually blessed his business and family, Scott felt called to bless others by doing missionary work in downtown San Antonio and Dominguez prison. To grow his Spanish skills, Scott took his family to Mexico for a three-month language course. But when a hur-ricane hit Central America, it was clear God had a bigger story in mind. Scott helped organize relief efforts to hard-hit regions in the rain forest of Nicaragua, where he met and fell in love with the Miskito people. He was moved to found the non-profit Messi-ah Project to minister to the needs of the Miskito people, which has saved thousands of lives and spawned 120 church bodies all over Nicaragua.

In both of these stories, they joined their passion with God’s purpose and it resulted in thousands of lives changed. You see, God wants

YOU to carry out his mission. His desire is for individual Christians—you and I—to align our lives to His story and participate in the expan-sion of His kingdom here on earth. I love what Paul tells the Ephesians in his letter to them: “I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody...” Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians from a prison cell, and even in the midst of personal discom-fort and persecution, He was aware that He had a part to play in the much bigger story God was telling. And he knew he wasn’t the only one. Listen to His words from Ephesians 2: “God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the corner-stone that holds all the parts together.

This idea of participation in God’s grand story is where Oak Hills Church draws its mission statement: “We are the Body of Christ, called to be Jesus, in every neighborhood in our city and beyond.”

We’re living almost 2,000 years after Paul and in Texas…an ocean and thousands of miles away from His work with the early church. But God’s mission for His church has not changed. That’s why we’ve embraced the call to be Jesus to our cities.

And our cities need us. Let’s look at needs of the San Antonio and Hill Country area:

Over 47 percent of Bexar County Births are to unmarried mothers. That’s significantly higher than that of the U.S. average of 41 percent. Within that 47 percent, the teen birth rate for 15-19 year old girls is 50.9 percent. This, too, is well above the national rate of 39.1 percent. That is a lot of young women in need of support.

The Mayor has reported that demand for food assistance in San Antonio increased by 33 percent, and 40 percent of the demand for

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emergency food assistance went unmet. What’s more, trends indicate that corporations and foundations are making fewer donations, so funding for operations has been significantly reduced, and it’s not looking like it’s going to get better any time soon.

That’s a real challenge when 19.5 percent of San Antonio residents live below the poverty line. We also have a growing refugee population, with about 1,000 refugees relocating to the city each year. These are people from all over the world who have fled their countries as a result of armed con-flict, violence, religious and political persecution, human rights violations, and natural disasters.

These needs might feel over-whelming, but each one of them represents an opportunity for us as a body to do something, right here in our city. That’s why Oak Hills is committed to empowering our members to be the body of Christ in their neighborhoods. There is no way we, as one organization, could meet all these needs on our own, but we see the church as an organism where every believer is a minister. As Jesus says in Matthew, when two or three gather together in His name, He promises to be in their midst and do great things.

Back in 2008, the leadership team at Oak Hills began wondering: what if we had a small band of believers in every neighborhood whose commit-ment was simply to be the presence of Jesus to their neighbors? What could we do? We began to imagine people opening their homes and apartments to provide a place of be-longing and family to those who lived nearby. We envisioned our members helping one another grow up in Christ by meeting in their homes to pray and read the word together. Then we thought: what if this group of neighbors agreed to be Jesus—right where they were—to demon-strate the love of God to the rest of their neighbors who were needing help or seeking God? To do one thing: to simply serve them. What

would our communities look like? How might they be transformed?

This led us to define a bold vision as a church community. Our vision is to see: the presence of Christ in every neighborhood, a decision for Christ in every seeker, and the maturity of Christ in every disciple. We accomplish this through our members who have found a small band of believers in their com-munity with whom they belong, grow, and serve. These three words sum up what we desire to create.

Our hope is that when you set foot in one of our campuses or meet an Oak Hills member on the street, you immediately feel a sense of belonging and being welcomed. Community is about caring for one another, and we all need a place of belonging so we know who to go to when we hit a trial in our life. We want you to find that at Oak Hills. Being in community also helps us grow in our relation-ship with Christ, as we are sharpened by one another and spurred on to good works. We’re so much stronger together than we could ever be indi-vidually when we use our talents and gifts to serve others.

We have been very intentional in how we have structured Oak Hills to reflect this vision. While Oak Hills may seem like a mega church at first, it’s really a network of mini-churches. Our ministry efforts are designed to support and not compete with our neighborhood communities. We have multiple campuses throughout San Antonio and the Hill Country because we believe in the value of proximity; you should not have to drive far to meet with your church body. These main campuses are where large gatherings take place. They help us facilitate activities like student ministries and classes like this one. Sharing the same teaching every Sunday via video helps us stay unified as a large church body.

Each location of Oak Hills has a campus minister and community ministers that work directly with our members who are out minister-ing to their neighbors. This unique

structure has enabled us to offer our members “big church resources, [with a] small church connection,” and it has allowed us to connect with our neighbors in our city and beyond. The Oak Hills Church community is already present in hundreds of neigh-borhoods in San Antonio and the Hill Country. But we’re not finished yet. There are over 3,000 neighbor-hoods in the greater San Antonio area, so that means there are still thousands of neighborhoods we have yet to reach. Maybe one of those neighborhoods is yours.

I firmly believe that God put you right where you are for a reason. As Paul says in Acts 17, He marks out our appointed times in history and the boundaries of our lands. He does this so that people who think God is far away will realize that he is not very far at all. You see, God deter-mines the exact place and the exact time for you to live and He has a very specific purpose in mind for your life.

My wife and I experienced the truth of this first hand when we were living in Chicago. When we moved to Chicago, we thought it was an oppor-tunity to connect in ministry at Wil-low Creek Church. Our intent was to be there seven years; we believed that this was God’s plan at that time. It was a big move; we were leaving be-hind everything we had built over 22 years of life and ministry in Dallas. We quickly developed relationships with families in our neighborhood in the suburb of Barrington. We had fun times with our neighbor Bill and his family, playing the banjo and golfing. About a year and a half after we moved to Barrington, Bill came knocking on our door one evening. He was facing a major crisis; he was in a season of hardship and his mar-riage and life were falling apart. He needed a friend to confide in and he came to me because I was nearby, just four houses down the street. Bill shared his story with me because we had built a friendship by hanging out together for the past year. I shared some guidance about the foundation

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he would find in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and over the next few hours and days I walked him through the Gospel of John. Bill accepted Christ and three weeks later, he and his entire family came into relation-ship with God and were baptized. After only three years in Chicago, we moved to San Antonio. We started to think about our time in Chicago and what it meant and pretty soon it became clear that, maybe, this move had nothing to do with us. God had

put us in that specific neighborhood, for those specific families. This wasn’t about me; God was using me to reach Bill and his family.

You see, God determines the exact place and the exact time for you to live and He has a very specific pur-pose in mind for your life. That pur-pose for your life might not be about you, your future, or your agenda. The Christian walk is about discover-ing what God is up to and what His plan is for your life. Are you ready to

discover your part of the story? That same sense of purpose lives

on in my heart today. I know with-out a doubt that I am part of God’s grand story, that He has put me here for a reason, and that YOU are part of His story, too. If any of what I shared today resonated with you, I invite you to find your place here at Oak Hills. When you become a member of this body, you will find a place to belong, grow, and serve in the midst of community. Thank you.

Welcome to the cPanel 2012 conference. This is the seventh

year that we have held this event, and all I can say is that it just gets better each year.

Two crowded and stimulating days lie ahead. Our program offers 36 sessions on a range of stimulat-ing topics, conducted by 42 industry experts. Over the next two days you’ll have many opportunities to network and share ideas. You’ll have the chance to interact with cPanel’s highly-knowledgeable employees. Your potential to acquire useful and profitable knowledge is unlimited. I can sense your anticipation over what’s in store for you here; it’s palpable.

As your keynote speaker, I have three topics to brief you on this morning:

First, cPanel’s mission as a com-pany, and our mission strategies. Second, our goals for the immedi-ate future. And third, an update on cPanel’s three recent acquisitions: Sitocity, Attracta and WHMCS, and how these acquisitions will further our strategies and goals.

Like most companies, cPanel has a

mission statement. Our mission is to make cPanel universally synonymous with dependable hosting and server automation solutions. Shakespeare once asked, “What’s in a name?” Good marketers know the value of a name. So do good executives.

How many of you know cPanel’s original name? Believe it or not, it was “DarkORB.” That was my idea. I thought that name sounded really cool when I founded the company at age 14. But I soon realized that it didn’t sound very professional. I also realized that “DarkORB” would never be synonymous with top qual-ity web hosting the way that other brand names are synonymous with other products and services.

For example, when people think of facial tissues, they think Kleenex. When they think of lip balm, they think ChapStick. When they think of adhesive bandages, they think Band-Aid. When they think of pho-tocopies, they think Xerox. When they think of search engines, they think Google.

When people think of web host-ing, we want them to think cPanel. And we have every confidence that

one day soon, they will. Here’s why:In 2011, there were between 150

to 300 million active web sites on the Internet. That same year, cPanel hosted between 12 and 25 percent of them. No other single entity has a larger footprint in our business.

We’re not synonymous with web hosting—yet. But we’re working on it.

To help us fulfill our mission, we have company values.

At cPanel, we take pride in being • Honest• Inquisitive• Resourceful• Respectful• Results-Oriented• Strategic• and Agile• We’re also passionate; but our

passion is always tempered with reason.

cPanel also has three strategies to help us fulfill our mission:

• We listen.• We support.• We release carefully.Let me say a few words about

each of our strategies:First: We listen. We take pride in

offering the best possible service to

WINNER: TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY“Getting to the Future Faster”

Writer: Hal GordonSpeaker: Nick Koston, Owner, cPanel

Delivered at: cPanel Conference 12, Houston, Texas, Oct. 9, 2012

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our customers. To make sure our customers are satisfied, we spend a lot of time listening to them through a variety of venues. These venues include community forums, con-ferences and phone calls. We also keep in touch with our customers by monitoring support tickets and feedback over the Internet.

The amount of feedback we receive can be overwhelming, but we pride ourselves in hearing our customers’ ideas on what they want in upcoming versions of cPanel and WHM. We also want to hear how we can provide better service.

Second: We support. The support we offer our customers is world class. We hire the best employees. We provide ample room for growth. We maintain direct engagement with de-velopers, quality assurance analysts and technical analysts.

Third: We release carefully. Every new feature we add to cPanel goes through extensive testing, numerous reviews, and an extensive feedback process. We strive for perfection. We know that bugs cost you money. They also reflect badly on the high level of service that we always strive to offer our customers.

To implement our strategies, we have goals.

What are our current business goals? What do we want cPanel ac-complish in the near term?

We have three primary goals at this time:

• Revenue diversity• Operational efficiency• Good market citizenshipLet me tell you more about each

of our three goals.First: Revenue diversity. We want

to diversify our revenue streams by• Entering into strategic partnerships. • Developing new marketable

technologies, and• Capitalizing on under-utilized

markets.Diversifying revenue streams

enhances our overall revenues. In addition, it provides potential stan-dardizations, makes for a better ex-

perience for customers and enhances customer loyalty.

I’ll have more to say on diversity in a few moments, when I talk about our recent acquisitions.

Second: Operational efficiency. We want to improve operational ef-ficiency by

• Increasing self-service operations,• Increasing automated operations,• Optimizing and defining processes,• And applying strategic decision

making to reduce overall effort re-quired both internally and externally.

To put it in plain English, we want to streamline our operations so we can do more with less, reduce costs, and allocate our resources more effectively. All this so we can concentrate on the things that will really grow our company. All this makes for better employee, customer and partner satisfaction.

Third: Good market citizen-ship. cPanel strives to practice good market citizenship. How do we do that? We recognize that success is not a zero-sum game. We don’t start out with the assumption that what’s good for cPanel will necessarily be good for cyberspace. We know that the success of our company depends on the overall health of the hosting industry. We know that we prosper as our industry prospers. So we want to make strategic decisions that are good for the industry as a whole as well as cPanel.

Now I want to fill you in on cPan-el’s recent acquisitions, and how they undergird our strategies and goals.

About a year ago, I was asked in an interview if there was ever a time that I thought this company was headed in the wrong direction. I re-plied that I never really thought we were heading in the wrong direction. I just always think we’re not getting there fast enough!

I suppose I’ll never think that we’re getting there fast enough, but our three recent acquisitions—Sitocity, At-tracta, and WHMCS—are going help us to get there a whole lot faster.

Let me highlight briefly the

advantages that we expect to derive from each acquisition, and how they will help us further our goals.

First, Sitocity:cPanel’s primary business is de-

veloping software that allows host-ing providers to grow and prosper. Obviously, the better we know our customers, the better we will be able to meet their needs by designing bet-ter software.

Accordingly, as I pointed out be-fore, at cPanel, we listen. cPanel has always been anxious to gain deeper insights from our customers and their customers.

Unfortunately, this is not easy to do because hosting companies have their own goals to pursue and their own operations run. This is not a business where our customers go out of their way to tell us that everything is going just fine. Usually, we hear from our customers only when some-thing has gone wrong.

So for cPanel to operate a small hosting company gives us a great deal of information that previously we either could not get, or at least found it difficult to get. While cPanel has no intention of competing the hosting market, acquiring Sitocity will give us a deeper understanding into how website owners use cPanel’s software.

Second, Attracta:Attracta, bundled with cPanel &

WHM, adds features to our cus-tomers’ web hosting services that will ultimately help them sell more hosting. Attracta is a free search engine optimization offering. At-tracta automatically generates an XML sitmap for a given website and submits that sitemap to the major search engines—such as Google, Ya-hoo!, Bing and Ask. That makes for better, faster indexing. Attracta also provides marketing tools to monetize site content, and an App Store to automatically install popular web based applications.

Attracta is used by hundreds of top hosting providers—including HostGator, BlueHost, HostDime,

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BrainHost, UK2.Net and HostPapa. Attracta’s core technology is its Mar-keting Dashboard and Portal that allows website owners to monitor the financial health of their website. The Attracta integration with cPanel al-lows seamless access to SEO services from within the cPanel interface.

When the user accesses the SEO Tools in cPanel, the user’s registra-tion and configuration is automated. This automation includes adding the sitemap directive to the robots.txt file and factoring in redirected domains. Often, users have difficulty updating site components like their robots.txt file. Or they may encoun-ter problems in including additional site software by adding the necessary code to their site. Attracta auto-mates these processes by integrating with the user’s cPanel account and Apache. This, in turn, gives our cus-tomers the ability to add additional free and paid services without having to manually modify their site.

Finally, WHMCS: Like cPanel, WHMCS was origi-

nally developed to fill a specific gap in the tools available to web hosting providers and web hosting resellers. WHMCS offerings included auto-mated account provisioning, domain management, email functionality, multi-currency billing, and order

management. These features were offered with a full technical support system built-in—including ticketed support, service announcements, and a hierarchical knowledge base tool.

Millions of users worldwide often used cPanel and WHMCS in the past. But the distinct nature of these two different tools previously forced hosting companies to use both tools separately in order to manage a sin-gle account. That duplication added to the companies’ administrative workload. The heavier administra-tive workload increased the com-panies’ expenses and affected their ability to deliver fast and responsive customer service.

To create a more integrated solu-tion for web hosting providers, cPan-el, and WHMCS created a new part-nership to deliver a more cohesive solution—a solution that includes both control panel functionality and billing capacity. Because of the strik-ing similarities between the histories of cPanel, Inc., and WHMCS Ltd., the new partnership between these two companies enables them to work collaboratively toward common goals. Since both companies have similar business priorities and values, their strategic partnership works to their mutual advantage and also to the interest of their customers.

With this new agreement, web hosting providers and hosting resellers will benefit from a unified approach, in addition to gaining ac-cess to different resources and areas of expertise. As a result, customers can enjoy tighter integration and an optimized exchange of information between the two individual plat-forms.

To sum up, I ask you to remem-ber our mission statement: When people think of Web Hosting, we want them to think cPanel. And we have every confidence that one day soon, they will.

As I look ahead to the future, I think of something that the great French writer Victor Hugo once said. He said: “The future has sev-eral names. For the weak, it is the impossible. For the fainthearted, it is the unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is the ideal.”

At cPanel, we know ourselves to be thoughtful and valiant—as well as dedicated, hard-working, creative—and super smart. So we have every confidence that for us, the future will be the ideal.

Thank you all. I hope you will enjoy the conference. And now I turn the floor over to Aaron Phil-lips, cPanel’s vice president of operations.

Thank you, Samantha, for that ter-rific introduction.

Miami Dade College trustees, faculty, families, friends, and especially, graduates of the Class of 2012 … greetings and congratulations! It is an honor to join you here at Kendall Campus, in beautiful Miami, and most of all at Miami Dade College,

the largest and most dynamic higher-education institution in the nation.

This is a great day, and I will be thrilled to have my MDC honorary degree and—with all due respect to the Florida Gators—be an MDC Shark. I hear that a few of you will be joining us at UF in the fall. Come by my office at 226 Tigert

Hall—or email, if I can help a fellow Shark in Gator country. We can’t wait to see you!

Graduates, this afternoon, your achievement stands as an outstanding example to your communities; to your siblings and friends; and, for some of you, your own children. For those graduates who have partners, I want

WINNER: COMMENCEMENT/CONVOCATION CATEGORY“Treat Time as a River”

Writer: Aaron HooverSpeaker: Bernie Machen, President, University of Florida

Delivered at Miami Dade College, Miami, Fla., April 28, 2012

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to applaud those partners—for stand-ing by you, and for pitching in more than their fair share so that you could earn your degree just as my wife, Chris, did for me.

To the parents and grandparents here, I applaud you as well. Being a father of three college graduates my-self, I share your joy—and your relief ! And finally, to MDC faculty, your professionalism and personal attention helped these graduates reach a mile-stone that will enrich them in ways we cannot even imagine. This moment is what our lives’ work is all about.

As you might imagine, I’ve been part of a few commencement cer-emonies in my time. In fact, you won’t believe this, but I gave my first commencement address fifty years ago this summer, as a senior in high school in Missouri. It’s true. Chris still keeps an old copy of my speech around to torture me.

I devoted part of that speech to as-tronaut John Glenn, who in that year of 1962 had become the first Ameri-can to orbit the world. He launched from here in Florida aboard a Mer-cury space capsule called Friendship 7. We were in the midst of the Cold War, and Glenn’s flight brought great relief that the U.S. could compete with the Soviet Union.

But his historic trip did something that has far outlasted the rivalry between our superpowers: It connected the U.S. with friendly nations in a way we had never been connected before. That bond was brought home by Glenn’s flight over Australia, where residents of the city of Perth turned on their lights in a glowing “hello” to the American astronaut pass-ing by in the dark loneliness of space.

I have no doubt that, this weekend, other commencement speakers at other campuses around the nation are telling graduates that if they want to succeed, they have to learn to connect with other parts of the world—just the way Astro-naut Glenn did five decades ago. They are advising that we live in a global economy now, one that requires profes-sionals to work in different countries, speak multiple languages, and thrive in

cultures foreign to their own.That wisdom of the world, which

we strive to instill in all college students, already dwells within each of you.

You live in Miami, one of the nation’s most multicultural cities. You gather from more than 58 different countries at MDC, a richly diverse university that graduates the highest numbers of minorities of any college. Four out of five of you trace your roots to Cuba or Latin America.

Those origins place you among the nation’s fastest-growing minority population of more than 50-million Hispanics—in an America where in about 35 years minorities will become the majority.

You are among a privileged group of new college graduates who know our country and world as they are becoming. You won’t have to catch up to the times. The times have to catch up to you.

As Miamians and MDC graduates entering a world of fewer national barri-ers, your multiculturalism equips you to form strong bonds across countries and cultures. This ability will accelerate your careers and increase your incomes, and it will also boost the world’s global stabil-ity, from economics to human rights.

But while your cultural and language fluencies will help you do good as you do well, they will not be enough. Especially in our divided times, it will be crucial for you to look deeply within yourselves to bring compassion and acceptance to all your ventures.

I’ll tell you another story. I was the oldest child in a middle-class family of five in a suburb of St. Louis. Like many of your parents, my parents believed if I wanted something, I should work for it. I started doing odd jobs when I was eight years old, and by high school, I needed my first real job.

It was just before Christmas, and our town’s department store, Lambert’s, was hiring. There was only one hitch: Everyone was terrified of the owner, who chased teenagers out of his store and was widely reviled as the meanest businessman in town. Nevertheless, my mother, a school teacher, told me to ask him for a job. I did not want to do

it—I was scared. But she insisted. So I mustered all my courage and walked through the doors alone.

My first surprise was that I got the job. My second was that as my hours piled up in the store, I grew to like and respect this man—and he, to like and respect me.

Before long, I left Lambert’s and headed off to college. But the expe-rience taught me a lesson that has endured for my whole life: Never rely on the opinions of others. I try to begin relationships with openness, and to form my own judgments of people.

I believe that lesson is at the heart of my career, which has followed an unusual path. Although I trained as a dentist, earning both a doctor of dental surgery and a master of science in pediatric dentistry, I found my calling in higher-education leadership. I am the only dentist who is a major university president.

It wasn’t my technical education or dental skills that got me here. I wasn’t born into this role, and no one gave me any special favors. I oversee a $5 billion budget without an accounting degree; a major sports conglomerate with no background in sports management; and a huge university health science center with no recent experience in health care. But I do know something of dealing with people. And my leadership responsibili-ties require managing 12,000 of them, in every race, religion, nationality and personality type.

In your personal interactions, do not be a fortress, steeled against people. Be a forest, serene and open to them finding a path to your heart.

I began this afternoon talking to you about John Glenn and space. I want to end by telling you something about time.

When I was in college in the wake of John Glenn, everyone recognized space as the new frontier. Today—with the shuttle Discovery’s installation at the Smithsonian bringing a symbolic end to the space age—there is less consensus about where the greatest promise lies for you. Some say it is globalization. Others, innovation. But I would like to suggest that one of your great frontiers is time.

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Thank you, Rebecca. It is a pleasure to be here tonight!

We are gathered this evening to dedicate the David A. Cofrin Asian Art Wing. We will be the first to see the new wing, and I know I’d better keep my remarks short, or you’ll push me aside to get through those doors!

So let me make a simple observa-tion: This Asian Art Wing and the art it cradles is not ours to dedicate. Not really. Art is the expression of our cultures and histories, our personalities and stories. Art belongs to everyone. Our role—re-ally, our privilege—is to make that ex-pression of humanity a part of the most enduring purpose of this university.

And that … ladies and gentlemen … that purpose is the education of our students.

How do we prepare our treasured students for success in the 21st century? This is currently the subject of urgent national debate about the character and content of higher education.

We must equip students for this era of instantaneous global communication, economic upheaval and rapidly chang-ing cultural mores. On that we all agree. And, yet, there are vastly different opin-ions about how to shape university-level education to achieve that preparation.

At the University of Florida, we be-lieve that art must be part of our toolkit.

When students need to be prepared to live anywhere and communicate with anyone, art has a timeless legacy of initiating cultural contact—like the ce-ramic wares on display in the new wing, which remind us of the Silk Road where diverse peoples have crossed paths for 2,000 years.

Art broadens awareness. It can bring clarity and depth of field to one’s career and personal life. And it can help to inspire a happy life, an outcome surely as important as economic success.

I want to tell you about a current UF junior named Kayla Shahum [SHAH-hum], who last semester visited the Harn as part of a class exercise.

Everything in your world insists that time is instantaneous. Tweeting, texting, Facebook: All give you and your smart phone so much information, so quickly, they seem to collapse time, leaving you with scarcely any time to respond before the next burst of incoming information.

And technology is only part of the urgency of 2012. Politics and fads … success and fame … human relationships … all seem to flare and fade in an instant. Or perhaps I should say, “Instagram.” That is the photo-sharing company Facebook just purchased for a billion dollars. It was formed by a dozen twenty-somethings less than two years ago.

From Instagram to the iPhone, today’s sense of urgency has generated a great deal of financial success. This wealth may or may not be real, as recent booms and busts teach us. Either way, I believe it has come at a cost. That cost is the sense of hyper-alertness, just short of frantic, that prevails throughout our society.

People are not learning much from the past these days. As a matter of fact, they aren’t really fixated on what’s hap-

pening in the here-and-now, or what awaits down the road. Instead, they exist in that strange moment that accompanies the incoming text or news flash—the moment just beyond the present but never far enough ahead to call the future. They’re seizing every instant and losing every day.

As the graduates of 2012, your generation is destined to live longer than any generation in history. I want to assure you that you have time. And I want to suggest that your frontier is to recapture and revive your time. Because time is truly: A gift.

So, my take-home message is: Slow down! Breath! Be in the present! Think about today! Today! Find the time to ask yourselves … what’s the hurry? Consider the moment. Open yourself to unsched-uled possibilities.

Take the class outside your major—it may speak to your soul. Meet the person not planned into your day. She or he may become your life’s partner. Visit a new city on a whim—you may decide to make it your home.

Treat time not as a race but as a river, bearing you slowly and gently into the wide gulf of adventures and experiences that map who you are.

The author William Faulkner wrote, “Only when the clock stops does time come to life.” His point was that life is most complete when you give yourself the luxury to embrace it in all its rich-ness. Not just work and weekends. Not just personal passions and travel. But also, friends, families and children—all enjoyed with leisure and appreciation.

As MDC graduates, you are already light speed ahead of your contemporaries in the cross-cultural proficiency that—just like John Glenn—will make you friends and bring you success wherever your careers take you. But do not forget that you also have an ocean of time.

So, have the longer-than-text conver-sation. Read the thicker book. Take the extended vacation. Linger with fam-ily. Lengthen all of life’s celebrations. Especially the one this afternoon—you deserve it. Thank you.

BEST SPEECH BY TYPE OF OCCASION: DEDICATION/GROUNDBREAKING“Art as an Ambassador”

Writer: Aaron Hoover Speaker: Bernie Machen, President, University of Florida

Delivered at: Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Fla., March 30, 2012

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Sometimes you have to travel five thousand miles and go back nearly

70 years to really know someone.For the three Harm sons and five

grandchildren, Siina was an influential presence every day of their lives. The same holds true for the many years her daughters-in-law shared with her. We all certainly knew her, of course, in the way

you know someone on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. The loving mother and grandmother. The accomplished gardener. The amazing cook.

Like us, I expect most of you know the basics of the journey Melosina and her husband, Doctor Manivald, took from their native Estonia to reach America and build a home, a life and

many friendships in Mackinaw.But until seven years ago, I don’t

think any of us really knew who she was.Siina’s story is that of a bright

and capable young woman, wife and mother whose tremendous courage, independence and faith helped estab-lish a strong foundation for the Harm family in America.

The day of her visit, Kayla was thrilled to finally get away from sitting in a lecture hall. And she appreciated the chance to see and touch real art, rather than viewing it on yet another Power-Point. … Has anyone else here seen one too many PowerPoints?

What mattered most for Kayla was the magical way the Harn opened the door to the uncomfortable topic of the class, which was grief.

Guided by Professor Jane Houston and Harn curators, the students looked at different artworks and talked about how they shed light on the many aspects of the grieving process. The discussion was honest and fresh … and it got Kayla thinking for the first time about the rich possibilities for art in her career.

You see, Kayla and her classmates need to become experts at helping oth-ers cope with grief. They aren’t studying art, museum science or art history. They are students of nursing.

To date this academic year, the Harn has welcomed Kayla and 3,566 other University of Florida students in class visits. The classes come from journal-ism, engineering, sociology, architec-ture, English and medicine. They even come from IFAS! If you speak to these students or their professors, you learn that more than a few have experiences like Kayla’s.

As Nigel Smith, a professor of geog-

raphy who routinely brings his classes to the Harn, commented, “You can see little lights going on.”

Those little lights may not be as mea-surable as standardized test scores. But they satisfy our deepest responsibility as educators, which is to open students’ eyes to new and unfamiliar landscapes.

And today, no new and unfamiliar landscape may be more important than the one our students will confront in the growing countries of Asia.

We already have a variety of classes that revolve around Asia; study abroad programs in Asia; and the UF Beijing Center. But that is not enough.

Works of art—the works of the weaver, the ceramics maker, the film maker—are ambassadors for their countries and cul-tures. If want our students to know China, Korea or India, we must introduce them to the countries’ ambassadors.

The Harn’s Asian art collection is rich and extensive, but most of it has been locked away in storage. With the opening of the Asian Art Wing, we set these works free to continue their diplomatic mission to our students and the world.

Nothing I can say can match the experience of the five exhibitions in the new wing. So, let me simply note, there are about 400 works of art on display this evening, each carefully selected from the more than 2,000 pieces in

the Harn’s Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, South and Southeast Asian col-lections.

The exhibitions tell many stories … of the jades of the Ming dynasty, of Chinese women artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, of the Silk Road.

What you won’t see, but what you should know, is that the Harn is unique-ly equipped to tell these stories. Its two dedicated endowments for Asian art acquisitions and its endowed curatorial position in Asian art makes the Harn a leading university teaching museum for Asian art.

For our students and for us, the Asian Art Wing will be many things—a place to learn, to interact, to engage in quiet contemplation. But the art here also rep-resents our passport to the landscapes and cultures that are most important to our future. As Professor Smith said, art turns on little lights.

Who knows what future awaits our graduates as they find their homes around the globe? The world is full of clashes of misunderstanding and conflicts of civilizations. But a shared understanding of art gives us a shared understanding of humanity. It promotes acceptance and appreciation. It gives us direction. It shows us an Earth the way it appears from space at night, with those little lights twinkling throughout every civilization. Thank you.

WINNER: EULOGY/TRIBUTE CATEGORY“Remembering Melosina Harm”

Writer: Lani JordanSpeaker: Lani Jordan

Delivered at: Mackinaw, Ill.,July 8, 2012

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The Harms, as you probably know, built a lovely home in the late 1960s on rolling acres on the edge of Mackinaw. Siina very capably served as general contractor for that project, creating an attractive and inviting home and lush grounds. There’s no question that, aside from her family, this home was her proudest achievement. Each and every detail carefully considered, budgeted and executed. I’m certain the electricians, plumbers and others who labored on this project never forgot working for the firm, but fair, lady with the thick accent.

Almost exactly seven years ago, ten of us—the Harm sons, wives and grandchildren—took a life-changing trip to Estonia. There for the first time, we met aunts, cousins and scores of friends. These were the family members and future generations left behind when Mani and Siina escaped Estonia in the final months of World War II.

Those who know Siina, won’t be surprised by this. We were prepared as a group to handle the arrangements, the transportation and all of the many details, dividing up the tasks and getting the job done. But one evening, about five months before our departure, I received a call from Siina.

“Hello,” she said. “Do you have a paper and pencil? I am going to give you your itinerary. Begin to write.”

And so I did, writing furiously as she laid out minute-by-minute the days of visits from one corner of Estonia to an-other. I’m sure it took hours on the phone to Estonia and lots of support from Mani on his faithful computer, but it was all there—right down to commandeering the local bus and driver to come to the capital to collect us and chauffeur us from site-to-site, from farm-to-farm and from memory-to-memory.

Since the fall of Communism, they’d each made trips “home.” Now it was our turn for what sister-in-law Mary Ellen refers to as our Magical Mystery Tour.

The weekend before we left, my own family headed from Minnesota to Mackinaw where Siina and I spent hours at the kitchen table sketching the Harm and Kirotaja family trees so we could put

the dozens of people we would meet into context. Each addition brought a story, very few of which any of us—including her sons—had heard. In these conversa-tions and many since, I really came to know this bright, beautiful and very brave dark-haired, gray-eyed girl—Melosina Kirotaja from a farm less than 20 miles from the Russian border.

On a sultry July morning in 2005, our little green bus pulled down the farm lane in Navi, Estonia. Past the low wooden barn from which young Siina would lead the family cows to the pasture across the way, a chore she never minded because it gave her a chance to read and daydream. We rolled into the farmyard and piled out. Then several of us froze in place. Seated at a low table was the image of the mother and grand-mother we’d left behind in Mackinaw—her older sister, Aksella.

But the uncanny resemblance didn’t end with Siina’s sister. As Aksella led us on a tour—through the tiny farm house, into the sauna and out into the gardens—I had this feeling I’d been there before. And then it came to me. From the cor-rugated metal coverings for the fire wood, to the overhanging back porch roof. From the raspberry patch to the flower gardens to the outdoor table set with beautiful dishes and linens. In building her house in America, on the outskirts of Macki-naw, Illinois, Siina had done everything possible to recreate her beloved home in Navi. The home she left suddenly in August 1944.

As the 1940s began, Siina and her high school classmate—“town boy” Manivald Harm—were immersed in their studies at Tartu University, she in pharmacy and he in medicine. A ro-mance blossomed. She claims he pursued her, and one day—wearing a suit he borrowed from his brother—Manivald proposed on the Angel Bridge that links two high bluffs in the university town.

Those sweet days were short lived. As World War II escalated, Estonia found itself the object of a ping-pong match between occupiers Germany and Russia. Students and intellectuals of all kinds were suspect. The university was closed. Manivald found himself con-

scripted into the German Army. Siina, back home on the farm, was forced to work in the Communist party office in the nearby city of Voru.

August 1944 brought a critical confrontation between the German and Russian armies. Staffing the office over the lunch hour, 23-year-old Siina an-swered the phone. “Give your superiors this message,” the voice said. “It’s time to withdraw.”

Siina knew exactly what this meant. The office—and its entire staff, including her—was being ordered to retreat, across the big lake and into Russia. It was a terrifying prospect for a student and loyal Estonian national.

So this young woman made a brave and dangerous choice.

She didn’t wait for her superiors to return from lunch.

She gathered her things and pedaled her bicycle back to the farm.

At home, an urgent decision was made. “You’re not safe. You’ve got to get out of here,” her family urged. She and Aksella hastily stitched a backpack. She stuffed it with vital possessions, including her irreplaceable university transcript book. Mounting her bicycle, she waved to her parents, brother and Axella calling out “I’ll be back for Christmas.” Then she rode down the farm lane, the same one she used to lead the cows and the same one by which we arrived on that farm many years later. She turned on to the dirt road and pedaled away.

It was nearly 50 years until she returned.

That same backpack, by the way, is in a box in the house on John Lane. While we were at the family farm, Aunt Aksella produced the remnants from the 60-year-old project.

The next few months found her ped-aling at night, sleeping in barns, joining with other young Estonians on the run, stealing and killing a goose. Knowing her cooking, I’m certain that stolen goose was delicious. All the while, the wartime grapevine kept her connected to Mani who urged her to get out and head for Germany, for her a far better option than capture by the Russians for whom nearly 50 years of occupation would soon begin.

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As she told me story after story about those months, the depth of her faith and her spiritual foundation became clear. Siina truly believed that God was leading her, time and again.

Leading her when she turned down the opportunity to take a boat to Germa-ny, a boat which sank with all on board. She later made her way south in the back of a truck, hiding among cargo with her trusty bicycle.

Leading her when she awoke one morning in 1945, a displaced person in Germany, and announced to her land-lady, that despite having had no recent word from him, Manivald would be returning to her that day. He did.

Leading her when the two of them decided to marry on Christmas Eve 1945 in Tubingen, Germany. I once asked her why they picked the busy holiday. “We had nothing,” she told me. “At least we would have the church bells.”

Leading her, Mani and little Matti when they wrote a letter asking the Arizona church that had provided the CARE package they’d received to spon-sor their immigration as refugees to the United States.

Siina was raised a Lutheran, the pre-dominant Estonian denomination. Dur-ing our visit, we all joined Aunt Aksella and other family members for Sunday worship at the blue and white church in which she was raised and confirmed.

But she was also deeply rooted in the Estonian belief that life and spirituality were connected to nature, particularly the trees. It’s no accident that her Mackinaw home is nestled in a thick grove.

Even as she set down roots and lived out the next six decades in far less tumul-tuous central Illinois, the brave young woman at her core remained strong. Ma-nivald built his medical practice. She as-sisted him with her pharmacy, x-ray and office skills. At the same time, she raised her sons without the support of extended family—the Estonian grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all left behind and living under Soviet occupation.

The years passed and she became the mother and grandmother we all knew and loved. A woman who was amazing, but also very human, surrounding us

with lots of love, joyful times and now and then a little bit of frustration.

I’d like to share with you memories of the Siina I knew and loved.

Here are three truths to which she held fast:

First, the Three Stooges and Mad magazine are the roots of all evil. Her bans did not, however, prevent Matti, Tom and Eric from clandestine viewing and reading.

Second, food is love, more food is more love, and pork products—especially sausage—are the ultimate in affection. On many occasions around the fam-ily breakfast table when, with everyone already stuffed, she would look at the lone pancake on the platter, ask if anyone was still hungry and, upon hearing we were all full, would march off to the kitchen to whip up another batch. In her mind, the worst failure was that one of us might be left with just the teeniest bit of room. We all lived by the expression “just shut up and eat.”

And, most important, she believed her three sons and five grandchildren to be the most wondrous individuals God has ever placed upon the earth. We just slightly above average daughters in law occasionally found ourselves on a bit shakier ground—and we never did learn which dish to put the pickles in—but we knew she loved us and respected the strong women we are.

Beyond her educational credentials and unending quest for knowledge—she never stopped subscribing to medical publications—Siina also had a number of talents.

She could take an armful of weeds and within minutes turn it into a floral arrangement that would make Martha Stewart green with envy.

She could make gravy from air. Mani-vald is a sauce man. No meal is complete without gravy and she could whip up the tastiest sauces from almost nothing. I’d put her up against any Culinary Insti-tute graduate. We’re lucky that her love and skill in the kitchen has been passed on—to son, Matti, our resident margarita and salsa maker, to my daughters who have taken over the holiday tradition of Estonian kringle bread, to we daughters-

in-law who learned that a sprinkle of fresh dill improves almost everything, and to nephew Alex who now makes the pancakes. So far he hasn’t learned to force feed us “just one more.”

She could juggle. I remember her at family gatherings keeping three balls or even three oranges in the air for an extended period.

Having watched nephew Geoffrey in action with similar challenges, I think he got that talent.

And, if there was an Olympic competition for worrying about your family, she’d have more gold medals than Michael Phelps. We all knew that if there was any major weather event within 200 miles of our homes, we were sure to get a call wondering if we were safe.

She also taught us. About the impor-tance of education and making good choices. The names of flowers and birds. And, for someone who had lost fifty pre-cious years with her own beloved parents, siblings and cousins, the value of family.

Years ago, she shared two fears with me. First, she worried that once she and Mani were gone, her grown sons and their families, spread across the United States, would lose their connection.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. When the call came from Manivald that she was gone, we were all together on the every-other-year beach vacation that all of us anticipate so much.

Although it had been some years since she and Mani joined us, she relished the vision of all of us together at the ocean—by choice, savoring one another’s company. Somehow I know that at some level she and God had made a deal on the timing of her last days. When the call came that Siina was gone, we were not scattered across the country, but together to mourn and comfort one another and tell the stories of how much she loved us and how she sometime drove us crazy.

Years ago she also confided her fear that without her and Mani, the con-nection to Estonia would end. As you now know, we erased that worry with our 2005 journey, as well as subsequent trips made by her granddaughters, one

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of whom studied at that same Tartu University. Today, the 20-30-something generation of Harm and Kirotaja cousins is securely connected. As we told her upon our return, we took five Americans to Estonia and brought back five Estonians.

I was blessed in the last few years to have many wonderful solo visits to the lovely spot we now refer to as Little Estonia. As we sat drinking coffee in the kitchen or sipping wine and watch-ing the birds that flocked to her feed-ers, she fretted about what the future might hold.

That she would be infirm. That she would be dependent. That she would have to leave the beloved home where

she crafted a connection from her past to her present.

And as much as I will miss her every day, I am grateful that she did not have to realize any of these fears, instead slip-ping peacefully away.

During that wonderful, magical journey to Estonia seven years ago, the family members there gave us a long-lasting gift.

One morning, our little green bus was routed to a pasture adjacent to a cousin’s home. There, in buckets, stood 11 tree seedlings along with a pile of shovels. In the warm July sun, we dug, planted and watered.

When we finished, these newfound cousins presented us with wooden me-

dallions , each one inscribed with one of our names to hang on our 10 trees, and an eleventh bearing Mani’s and Siina’s names.

By planting a tree, our cousins explained, we were leaving a part of our spirits in Estonia.

Seven years later, those trees still grow. They will continue to grow. And somehow I know Siina’s sprit is there in that grove, joining those pieces of our spirits we left in Estonia, just as her spirit remains in the rolling acres surrounding her beloved Mackinaw home.

Rest well, dear Siina, in the knowledge that your courage, your spirit and your independence have deep roots and will continue to grow in each of us.

Good morning! Thank you all for being here, and

thank you to those on campus and be-yond who are joining us virtually.

Our thoughts are with all those on the East Coast who are enduring Hur-ricane Sandy.

We gathered in this space a year ago, and I believe we were lucky to squeeze onto the calendar this October. When Steve Ross made his historic gift eight years ago, we knew it would elevate ev-erything about the Business School. But I don’t think anyone predicted the demand for this view. So thank you, Steve, and thank you to the Ross Business School for hosting us this morning.

This is a special year, for me person-ally and, more significantly, in the life of the University.

I’ve had the privilege now of leading the University for 10 years, and it has been a decade of challenges, transfor-mation and tremendous momentum. I continue to be energized by the life-

changing work of the institution, and by the contributions of leaders like you from all three campuses.

When we talk of Michigan and impact, one name rises above all others: Raoul Wallenberg.

I hope you know his story. After earn-ing his architecture degree here in 1935, he went on to become one of the most noted humanitarians of the last century.

As a diplomat in Budapest, Raoul Wallenberg repeatedly risked his life to rescue thousands of Jews from World War II’s concentration camps.

He pulled them from moving boxcars. When Nazis forced them to walk to the camps, Wallenberg chased after them, shoving food and medicine their way.

He found countless ways to shelter terrified men, women and children trying to survive in what was, by then, the last surviving ghetto of Jews in Europe.

He saved some 100,000. And then he disappeared at the hands of strangers. We are still seeking answers about his fate.

This year, 2012, is the centennial of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth. I can think of no more important occasion to dedicate our work as a university to the values he lived. He loved to learn, he had an appe-tite for adventure, and he embraced new people and different places.

He was, and is, a hero of the high-est order. He showed us, more than any Michigan graduate, that one person can make a difference.

Could we, as students and scholars, ask for greater inspiration?

***The University of Michigan is indeed

an inspiring place. And that is because of the ideas, discoveries and service of our students, staff and faculty.

In the room today we have students like Conor Lane, an honors senior who works as both an RA at the Residential College and a volunteer at the Spec-trum Center.

And Jasmine Injejikian, who is leading this year’s Dance Marathon. That’s hun-

WINNER: STATE-OF-THE-INSTITUTION CATEGORY2012 Leadership Breakfast: Be the Difference

Writer: Kim ClarkeSpeaker: Mary Sue Coleman, President, University of Michigan

Delivered at: University of Michigan,Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct. 30, 2012

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dreds of students dancing, for 30 straight hours, to raise thousands for children with disabilities.

We’re joined by staff like Dan Rife, an engineer who combines new technologies with human expertise to conserve energy throughout our campus buildings. And Lt. Col. Lisa Franz, who leads our Air Force ROTC program, one of three of-ficer training programs at Michigan.

We have faculty like Carla O’Connor, an engaging Thurnau professor who is bringing her love of teaching and men-toring to the dean’s office of the School of Education.

And professors like Michael Boehnke, a world-class statistical geneticist in the School of Public Health. His break-throughs help us better understand the heredity of diabetes, bipolar disorder and other debilitating diseases.

I want to recognize four deans who are in the final year of their leadership tenures. Terry McDonald of the Col-lege of Literature, Science and the Arts, Evan Caminker of the Law School, Peter Polverini of the Dental School, and Paul Courant of the University Libraries have carried out extraordinary work in one of the University’s most fiscally challeng-ing eras. Their programs are collectively stronger because of their good work.

I also want to acknowledge Fran Blouin, who is stepping down as the longest-serving director of the Bentley Historical Library. Fortunately for our students, he will be devoting himself full-time to the classroom starting next fall.

***At Michigan, we know—because it is

borne out each day—that our diversity is the backbone of our academic strength.

Diversity is a core value of this institution. It is in this room, across our campuses, and wherever the University of Michigan is in the world.

In the course of my decade here, I have taken great pride in Michigan being the nation’s leading voice for the value of diversity—in the classroom, in the research lab, and in all parts of the academic enterprise.

But this is not simply an outcome of the last decade. This is deeply embedded in our culture and sense of identity from

the University’s earliest days. The first black woman in America

to train as a dentist did so here—more than 100 years ago. As did the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in physics.

When an Ivy League school rejected José Barbosa in 1877 because of his race, Michigan welcomed him.

Our students said they did not care about his skin color. In their words, what truly mattered was “the quantity and quality of the brains in the cranium.”

Brains in the cranium. Doctor José Barbosa would go on to become the father of statehood for his native Puerto Rico.

This legacy of inclusion and leader-ship brings with it a deep responsibility to live out our values.

We work hard at creating and sus-taining a community where diversity is sought and valued across all pathways—racial, ethnic, gender, LGBT, global and socioeconomic pathways. We still have much work to do.

That is why I am so pleased that LSA will launch a new theme semester called Understanding Race in January. It is an important example of just how critical it is for us to think substantively about race and identity and to encourage a thought-ful dialogue about these issues.

***I am a firm believer that knowledge is

contingent. The work we do today, and the accomplishments we celebrate, would not be possible without the faculty, staff and students who came before us.

When this year’s Nobel Prize for medicine was announced, one of the winners was recognized for research he carried out 50 years ago. Fifty years. His discovery about tadpole cells has a direct impact on stem cell research conducted today, including in our laboratories.

This is the beauty and power of scholarship. The commitments we make today will have impact 20, 30 and 50 years from now.

That is why I am excited to share with you some of our most significant achieve-ments and challenges, as well as several announcements that will take Michigan in new directions.

Let’s begin with the arts.The Michigan environment for arts

and creativity is remarkable. Remark-able because it is of a scope and scale you won’t find at other national research universities.

We make art, we research art, we pres-ent art and we preserve art.

It can be this weekend’s perfor-mance of Urinetown by UM-Flint the-ater students. Or the Kelsey Museum’s study of antiquities. It is the exhibit of priceless Armenian books at UM-Dear-born. Or Band-o-rama at Hill Audito-rium, itself a work of art and campus icon for the past century.

We do art and science very well. What binds the two is our capacity for creativ-ity. And that is because of a culture that encourages creative work and creative approaches.

It is an environment in which the University has invested $84 million since 2004. That includes a stunning addition to the Museum of Art, a Symphony Band tour of China, new programs for architecture students, and more studio and gallery space.

This morning, I’m excited to say our creative environment is expand-ing—again.

The School of Music, Theatre and Dance is a point of pride for Michigan, with talent that is second to none.

Now, these students, faculty and staff are going to enjoy new and improved surroundings to express their creativity, thanks to the vision of longtime Michi-gan donors William and Delores Brehm.

The Brehms are generously providing $8 million toward the renovation and ex-pansion of the Moore Building, a trans-formative project we will ask the Board of Regents to approve next month.

We anticipate new rehearsal rooms, studios and a lecture hall, as well as improved space for one-on-one time be-tween faculty and students. With the re-gents’ approval, this will be a $23 million undertaking. The University will provide $14 million, and we will seek additional support from alumni and friends.

I know the faculty from Music, The-atre and Dance will agree when I say this project is overdue. It’s genuinely exciting,

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and complements new spaces such as the Walgreen Drama Center and Arthur Miller Theater.

For more evidence of Michigan’s capacity for creativity, we have the new Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design.

As you may know, Penny is a Michi-gan graduate who with her husband, Roe, has made a historic $32 million investment in the School of Art and De-sign. Their generosity is wide-ranging—supporting student scholarships, as well as global experiences, visiting artists and designers, and community programs.

Art and design schools are sometimes overlooked, but not here. Penny was on campus a few weeks ago, and was so enthusiastic about this gift. It is a magnifi-cent feeling, she said, not only because she loves supporting the creative process, but because the Stamps School is “not just an art school.”

It’s part of a major research institution. That is what gives the School of

Music, Theatre and Dance, the Stamps School—and all our schools and colleg-es—their strength: the combined exper-tise and creativity of so many disciplines.

Indeed, pursuit of the arts at Michi-gan is not a stand-alone enterprise. It’s not about decoration, it’s about cre-ation—creation that is deeply rooted in our interdisciplinary setting.

It is this distinction that sets us apart.When the Stamps School underwent

reaccreditation a few years ago, it drew high praise from the visiting team. Michi-gan, they said, is getting it right. To quote, “the School of Art and Design and the University of Michigan have created an opportunity to lead the academic conver-sation in art and design in this country.”

***We want to drive the conversation in

other areas, too.This month, the University is survey-

ing members of our community about sustainability. We want to learn how people think and behave when it comes to the environment.

By scientifically measuring and report-ing our behavior as a community, we can work to make changes for the better of the planet.

We know of no other university that is studying itself this way. This survey will take place every year and will provide an objective barometer of our sustainability culture.

I announced this survey a year ago as part of a broader sustainability initiative for the University. Since then, we have launched the Dow Scholars program, an unprecedented program for 300 graduate students that accelerates how we teach and research sustainability.

This focus has evolved and strength-ened in recent years, with the early support of donors such as Dow, Don Graham and John Erb. They have shown what it means to commit to sustainability at the very core of personal and institu-tional values.

John Erb, who is with us this morning, recently asked where I want to see the University of Michigan in the realm of sustainability 10, 20, 30 years from now.

I have been thinking a lot about that as we set aspirational goals for Michigan’s leadership.

I know, we all know, we’ll need to do a better job building facilities, affecting human behavior and consumption, and challenging our energy usage, even as we manage the world’s largest public univer-sity research portfolio.

But also, we must see the University as a global leader in educating a new vanguard of sustainability experts. It is here, on this campus, where tomorrow’s sustainability leaders will build their knowledge broadly, across the disciplines, and carry that into the world of policy and practice.

We should be known as the univer-sity with sustainability research, cur-riculum and opportunities that make a real difference.

In that spirit, today I’m pleased to an-nounce the establishment of the Univer-sity of Michigan Water Center.

With the support of the Erb Family Foundation, this is a new $9 million com-mitment to the Great Lakes region. We will focus on four critical areas: reducing toxic contamination, fighting invasive species, protecting wildlife habitat, and promoting the health of the coastlines.

The University of Michigan has

a long history of freshwater research. More than a century ago, our scientists were working to determine why the whitefish population was down in Lake St. Clair. Today, the Great Lakes are a source of food, recreation and jobs—some 1.5 million jobs that carry $62 billion in yearly wages.

If you were to look for a country with a higher GDP than the Great Lakes region, there are only two: the United States and China.

As a university, we need to take on ownership and responsibility of regional sustainability challenges that affect us—close to home and where our expertise can have enormous impact. The Water Center will do that.

I want to thank John Erb and his family foundation for supporting our work and for continually pushing us to do more.

The Great Lakes hold one-fifth of the world’s freshwater. One-fifth. Compro-mise their health and integrity, and the damage will be felt far beyond our shores.

Which is why it is so critical to pursue not only local partnerships, but also in-ternational ones—relationships that pull together different perspectives to tackle the world’s toughest challenges.

***Doing more—more research, more

service, more collaboration—means be-ing more global.

Eighty years ago, when Raoul Wallen-berg was a Michigan student, he abso-lutely relished new people and different cultures. As an international student from Sweden, he visited Detroit, New York, Chicago and New Orleans. He and a classmate drove to Mexico one summer. Another summer he hitchhiked to Cali-fornia, and on up into Canada, and then thumbed his way back to Ann Arbor.

He called his travels “training in diplo-macy and tact.”

Now, the parent in me does not recommend hitchhiking. But as university president, I strongly endorse more global opportunities for our students and faculty.

Just yesterday we learned that Michi-gan students lead the nation in this year’s Fulbright grants.

I should say, once again lead the

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nation. For the sixth time in the past eight years.

Fulbrights support global study and are among the world’s most competitive and prestigious programs. I’m think-ing they’re becoming somewhat routine around here.

But, of course, no international expe-rience is ordinary.

Consider Brazil. My recent trip there with a faculty delegation provides fertile territory for our work as a university.

The country has seen enormous economic progress in the past 20 years and its vibrancy is palpable. Both the federal and state governments are invest-ing heavily in education and in advanc-ing science and technology, and are developing ways to move the previously disadvantaged into the middle class.

I anticipate exciting collabora-tions resulting from our conversations throughout Brazil. Several members of the delegation are with us today—please give us a show of hands. I want everyone here to know how expertly the University was represented on this trip.

Our discussions fell into three catego-ries: medicine and health, humanities and social sciences, environment and natural resources. At the University of Sao Paulo, for example, there was intense interest in how we as a university are addressing sustainability.

The Brazilian government is making impressive investments in education with a bold new scholarship program called Science Without Borders. The goal is to educate 100,000 students by sending them abroad for a year of study, specifically in STEM disciplines. That’s science, technology, engineering and math.

Brazil wants to achieve this goal by 2015. At the moment, there are 1,000 students in the program, so you can see the challenges. But it is one that leaders are willing to pursue.

Brazil wants half of these stu-dents—50,000—to attend college here, in the United States, and our embassy in Brasilia is trying to help with this complex goal. We were able to meet with the U.S. ambassador and, since we better under-stand the issues, I am confident we can

respond in positive ways.We currently have five undergraduate

students enrolled through Science With-out Borders. They are with us—and I look forward to welcoming more students in the future.

These students strengthen Michi-gan, with their ideas and their experi-ences. They bring a new perspective. They demonstrate why we must, absolutely must, pursue true, bilateral partnerships—to succeed and thrive as a great institution.

As one university, we don’t have all the answers. But working together with many, our potential takes on an entire new magnitude.

Which is why we are partnering with universities in China, Ghana and South Africa, and why I’ll lead a faculty delegation to India next year. It’s why we, as an institution, are com-municating in Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin. We’ve joined Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, and are now considered the most influential American university in that space.

Global impact is why we chose to be the first public university in Coursera, the massive online learn-ing community. And the key word here is massive.

More than 1.3 million people worldwide are enrolled in courses. Michigan faculty are teaching six classes, with a seventh planned for January. Professor Gautam Kaul’s introductory finance course alone at-tracted a staggering 133,000 students!

These courses are free, and they give us a way to connect with new students, whether in Michigan or Macedonia. Coursera fits neatly with our public mission of sharing knowl-edge. We are also optimistic that it will help transform our classroom peda-gogy as well.

***Optimism is an equally critical

ingredient for new discoveries and technologies that spring from our laboratories, clinics and studies. Re-search universities fervently believe in improving the world, and we do so in diverse ways.

Two months ago, the world lost a true pioneer with the passing of Neil Armstrong. His walk on the moon was one of the truly monumental achieve-ments in science innovation—not only in this country, but anywhere.

Think of the research, the cre-ativity and hard work that went into Apollo 11. NASA, industry, universi-ties and others came together with their research and their inventions.

It was the ultimate embodiment of American innovation and collaboration.

Now also think of this: The com-puters on Apollo 11 had less process-ing power than today’s smartphone.

That is why we continually invent, innovate and educate. To discover new knowledge. To move forward—as a nation and as a global community.

Michigan’s research portfolio stands at an impressive $1.27 billion—billion. That exceeds the entire budget of Monaco. No public university in the world invests more in research.

It’s research that is more relevant than ever.

We are now the first university to lead an entire satellite launch pro-gram, a $152 million venture en-trusted to us by NASA. This project is designed to better understand hurri-canes, which results in more accurate storm predictions and, ultimately, lives saved.

Hurricane Sandy is showing the importance of forecasting, and it’s gratifying to know our scientists will contribute to even more refinements.

We also see lives being saved with a new research project that has thou-sands of vehicles throughout Ann Arbor using technology to communi-cate with each other. With the support of $22 million from the Department of Transportation, this technology is alerting drivers to trouble on the road. It may well lead to an 80 percent reduction in crashes.

That’s impact.Our health system—including Uni-

versity Hospital and Mott Children’s Hospital—continues to be among the best and safest in the country.

We have been selected as the home

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for a new $21 million federally funded center for HIV research. The Univer-sity’s two largest grants from the Na-tional Institute of Health support the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research. Both were renewed this year, and with glowing comments from the NIH.

The North Campus Research Complex is attracting more people and programs. This includes the new Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and more than 400 researchers committed to promoting high-quality, equitable and affordable health care services.

We believe the Institute will be the largest in the country for such work.

Today, we are announcing its first director, Dr. John Ayanian, a highly respected researcher we’ve attracted from the Michigan of the East, Har-vard University.

His expertise will give IHPI na-tional prominence and help us recruit even more top experts.

Dr. Ayanian is on campus this week and I’m thrilled to introduce him. John …

John needs to be at the Michigan Union shortly to welcome a summit of national health care leaders, and I ap-preciate him spending time with us.

The Michigan passion for entrepre-neurship is flourishing.

Our scientists are declaring record numbers of inventions—more than one a day this past year. The Venture Accelerator, based at NCRC, is of-ficially full with 18 startup companies built on U-M research discoveries. We thought the Accelerator would take three years to fill, and it took less than half that.

Students are enrolled in our first class of candidates for a master’s in entrepreneurship. Here at the Ross School, the Zell-Lurie Institute is ranked second in the country among top graduate programs in entrepre-neurship. The ZEAL clinic is up and running, connecting law students with student entrepreneurs in need of legal counsel.

Faculty are beating down the doors

to participate in MCubed, our new funding program that connects re-searchers across campus. We are com-mitting $15 million to some 250 team projects that are admittedly high-risk, but also, potentially, very rewarding.

MCubed has grown out of our Third Century Initiative, a $50 million investment in teaching and research that we announced a year ago. This is a commitment taking us up to the University’s bicentennial, and a third century of creative thinking.

We want to know: What are the different ways the University can ad-dress the world’s greatest challenges and opportunities? And what types of immersive learning experiences can we create for students?

We are eager to fund innovative answers. Beginning next month, the Provost’s Office will be asking you, members of our community, for your best ideas.

When we talk about innovation and creativity, we know that Michigan staff are essential to this culture. We see it with Planet Blue, with Voices of the Staff, and with MHealthy.

Today, I’m pleased to announce we will recognize the creative staff contributions with a new Presidential Innovation Award. With both words and dollars, we will honor individuals and teams for ideas that make Michi-gan a better place to live and work.

The Chronicle of Higher Edu-cation consistently recognizes our campus as one of the best university workplaces—it happened again this summer—and Michigan staff help create that climate.

***That Michigan is an invigorating

place to live, learn and work has been known by generations.

When Raoul Wallenberg was winding down his time here, he wanted to stay.

“I feel so at home in my little Ann Arbor that I’m beginning to sink down roots here, and have a hard time imag-ining my leaving it.

“But,” he observed, “I am not do-ing anything very useful here.”

Isn’t that what we want from our students? To have an amazing experi-ence here, but know their real value is when they move on and apply their lessons?

Could Raoul Wallenberg have envisioned the horror of war and the heroics he would display in World War II? Of course not. But he knew the importance of taking Michigan with him, because the lessons would help shape the future.

Just how deeply is evidenced with us this morning.

Irene Butter and Andrew Nagy are emeritus faculty, and I’d like to invite them to stand for a moment.

Professors Butter and Nagy de-voted more than 85 combined years to teaching, research and service. Dr. Butter was a professor in the School of Public Health and helped write our state’s Public Health Code. Dr. Nagy is a space scientist with the College of Engineering who was involved with numerous NASA projects.

But long before they were scholars, they were scared Jewish teenagers living through the Holocaust—she in Holland and he in Hungary. Each survived, although members of their families did not. Professor Nagy him-self was saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

As Holocaust survivors and mem-bers of our community, these two scholars have dedicated themselves to the humanitarian spirit with their longtime service to the University’s Wallenberg Medal and Lecture.

The Wallenberg Medal honors compassionate, global work, and past recipients have included Elie Wiesel, John Lewis and Nobel Peace laure-ate Aung San Suu Kyi. Just last week, one of our past honorees, Dr. Denis Mukwege, was the target of assassins because of his tireless mission to save rape victims in the Congo.

The words on the Wallenberg Medal are direct: One person can make a difference.

Professors Butter and Nagy, you have done just that with your scholar-ship and your dedication to the Wal-lenberg legacy. Thank you.

CICERO 2013

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Today, in the 100th year of his birth, we will do more to promote the spirit of Raoul Wallenberg.

I am thrilled to announce the establishment of the Raoul Wallenberg Fellowship for undergraduates. This is a new $25,000 stipend to be awarded to a graduating senior who demonstrates a deep commitment to selfless work.

We want to help a new graduate dedicate the first year of his or her life path to this calling.

It will now be among the Univer-sity’s largest prizes for undergraduates.

Its name carries great importance and even greater expectations.

And we will begin with a graduating senior from the class of 2013.

Surely Raoul Wallenberg did not graduate intending to become an interna-tional symbol of moral courage. But his remarkable deeds provide inspiration for today’s Michigan students, and this new award will serve to encourage careers dedicated to service and human rights.

***Let me close with one last Wallen-

berg snapshot.He has just completed final exams

and his freshman year. In a letter home, he tells of staying up all night, studying chemistry with friends. It’s not his best subject and he knows it. He is thor-oughly exhausted.

And still, he says, it has all been worth it. He has made friends. He

enjoys college. Not so much because of good grades. But rather, “because I re-ally feel that I’ve learned something.”

This is our mission as a great uni-versity.

That our students learn and grow, evolve as leaders, and come to see themselves in a different light.

That our staff and faculty teach and grow as well, changing people and places with their discoveries and contributions.

That we all believe we can—and will—make a difference, as individuals and as an academic community, dedicat-ed to transforming our state, our nation and our world with ideas and actions.

Thank you.

Mission: The Cicero Speechwriting Awards honor

speechwriters for their contribution to the

public conversation. Judged by experts in the

communication field, the Cicero Speechwriting Awards

celebrate all aspects of an unforgettable speech:

content, clarity, organization and style.

To receive information on how to enter the 2014 Cicero

Speechwriting Awards, you can call us at 888-303-2373,

e-mail us at info@cicerospeechwritingawards.com, or

visit our website at cicerospeechwritingawards.com.

The 2014 Cicero Speechwriting Awards call for entries

will be in late fall of 2013. It will be open to any speeches

given within the current calendar year. So start gather-

ing your best stuff today.