MEET THE JUDGES

Thomas F. Daly, IV
Tom Daly IV is the managing editor of Vital Speeches of the Day. He has been with the 72 year-old magazine for 15 years. Vital Speeches has for decades served as the publication of record for speeches by leaders in business, government, politics, education, volunteer organizations and the professions. As editor, he has a unique vantage point for observing the changing trends in executive speech communication, as well as access to the thinking and viewpoints of top speechwriters and communications executives in leading organizations. He has participated in and led panels and discussion groups regarding speech and corporate communications. His knowledge of the speech industry is second to none.

Robert O. Skovgard
Robert O. Skovgard is founder and editor of The Executive Speaker newsletter, which serves as a clearinghouse and digest for speeches by executives. Skovgard authored and published Openings (1984) and was publisher and contributing editor of Speechwriting: A Professional Step-by-step Guide for Executives (1989). In addition, he has written articles on various aspects of speechwriting and has contributed to speech textbooks and management communication books. As part of his newsletter service, he has read and analyzed a library of over 7,000 speeches by executives. Prior to founding The Executive Speaker, Skovgard worked as a business writer and editor at the Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin newspaper. At Dayton, Ohio-based NCR Corporation, he was a public relations manager, writing and editing news stories and speeches on a variety of management, product, technology and business issues.

Peter M. Robinson
Peter Robinson, an author, television host, and former White House speechwriter, is a Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the public policy research center at Stanford University. Robinson served from 1982 to 1983 as chief speechwriter to Vice President George H. W. Bush. In 1983 Robinson joined the President's staff, serving almost five years as Speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, an experience he recounts in his 2003 book, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. Robinson provided the chief executive with more than 300 speeches, including the 1987 Berlin Wall address.

During the early nineteen-nineties Robinson worked at the News Corporation, reporting to the CEO, Rupert Murdoch, and at the Securities and Exchange Commission, serving as press secretary to the chairman. In 1993 Robinson received an appointment at the Hoover Institution. Robinson now edits a quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest; provides commentary for outlets such as National Public Radio and Fox News; and devotes himself to writing. In addition to his book about President Reagan, Robinson has published a study of the Republican Party, It's My Party, and a book about business school, Snapshots From Hell: The Making of an MBA.

Dr. Robert Veninga
Dr. Robert Veninga is Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and an award-winning author. Dr. Veninga has published four critically acclaimed books and written over 100 articles appearing in professional and scientific literature. A internationally recognized speaker, Dr. Veninga has had four addresses appear in Vital Speeches of the Day. Dr. Veninga is listed in Who's Who In Health Care and Who's Who in U.S. Writers Editors and Poets.