That said, the business would probably be better named "Strategic Recognition," (SR). That's all we do really. We are paid to get clients recognized variously (either positively or negatively frankly) in such a way as it facilitates a predetermined transaction. My ex-boss summed it up this way: "if I am on the nightly news, I have a much greater chance of picking up babes and possibly even getting laid on the first date." Of course, there are infinite permutations but that's pretty much what businessmen think. That's where the "Industry" of PR comes in. Because it doesn't actually have to be the nightly news, or even publicity for that matter. Could be via the web or word-of-mouth... could be joining the right country club or church, or even getting included in a foursome. You see where I am going.

Here's just how basic Mother Nature is on the topic: tall people get promoted. Why? Because obviously, they literally stand out in the crowd. It's natural recognition. Journalist/author Malcolm Gladwell recently polled about half of the companies on the Fortune 500. He found not surprisingly that the heads of big companies are overwhelmingly white men AND they are also virtually all tall. In his book "Blink," in the chapter titled "Why do we love Tall Men," Gladwell says,

"In my sample, I found that on average CEOs were just a shade under six feet. Given that the average American male is 5'9" that means that CEOs, as a group, have about three inches on the rest of their sex. But this statistic actually understates matters. In the U.S. population, about 14.5 percent of all men are six feet or over. Among CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, that number is 58 percent. Even more strikingly, in the general American population, 3.9 percent of adult men are 6'2" or taller. Among my CEO sample, 30 percent were 6'2"or taller."

My best friend Marcy said it best, "He's kind of a jerk but who cares, he's tall."

So at 5' 4" and 114lbs. wet, to be recognized as TALL, is very meaningful. Here's where I get all Oprah:

"Thank you everybody. Thank you Tom, and Bob and Dolores, who are home watching I hope, thank you so much, and to everyone who voted for me.

There really is nothing more important to me than striving to be a good human being. So, to be here tonight and be acknowledged as the first to receive this honor is beyond expression in words for me.

I grew up in Nashville with a father who owned a barbershop, Winfrey's Barber Shop. And every holiday, all of the transients and the guys who I thought were just losers who hung out at the shop, and were always bumming haircuts from my father and borrowing money, all those guys always ended up at our dinner table. They were a cast of real characters -- it was Fox and Shorty and Bootsy and Slim. And I would say, 'Bootsy, could you pass the peas please?' And I would often say to my father afterwards, 'Dad, why can't we just have regular people at our Christmas dinner?' And my father said to me, 'They are regular people. They're just like you. They want the same thing you want.' And I would say, 'What?' And he'd say, 'To be recognized.'

I have since learned how profound he really was, because we all are just regular people seeking the same thing. The guy on the street, the woman in the classroom, the Israeli, the Afghani, the Zuni, the Apache, the Irish, the Protestant, the Catholic, the gay, the straight, you, me -- we all just want to know that we matter. We want validation. We want to find somebody to love. We want to find somebody to laugh with and have the power and the place to cry with when necessary.

The greatest pain in life is to be invisible. What I've learned is that we all just want to be heard. And I thank all the people who continue to let me hear your stories, and by sharing your stories, you let other people see themselves and for a moment, glimpse the power to change and the power to triumph."

A week ago, I had the distinct honor to be recognized by my peers. PR-Celebrity Bloggers Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz recognized me in their weekly podcast, "For Immediate Release." Apparently, I now don the label "The Scourge of the PR Business."

Sure this initially came as a bit of a shock. It is maybe a tinge grandiose. I did blush. But it got me to thinking about the honor and the tremendous responsibility. It is certainly a universal good for all of mankind. Actually, I am banking on it being a big factor on Judgment Day. I am certain that this reconciles a good part of my utter reckless debauchery of the early nineties. But now... to be thought of as a humanitarian... well, what can I say?

The words of Maya Angelou spring to mind: "When you learn, teach. When you get, give." I want you to know that this recognition to me means that I will continue to strive to give back to the world what it has given to me, so that I might even be more worthy of tonight's honor.

Thank you.