Dow Corning Wright

PO Box 100

Arlington, TN 38002

 

January 17, 1992

 

John La Sage

President and CEO

Central Region

Burson-Marsteller

1 East Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60601

 

Dear Mr. La Sage

 

This letter is to let you know what a pleasure it is to work with two of your key people in the Burson-Marsteller Chicago office.  Johnna Matthews and Morrie Newell have been gems in helping Dow Corning And Dow Corning Wright work through a extremely difficult breast implant issue.  Without their help, the progress we have made would not have been possible.

 

Johnna has literally given her life to this cause, as she has helped us keep going forward even though at times the situation has seemed bleak and unproductive.  Her professionalism in terms of knowledge of the media, Burson-Marsteller's resources, her ability to keep so many activities rolling at the same time, and her ability to work with such a wide cross-section of people has been remarkable.  I regard her as the true example of professional confidence in this field of public relations.

 

Networking beyond the nucleus of Dow Corning and Dow Cornng Wright is also a strength of Johnna.  The ties she has established with the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, as well as the other associations and media centers, has been impressive.  She is able to keep this network stimulated and moving forward with the story that we must bring forward to keep viable options open for us.  She has done all of this, many times, beyond the norm of a 40-hour week. Everyone I know of at Dow Corning and Dow Corning Wright feels that without Johnna we would not stand a chance to be winners.  While we may not get the final outcome desired, it will not be because Johnna has not give us the opportunity to get there.

 

At the same time, Morrie, although not as involved with the fire fight, has been a great person to have in terms of his written communications skills as well as his deep thinking on issues and where they ultimately lead.  He has been an excellent spokesperson in terms of formulating the strategy and concept needed to go forward.  Morrie and Johnna work well as a team in conjunction with all the Dow Corning and Burson-Marsteller people.

 

Again, these two people are such great assets to Burson-Marsteller that I wanted to take this opportunity to express my thoughts.  Certainly, I have had a very beneficial education.  The Burson-Marsteller reputation was excellent before my involvement, and they have certainly lived up to that reputation.

 

Yours truly,

 

Dan M Hayes, Jr.

 

DMG:lch