 Thank you. Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Now, unless someone else has broken the news already, before we begin, I'd like to tell you that at 1137, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off at the Kennedy Space Center and is now headed into orbit. And America is back in space. We're now looking forward to the successful completion of the Discovery mission and the safe return of her five-member crew. We salute the bravery of Rick Hawk, Dick Covey, Pinky Nelson, Mike Lounge, and Dave Hilmers, and we ask God to bless this important voyage. They sure were considered in their timing. Just gave me time to get out here without being late. Well, after looking down the list of what all your organizations have done, I have to say you are America's good Samaritans, and I'm delighted to welcome you to the White House. This is a very special day for me. It's the last time I'll get to present the presidential citations for private sector initiatives. This is a program that we started here in 1984 to help recognize the outstanding volunteer efforts of business organizations and dedicated people like you. Today, there are some 4,500 seaflags waving across America, and I have to confess I'm the guy who loves to wave the flag. Partly that's because Betsy Ross and I were childhood friends. And now I'm reminded of a story. I know I've told this story more than once, but at my age, people aren't surprised when you start repeating yourself. Of course, I've been repeating myself for so many years now that it would be risky to stop, as then some people would say, hey, I guess he's losing his memory. But early in my first term at a dinner party at the White House, this is the story, the wife of an ambassador of a European country sitting beside me, heard some talk there at our table about some of the things that were being done here as private sector initiatives. And very quietly, she said to me, yes, but you're unique. And I said, well, what do you mean unique? She said, yes, in the United States, you do it that way. But she said, no place else in the rest of the world. We just wait for government to do it. Well, all of you are the people that she was talking about. She was talking about this country where last year total charitable giving exceeded the combined profits of all the companies on the Fortune 500 list. That's the kind of country America is. One of the great joys for me during my nearly eight years in office has been the rare chance I've had to see the American people at their best, their commitment, their compassion, and their concern for one another. These values are so powerful and abundant in our land. America has been blessed in so many ways. But isn't it great that our greatest blessing really is that we have each other? There are a few things more inspiring than the pure generosity of a neighbor's helping hand, that distinctively American spirit which says we can, we care. That generous spirit is what the citation program is all about. And I should say the ambassador's wife whom I just mentioned would I know be very thrilled to see how other countries are joining in. The first international conference on private sector initiatives was held in Paris two years ago. We got a call that they wanted some people to come over and tell them how it's done. Well, last year during the economic summit in Venice, I had the chance to address the first gathering of Italian business leaders who were developing this concept in their own country. And just this spring, the first British American conference on private sector initiatives was convened with Israel Highness, the Prince of Wales, and Prime Minister Thatcher in attendance. So what you are all a part of has become a different kind of international conspiracy, a conspiracy of compassion. And the work being done by Americans is also changing lives, not just in the United States, but around the world. Let me read to you from a letter received by a group called Operation Smile. They are volunteer doctors, teachers, students, church members, hospitals, and businesses that provide reconstructive surgery to children in developing countries. This letter is from the mother of Edward Rasko, a young boy in Naga City, the Philippines. She wrote, I couldn't find the exact words on how I can express my thanks and gratitude, but I should not keep myself silent for I owe my son's life to all of you, second to God. Then she tells the story. She explained that she had asked herself, how can we pay for this operation when we could not even make both ends meet for our daily subsistence? So we really prayed hard and sought his guidance and help. It was January 12th, 1986, when we heard of the Team Operation Smile coming to Naga City. I'm so happy because my son will be treated. Dr. McGee told me there is a need for Edward to be brought to the United States of America for surgery. When we landed at Norfolk Airport, everybody hugged and kissed us as if we were their long lost relatives. Names were unfamiliar, but for me it sounded like names of angels. Edward's recovery was fast and in five days he was released from the hospital. He's back to his normal life, happy and smiling. Thank you for doing a miracle for Edward and for helping me lighten the load on my shoulders, which I have been carrying for a long time. Well, I can't tell you how much it means to me to know that the work that all of you are doing will continue and expand. You know, in the last eight years, charitable giving in this country has nearly doubled and more new voluntary programs are being started literally every day. Now our Board of Advisors on Private Sector Initiatives is working with our nation's business schools to plant the seed corn for a new generation of corporate support for voluntary programs. And in many instances, it is the students themselves who have taken the first steps. So thanks to people like you, America's future is one that is bright and filled with generosity and compassion. Before closing, I want to recognize our Board of Advisors on Private Sector Initiatives for their help and especially to thank John Phalen for his leadership. Also, I want to thank Eddie Fritz for his support and Bill Taylor for his untiring dedication to this effort. Bill, I know that you and the American Society of Association Executives devoted great time and resources to help administer the citation program and to make it such a success. And I know that under your guidance, it will continue. So thank you all for your work and God bless you all. And now let's present the awards. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, the American Society of Association Executives is honored to administer the Private Sector Initiatives Program, the Citation Program for Private Sector Initiatives. We'd like to pay our personal thanks to the co-sponsoring organizations, and now we're very pleased and proud to present Crystal Tetrahedrons, inscribed with the Presidential Seal to the 1988 Presidential Award Winners for Private Sector Initiatives. Mr. President, leading off the list of award winners in alphabetical order by sponsor is American Express Roads to Liberty, Magna Carta to the Constitution, sponsored by American Express, the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution Council of the 13 original states, Frederick Wilkinson, Senior Vice President of American Express, accepting. Inner City Ventures Fund, sponsored by BP America and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, James Ross, President and CEO, BP America, accepting. Drugs, a deadly game sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America, Coca-Cola USA, and Champion International, Ben Love, Chief Executive Officer, Boy Scouts of America, accepting. Food Bank Trucking Team, sponsored by the California Trucking Association, Anthony Osterkamp, President, accepting. Dollar General GED and Learn to Read Program, sponsored by the Dollar General Corporation, Cal Turner Jr., President and CEO, accepting. Riches Cities in Schools, sponsored by the Federated Department Store's Roger Farah, Chairman and CEO, accepting. We're all in this together, sponsored by the First Interstate Bank of California, John Popovich, Vice President of Public Affairs, accepting. Food Banks, sponsored by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, James Wood, Chairman and CEO, accepting. Drug Awareness and Prevention Program, sponsored by the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit Edison and the Royal Oak School District, Saul Waldman, Vice President of Public Affairs of the Detroit Edison, accepting. Daring Goals for a Caring Society, sponsored by Independent Sector, Eugene Dorsey, Chairman of the Daring Goals Committee Program, accepting. Rochester Brain Power Program, sponsored by the Industrial Management Council and the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Martin Birmingham, Chairman of the Rochester Chamber, accepting. Shelter Aid, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, Maver Heffler, Director of Sales Promotion, accepting. Needy Kids Fund, sponsored by 1190 KEX Radio, Bob Miller, Morning Personality, accepting. For Kids' sake, sponsored by KOMO Radio and Television, John Binky, President, accepting. Adopt-a-School Partnership and Education, sponsored by McKee Baking Company, R. Ellsworth McKee, President and CEO, accepting. Mobile Clean Team, Mobile Green Team, sponsored by Mobile Corporation, James Reardon, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, accepting. Tomorrow's Scientist, Technicians and Managers, sponsored by Nalco Chemical Company and Quad County Urban League, W. H. Clark, Chairman, President and CEO, accepting. Public Service Program, sponsored by the National Association of Life Underwriters, Kelly Wolfe, Public Service Chairman, accepting. The Prevention of Child Abuse, sponsored by the National Exchange Club, Harold Akers, President, accepting. The Jennifer Creed Fund, sponsored by the New England Convenience Store Association, Catherine Flarity, Executive Director, accepting. Operation Smile, sponsored by Operation Smile, Dr. William McGee, founder, accepting. Midtown Corridor, sponsored by the Premier Industrial Corporation, Morton Mandel, Chairman and CEO, accepting. Missing Children Project, Safe Harbor, sponsored by Quality Inns International and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Robert Hazard Jr., President and CEO of Quality Inns International, accepting. Senior Citizens Volunteer Project, sponsored by TES Division of T.E.U. Electric, Dale Scarth, Division, President, accepting. Manager of Volunteer Program, sponsored by TRW Foundation, Donna Cummings, Manager, accepting. Talking Book Repair Program, sponsored by the Telephone Pioneers of America, Thomas Gibbons, President, accepting. Genesis, a New Beginning for Abused Children, sponsored by the Thunderbird Chapter of the Telephone Pioneers of America, Max Coward, President, accepting. Traveler's Older Americans Program, sponsored by the Traveler's Companies, Evelyn Smith, Co-Director of the Ritari Job Bank, accepting. Revitalizing a Community Spirit and Economy, sponsored by the Union National Bank, John Keck, President and CEO, accepting. The Walmart Foundation, sponsored by Walmart Stores, Brenda Lockhart, Director of the Walmart Foundation, accepting. Mr. President, that completes the list of 1988 award-winning organizations, but as Chairman of the Awards Committee, I have the great honor of making a very special award at this time. During the past eight years, Mr. President, you have challenged our nation to reach for new heights and to reach out and help our neighbors. You've led by example and by inspiration. When you leave office next January, you will leave a legacy of a nation with a renewed sense of caring. So please accept this special award, Mr. President, from those of us who have been honored to serve with you. Well, I thank you very much. You are the ones who have done all the work. I guess I just thought of something. But thank you all. And again, God bless you all. Congratulations, award winners. We're adjourned. Thank you.