The Distinguished Service Award was created to honor an individual, who over the years has helped strengthen the role of public relations. Successful candidates have served the profession by improving its overall value and effectiveness. The recipients of this award helped strengthen the role of public relations in our society by devoting themselves to services that help build and nurture the profession. Winners may have championed the merits of public relations; written articles and/or books; conducted opinion research; developed educational programs; and worked with students, professional groups and community groups.

The individual selected for the annual Distinguished Service Award is honored at the Awards Dinner held at the Page Society’s Annual Conference, typically held in September. The honoree presents a speech on how we can strengthen the profession of communications and public relations. Speeches by Distinguished Service Award winners have included perspective on ethics and education, the value of mentoring, the profession’s store of knowledge, among other topics.

These speeches can be accessed below.