What makes the John Howland Medal such a meaningful honor to a new recipient, at least certainly to me, is the list of the previous awardees. Because improving the lives of children has been (and remains) the central goal of my professional life, no other recognition could be as meaningful to me; and I am deeply grateful to the American Pediatric Society (APS) for selecting me.

One of the benefits of this special honor is the opportunity to thank publicly those who have been important to my life and career. I want to start by thanking Larry Boxer, for believing I might be a reasonable candidate and for the extraordinary kindness reflected in the time and thought that he devoted to the nomination and his presentation this morning. Thanks, Larry, for this most meaningful of all gifts.

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