 Ladies and gentlemen, I wonder if you would take your seat, please, right after the President. But Jay is here, and I'd like to introduce Jay to you, who is the Special Assistant to the President on Private Sector Initiative. Jay? Thank you very much, Bill. I'd just like to take a couple of brief minutes to explain this administration and something that you all ought to point out to those people that you talk to, is that this is the first administration that created in the White House the Office of Private Sector Initiatives, which I now currently head, with 44 of the best individuals around the country, people who were leaders and leaders in for the next several months to define those 43 outstanding people. From December 2nd, up through the end of this year, the White House, the President, and this administration, how they can best mobilize this effort. And we hope that at the end of the year, when the Task Force submits its final list of Private Sector Initiatives, becomes a little bit more important and receives a little bit more focus because it will be that office's responsibility, let me say that from all of my indications that he is not going to let this initiative die. He plans to continue to speak out as often as he has in the past. He plans to continue to visit cities around the country who have been Private Sector Initiatives' effort would follow very closely along the President's major domestic initiatives that he has put forth over the last several years, as all of you know, and we have every indication to believe that in 1983, 1984, and beyond that Private Sector Initiatives will also join those previous two initiatives. We take two examples out of our project bank and we send those to newspapers all over the country and radio stations, and it's called The Brighter Side of the News. These are two examples of how a community is in a very creative way. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Thank you very much. Well, seeing so many Association leaders here today through me for a moment, I thought that I was supposed to lobby you on a budget bill, but it really is a pleasure to welcome you here and to tell you the truth, I'm going to do a little lobbying after all, and that's on behalf of our Private Sector Initiatives program. Now, I know you must have been briefed very thoroughly and know all about that, and I'll try not to plow the same ground, but I heard a story the other day about a third grade teacher who was explaining the importance of good penmanship to her class. She told the students, if you can't write your name when you grow up, you'll have to pay for everything with cash. Well, we know there are certain things you can't buy with cash or even credit, and that's involvement, the kind that historians describe as the American spirit. You've been hearing about that spirit and involvement in the briefing today, and I'd like to just expand a little. I know that voluntarism didn't start with this administration. Americans have been helping their neighbors ever since the country was settled. It's a grand tradition that unfortunately hasn't gotten the attention that it's deserved in recent years. What we're trying to do is make sure that these good deeds receive their fair recognition, hoping that in turn this will spur others to participate, and that's why I asked Bill Verity to chair the Private Sector Initiative Task Force, and let me tell you he's been keeping me busy. We've had six major meetings here at the White House. I've talked to the nation's governors, asking them to form statewide task forces in over 40 states have now done so. I've asked the cabinet to encourage voluntarism and to promote public-private partnerships in their departments. I've met with independent broadcasters from around the country, and now I'm glad to report that we're finally seeing more stories about the good things that people are doing. To give you an idea, at least 40 TV stations around the country are running programs that show how communities are solving their problems through partnerships. I've also made visits to cities all across the country in order to spotlight private sector initiatives. And now before I wear out my arm padding, Bill and myself in the back, let me say I mention all this to show you how deeply we believe in private sector initiatives. The push for private sector initiatives is as central of this administration as cutting spending and taxes. But what's even more important than what we're doing is what the American people are doing. In Las Vegas, the Independent Youth Athletic Association provided volunteer labor and equipment to light up city and county baseball fields, saving taxpayers more than $270,000 in lighting costs. Then working with local agencies and private foundations, they built an athletic complex that is now valued at over $3 million. The old Newsboys Goodfellow Association sounds like something I should belong to, doesn't it? In Toledo provides more than 2,000 food baskets and other essentials at Christmas time for school kids. In the association's words, our project will last forever. Our membership's pleasures are realized when they see the smiles on the recipient's faces. An American Medical Association auxiliary in Flint, Michigan operates a free spinal screening program for youth in the area. In November, more than 13,000 children were screened with the help of 300 volunteers. And the list goes on and on. And many of them stories of almost happening by accident, as a matter of fact, in Santa Barbara, California. Just a couple of years ago, a young girl in school needed to have the total kind of bone marrow transplant for the catarious condition that had afflicted her. But her family, there was no way they could send her to Mayo's, where this was to be done at that time, and fund this. And some of her schoolmates just in her class began knocking on neighborhood doors and telling their story and asking for money to help their schoolmate. And from that, suddenly, as adults began to hear, a committee was formed and they raised money. Oh, they did it with a symphony concert. They did it with all kinds of things and they raised the money to send this little girl to Mayo's. The operation was a success, but then tragically, a staff infection took her life. And the group that had formed and raised the money for this particular thing, then suddenly, faced with this tragedy, said, wait a minute, they had money left over. They said, let's stay together. Why don't we make this a permanent part of our community? Because there are going to be other cases like this and we'll have a head start and we'll be prepared to take care of those other cases. And it just started with some school children knocking on a door. You know, I wish all those who claim our greatest days or past could grasp the energy and vitality in grassroots America today. Henry Luce, the founder of Time Magazine, saw this. He spent a lifetime watching and recording it. And in 1962, he observed, we're the country of the endless frontier of the big sky, of manifest destiny, of unlimited resources, of go west young men, of opportunity for all, of rags to riches, mass production, nothing to fear but fear itself, technical know-how, a chicken in every pot, gung-ho and can-do. Well, it may sound a little corny, but Luce was absolutely right. And that spirit is still out there. And you here today are in touch with it through your memberships. You can stimulate and activate the manufacturers, the small businessmen, the doctors, the nurses, the lawyers, the realtors, the public officials and concerned citizens who are your members. They're the people who make this country go and they're the ones who can make the difference. And you might point out to them that the quality of their community is key to the well-being of their plants, stores, practices and neighborhoods. We need you here today to get the message out that involvement is not only in the public good but in your members' own interest, best interests as well. We need you to encourage them to put their talents to work directly on some problems that we've let sit for too long. I urge you to take on a private sector initiative and put the full resource of your organizations behind it. Show your members how it's done and what they themselves can do. I know the task force will give you all sorts of help and ideas to get your projects rolling. Although the task force is going out of business at the end of the year, we'll still have the White House Private Sector Initiatives Office and I'll still be speaking out as I have been. And I hope that your organizations will be out there carrying the ball for us also. I guarantee you that you will have plenty of support from here. When I was inaugurated, I said that our people have a potential for greatness and they've proven it every time it counted. I believe we're in one of those periods of our history when it counts more than ever. And I ask you to join us in releasing that potential and to share in the satisfaction of making America all she can be. I thank you again, all of you, for being here. I will turn you back to the gentleman here in the platform and the continuation of your meeting. And as the little girl told me, an 11-year-old girl who wrote me a letter shortly after I got here, she told me how many disappointments I'd have and how busy I would be. And she said, you'll feel just be glad that you're not God. And then she ended with a PS and said, PS, now get back to the Oval Office and get to work. So that's what I'll do. But thank you again for coming here.