 President of the United States. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all very much. And welcome to the White House. And since I understand you've been in here for a couple of hours, you will bless me when you go out and find out that we refuse to have this this morning in the Rose Garden. It's a little warm. Well, on my desk in the Oval Office there sits a plaque that says it can be done. It's a belief that I deeply hold true. And there's no community, no problem, no individual that cannot be helped through private sector initiative. When individuals and organizations are willing to get involved, there's no limit to the good that can be done. It's a tradition as old as our country, that in America, neighbors help neighbors. You here today are proof that this great American tradition lives on. The problems and challenges you've addressed are diverse. The solutions all share a common foundation, that of one man, a woman, reaching out to another. When floods ravaged communities around Chicago, it was volunteers from the private sector who sat on battered boxes and listened to the tales of grief and helped the healing process and future begin. Their employer made it possible for this act of kindness to take place, releasing their employees from work and organizing efforts to aid those in need with clean-up assistance, replacement of household goods, and daily meals for over 1,400. In the town of Yellowbud, Ohio, farmers and their families loaded trucks at midnight with their excess hay so that fellow farmers in drought-stricken North Carolina might feed their herds. A local supermarket chain provided two convoys with over 100 drivers to get hay to those in need as part of their Hay for Farmers program. Bob Goodale, whose company provided the trucks and drivers, didn't seek any reward for his efforts. The farmers were the heroes, he said. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. When it comes to the fight against drug abuse, the American Association of Advertising Agencies estimates that nine out of 10 Americans over the age of 12 will be exposed to at least one of their many anti-drug campaigns. The association has mobilized the creative resources of over 300 advertising agencies and multiple trade unions, as they put it, denormalize drug use over the next three years. In Los Angeles, there's a group called SHARE that's close to Nancy's and my heart. Each year, the members of SHARE, women in the entertainment community, including stars like Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett and others, put on a wonderful show to raise funds for mentally retarded children. SHARE has been so successful that just this year, the organization has been able to fund a new wing at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a wing devoted to research on retardation. These are just a few examples of private sector initiative at work. You were here today, or you here today, I should say, are the companies and associations who got involved and made it your business to be in the right place at the right time. You're not only examples for your fellow Americans, but the world as well. You know, one night at a dinner, early in my first term, over in the White House there, Ambassador's wife was my dinner partner on one side, and the conversation at the table had gotten around to things that were being done here by the private sector initiative. And very quietly, she said to me, yes, but you're unique. And I said, well, what do you mean? She said, yes, in the United States, you do it that way. But she said, no place else. She said, all the rest of us over there, just leave it to government. Well, I have never forgotten her story, and I started telling it around and have it every occasion that I could on this subject mention that. And now, that may be changing. It is changing. In fact, last November, the first international conference on private sector initiatives was held in Paris, France. And they had asked us if we would participate and tell them how it worked. And while I was in Venice just several weeks ago for the Economic Summit, I attended an Italian-American conference on private sector initiatives. And standing at a podium like this, I looked out and saw a few friendly faces from our own country who were there for that particular meeting. The Italian National Task Force, formed as a result of that conference, met two days ago in Italy to develop their own plan of action. In 1984, my board of advisors on private sector initiatives developed the President's Citation Program for private sector initiatives to recognize and showcase outstanding examples of community involvement. And the backbone of that program is the C-Flag, the flag by which good neighbor organizations can be identified. And people still ask, what does the C stand for? Well, it stands for commitment, a commitment to respond to the needs of others. This year, over 3,500 organizations proudly fly the C-Flag with its slogan, We Can, We Care. And today I'm proud to be here with the 100 winners of the private sector initiative citation for 1987 and to bestow this crystal tetrahedron to the 30 top programs. I especially want to thank Bill Taylor of the American Society of Association Executives for all of the help his organization gives in administering this program. You do a fine job, Bill. Now I better stop talking and we'll give out the awards. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, as we look back in future years at the great accomplishments of the Reagan years, I'm sure that historians will point out that one of the great things he did was to cause a rebirth of volunteerism in this country. As he said to us, not only in this country but in Europe, the neighbor helping neighbor spirit is now alive and well thanks to his leadership. The American Society of Association Executives is honored to administer the citations program in behalf of the White House and we'd like to thank our co-sponsors for their work with us and to congratulate the 70 citation winners. Mr. President, we now would like to present in order, alphabetical order by sponsor the 30-30 top winners for this year. Starting with America's Looking For Its Children sponsored by Advo System Incorporated Hugh R. Beath, president and CEO, accepting flood assistance programs sponsored by all state insurance company Richard J. Hayen, chairman and CEO, accepting media advertising partnership for a drug-free America sponsored by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Phillip Joano, director, accepting. We the People sponsored by American Bar Association, J. Michael McWilliams, chairman, House of Delegates, accepting. Soaring Spirits sponsored by the American Women and Radio and Television, Susan Dimmick, president, accepting. RBI program for big brothers and big sisters sponsored by RBI's Incorporated Leonard H. Roberts, president and CEO, accepting. Save the Books sponsored by Arco J. Carlton Norris, manager of community affairs, accepting. Food for the Hungry and Homeless sponsored by Bell Air Markets, George R. Wong, president, accepting. In honor of excellence sponsored by the Burger King Corporation, J. Jeffrey Campbell, chairman and CEO, accepting. Helping battered and abused children sponsored by the Florida Independent Automobile Dealers Association, Fred B. Hagan, executive vice president, accepting. AltCare sponsored by General Mills and the Wilder Foundation, Terry J. Thompson, vice president, accepting. Hafer Farmers sponsored by Harris Teeter Supermarkets Incorporated Robert Goodale, president, accepting. Neighborhood Improvement Program sponsored by Honeywell Ray Frelson, manager of Special Projects, accepting. Getting to Know sponsored by King 5 Television, Patricia Chappell, program director, accepting. School Age Drug Abuse Campaign sponsored by Kiwanis International, Frank J. Denoto, president, accepting. Holiday Good News Program sponsored by the Kmart Corporation, A. Robert Stevenson, vice president, accepting. Project Abuse sponsored by KRGV-TV5, Raymond Alexander, general manager, accepting. Alamo Park High School Partnership sponsored by the McKesson Corporation, Madeline Gates-Winston, community relations manager, accepting. Christmas Calls sponsored by Merrill Lynch and company-incorporated Jerry Eli, division director, accepting. Work Resources and Retraining Initiative sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters, Jerry Lee, chairman of the Broadcasting Productivity Council, accepting. Our House sponsored by the Northeast Florida Builders Association, HR Buddy James, president, accepting. Special Olympics International sponsored by Procter & Gamble, Wally Abbott, senior vice president, accepting. Helping Hands sponsored by the Scott Paper Company, J. Richard Lehman, junior, president, accepting. Program for the Developmentally Disabled sponsored by Cher-incorporated Shirley Turtle-Tob, president, accepting. Support of Education in Kentucky sponsored by South Central Bell, Stanley S. Dixon, vice president, accepting. Celebrity Tag Sale and Auctions sponsored by United Technologies Corporation, Lois Sabatino, manager of community relations, accepting. Washington Metropolitan Area Committee on School Attendance sponsored by WHMM Television, Arnold D. Wallace, general manager, accepting. Hope Lodge sponsored by Winn-Dixie Sturer's employees, Jack P. Jones, vice president, accepting. Worlds of Wonder, Missing Children Program, Donald Kingsborough, chairman and CEO, accepting. Beautiful Babies, right from the start, sponsored by WRC-TV, Channel 4, Henry Osborn, manager for community service and broadcast standards, accepting. Mr. President, that completes our awards for this year. Thank you, sir, for your inspiration to the American people and congratulations to the winners. Thank you and God bless you all. Thank you.