Thank you, Emmett (Hines). Mr. Vice President. Bryce. Honored guests. Good Friends. Ladies and gentlemen. I am both honored and humbled by this award.
There are a number of people in this audience more worthy than I to be standing at this podium. I think it would be most appropriate if, at this moment, I were replaced by the man whose name graces this beautiful trophy, my friend of years, Bryce Harlow.
Few men have given as unstintingly as Bryce Harlow, for so long a time, of their talents and knowledge, of their abilities and dedication, in the service of business and government, and executive. He has been and still is a member of numerous committees, associations and organizations whose purpose it is to smooth that often abrasive interface where business and government meet.
Bryce believes, as I do, that private enterprise and representative government are two of the pillars that undergird this nation. They augment each other. They share a great load. They sometimes clash, but never relinquish the weight of their responsibilities.
I have reached that time in my life when I am sometimes called elder statesman… or something worse. But I thank God that I have had opportunity to express my belief that business and government are partners. Those partners — being people — are not perfect. But more important is the fact that they continue to reach for an ever more productive and meaningful relationship. That striving to reach the greater goal is what differentiates our nation from every other on this globe.
Our world is changing. A world economy is evolving. More now than ever, governments must be reminded they are servant, not master, to people. Governments must be reminded that their primary function is to do for their people what their people cannon do for themselves.
And business must be reminded that its inherent self interest is to provide the mechanism for goods and services, to provide jobs, to provide profits, to fulfill its rightful role as an integral member of the society in which it operates… and, of course, to be a good corporate citizen.
Bryce and I are still committed to the task we’ve been working at these many years… to building new relationships… to carrying on the dialogue… to reminding each other that the job will never be finished.
But we both take strength from the fact that we are not alone.
There are strong voices in the Roundtable and on the hill and in many other organizations dedicated to greater business and government understanding and cooperation. We are proof that voices crying in the wilderness are not necessarily lost in the wind.
So carry on. Speak loud and often and with conviction. Our world, our country and every human being therein will be better for the effort. Thank you again for this marvelous award. I will cherish it.