President Hay, members of the American Pediatrics Society, and guests, it gives me particular pleasure to present to you the recipient of this year's John Howland Award, Dr. Richard B. Johnston Jr.

Dick was born on August 23, 1935 in Atlanta, GA. In Figure 1C, we see a picture of Dick at age 2. While in high school at North Fulton High in Atlanta, Dick exhibited leadership qualities. He was captain of the football team (Fig. 1D) and president of the student body in his senior year (Table 1). After high school, Dick attended Vanderbilt University from 1953 to 1957. During his freshman year of college, Dick wished to pursue a career in football. He was forced to give up football after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament while on the freshman football team. While at Vanderbilt, he majored in philosophy. Upon graduation, he was voted “Bachelor of Ugliness,” which is Vanderbilt's term of endearment for the outstanding male graduate. Dick then attended Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he received his M.D. in 1961.

Table 1 Leadership accomplishments as a youth
Full size table

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