John Reed, a pioneer in the field of international public relations, will receive the Arthur W. Page Society’s Distinguished Service Award. That award, to be presented during the Society’s Annual Conference September 13-15 at Westfields Marriott Conference Center in Chantilly VA, recognizes individuals whose service to the profession over the years has served to strengthen the role of public relations.

For Reed, those services have been performed in four separate categories of PR – government, industry, consultancy and teaching -- and in countries around the world.

From occupation duty with the U.S. Army in Korea and Japan after World War II, he moved into work with the fledgling United States Information Service in Korea and then in the Philippines, and subsequently, with the new Committee for a Free Asia (later The Asia Foundation) which was part of a major effort by the newly established Central Intelligence Agency to help counter the rising tide of Communist dictatorships around the globe.

His first experiences with international industry began in 1960 when he joined the newly reorganized Olin Mathieson Corporation, one of the first major disparate multinational corporations, where his title was manager of international public relations for Olin International, the division responsible for international business. He held similar positions with Deere and Company and with a financial firm before opening his own consultancy, Consultants in Public Relations, SA, (CPRSA) in Geneva. His initial clients included Pan American World Airways, Hewlett-Packard, and Johnson and Johnson, followed soon after by Seiko.

Returning to the U.S. after several years in Europe, Reed joined Control Data Corporation as vice president of public relations, while also maintaining his consultancy, CPRSA.

In 1986, he moved to Washington DC and continued to provide PR consultation in the international arena while also beginning the fourth phase of his career, teaching at George Washington University and The American University where he was an adjunct professor in the School of Communication. Now retired, he continues to lecture at universities and professional groups worldwide. Reed also spent three years as editor of the quarterly, International Public Relations Review.

Among his many honors and awards are the first Atlas Award given for lifetime achievement in international public relations by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and The Gold Anvil, PRSA’s highest individual award.

Past winners of the Society’s Distinguished Service Award have been Betsy Ann Plank (2000), Patrick J. Jackson (2001), John W. Felton (2002) and Ann H. Barkelew (2003).

About the Arthur W. Page Society

The Arthur W. Page Society is a professional association composed primarily of the chief communications officers (CCOs) of the world's top multinational corporations, and the CEOs of the world's largest public relations agencies. The organization's members also include academics from the leading business and communications schools.

The Page Society is dedicated to strengthening the management policy role of chief communications officers. The Page Society is upheld by management concepts, known as the Page Principles, which have been tested for more than half a century and have earned the support and respect of chief executive officers throughout the country. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Arthur W. Page Society.