| Subject: True statement..........."We owe the majority of our success to our VOLUNTEERS and their efforts." |
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Anonymous
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Date Posted: 13:47:16 03/12/07 Mon
By DONALD B. KRAVITZ
In 1987, Leonard C. Horn, then a partner in a local law firm in the Atlantic City area, was discussing with his friend and client Al Marx, the prospects of becoming a State Court Judge, a position that had recently been offered. “In our discussions, Al Marx, who was the volunteer director of the Miss America Organization, suggested that I consider the possibility of taking a position with the Pageant. He felt that the Pageant had reached the point where it needed a full time executive. Al (Marx) indicated that the volunteer system was fine in the 50’s, and 60’s, but he could see the need for changes as the Pageant moved into the 1970’s,” recalled Horn. Having already become involved the Miss America Organization as a volunteer beginning in 1963 Horn assumed the position as Board Member and Legal Counsel to the Pageant in 1967. Having served at all levels in the organization, Horn realized that “I had more knowledge of the program than anyone else except Al (Marx) who wanted to step down. Al was dedicated to the program and he and I shared a common bond, in that we both loved the program and felt that it had great untapped potential, but it needed more to survive.” Taking several months to consider all of the factors, Horn accepted the challenge and on October 7, 1987, Leonard C. Horn took over the reins of the Miss America Organization from Al Marx and became the organizations first full time paid executive.
In accepting the position, Horn realized that the Pageant needed some changes. His major goal as the Pageants new Director was to update the public perception of the Miss America Pageant from, “An irrelevant beauty pageant to a relevant program that not only benefited the women who competed, but also was a benefit to communities all across the country. There had been no changes in the Pageant for decades, so I felt it was more prudent to implement the changes at the rate of 1 or 2 per year instead of a sweeping overhaul that might have created chaos.” In pursuit of the goal of changing the public perception of Miss America, Horn feels the greatest achievement, “Was the development of a new definition for Miss America and the requirement of a platform for each contestant. Those two things had the immediate effect of transforming Miss America from a passive beauty queen to a relevant socially motivated activist.” Recognizing that the perception of Miss America was that she was attractive, ambitious, wholesome, intelligent, feminine and all of those adjectives that had become associated with Miss America over the years, Horn added another dimension. “To be Miss America, you had to satisfy the judges that you had a sincere, and I underline sincere, sensitivity to some of the troublesome issues in our society and a willingness, in some defined way, to work toward the solution to at least one of them.” That change meant that the women, who entered the Pageant, were expected to have, as a young college woman, in depth knowledge of at least one issue that needed a solution. Furthermore, they had to be willing to study that issue, to the point where they could become an effective and honest spokesperson on the issue throughout the year that they served as Miss Local, Miss State or Miss America. The whole concept was not just directed toward Miss America, it was directed towards anybody who carried a title at any level, so that ultimately what they had was the title holder at the local level doing what Miss America was doing at the national level.
As successful as he has been in changing the perspective of the Miss America Pageant, Horn is quick to acknowledge that not all of his goals have been met. “ My biggest disappointment and the most difficult challenge we face, is finding an effective way to communicate the benefits of this program to the masses. We have made changes and inroads in modifying the perception among the media, government groups, academic groups, feminist groups, etc. we have not really effectively communicated the benefits this program to the general public. The public seems to still confuse this program with other type pageants and really do not realize, that this is no longer an old irrelevant beauty pageant.” Horn feels that one of the reasons the process of changing the Pageant perception has been so slow, is that when he assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “There was no money in the till.” With no money available, The Miss America Organization could not do the kinds of things that any company today has to do in the area of marketing and public relations to stay alive . . . to let people know who and what you are. “It has only in the last few years, that we have accumulated sufficient money to begin that process. We have committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop marketing and public relations tools to enable our volunteers to effectively communicate the benefits of this program throughout the country.” Horn believes that had they been able to develop those tools in the 70’s, they could have avoided some of the problems they face today and not be in the, “Catch up mode that we have been in since I started.” The Miss America program was, and still continues to be, mostly a volunteer effort. Volunteers run programs in every state in the country and according to Horn, “Have always done, and continue to do today, an excellent job. The volunteers have always given us and still do, whatever time they have left over after their home and work responsibilities.” According to Horn, “It became the responsibility of Miss America, to give the volunteers the tools needed to make the time they could give The Miss America Organization, productive. We owe the majority of our success to our volunteers and their efforts.”
Leonard C. Horn announced earlier this year that he is stepping down as CEO of the Miss America Organization. Although the formal announcement came on July 13, 1998, Horn had given his notice to the Board Of Directors of the Miss America Organization on January 26, 1998 that he would be leaving as of January 25, 1999. “I have, I think, a very good sense of timing. I truly believe that any leader of any organization, whether I was a Senior Partner in my law firm or the CEO of the Miss America Organization, has just so much creative and innovative energy to give. It is my belief, that after about 10 years of time, any organization probably should consider a new leader to bring back a renewed energy, vitality and creativity to the organization. In answer to your question about my decision to leave, I feel that I have taken this program as far as I know how to take it. A new person with new ideas and a fresh outlook may be able to infuse a new vitality that I believe the program needs.” Another factor that had a major influence on his decision to step down was, “I will be 62 in November. I am very fortunate in the fact that I have remarried within the last couple of years, to a woman who has just made my life a delight, and we have plans to do other things.” Horn will be moving to Tennessee with his wife Brenda where they have built a home and felt that as long as he was not leaving the program for the wrong reasons, “If it (The Miss America Program) really needed me . . . despite my personal desires, I would have remained.” When he finally came to the conclusion that the decision to leave was a good thing, for the program and a good thing for him, “The decision became self evident.”
According to Horn, finding his replacement is just about completed. It is hoped the contract will be signed with the new CEO of The Miss America Organization within the next “Week or so.” Horn, who had considerable input into the selection of the new CEO, felt that the person they should look for should come from outside the Miss America Program. A person who has been very successful in helping to build a “Brand,” and someone who has expertise in marketing and public relations. “I felt that a person who met these qualifications was needed at this time, and the Board agreed with me.” The new CEO will become a member of the Board Of Directors initially, and in the next couple of months he will work very closely with Horn so that hopefully he can bring that person up to speed on the priorities. It is proposed, that later in the fall the new CEO will assume his role as Chief Executive Officer and Horn will assume the position as an advisor until his contract expires January 25, 1999. At the end of his commitment, Horn “Does not expect to be, nor do I want to be” involved in any way with the Miss America Organization, in fact “All I want to do is relax and watch the Pageant on TV.” Horn points to a flaw in his character as the reason for his feelings. “I am a worrier, what I don’t know I won’t worry about. I did the same thing when I left my law firm, wherever they asked me to come back, I hesitated because I did not want to have to worry about what was happening with the firm once I left. Realistically, I love the program, I am sure I will miss being a part of the Miss America Organization, but I really want to go to Tennessee and pursue other challenges.”
In reflecting on his tenure with The Miss America Organization, Horn addressed some of the events that had an impact on shaping of The Miss America Organization. “The Vanessa Williams occurrence was an unfortunate occurrence which I wish had never taken place. It happened while I was Legal Council not CEO, but having taken place, it had a positive effect by strengthening the organization. It showed people that we (The Miss America Organization) have certain principles that we will not breech and no matter what happens, we will stand by those principals.” In responding to last year’s controversy involving Miss America Kate Shindle and the fact that her father was on the Board Of Directors of Miss America, Leonard Horn said, “Here is a short comment about that situation and then I would like to put it in the past. It is terribly frustrating to know that there are so many positive things about this program that can be written about, only to then find a concentration by the press on something that was unfortunate and just a small part of what it takes to run a program. Yes, that type of concentration is extremely frustrating and very unfair.” Horn is quick to add that the Miss America Program, “Has always been controversial, since it started. Just look at the articles in the Atlantic City Press in 1925 and 1926, it was controversial even then. This program is controversial because of its nature, but we have made so many strides to show that this program has great intrinsic value. Miss America is, and should be, a positive role model for young females of this country.”
In discussing the role of Miss America, Horn still has some disappointment. “I wanted people to stop simply turning off the TV set when the new Miss America was crowned. I did not want them not thinking or caring about Miss America until the next September and the next Miss America was crowned. My disappointment is we have this wonderful role model out there and she gets very little national press. She is not regarded by enough people out there as an authority on certain issues.” Citing the example of the story about a young kid in New York who was going around and infecting young kids with AIDS, Horn remarked, “Who do they call, they call Alan Derschowitz, the usual commentators, Dr, Joyce Brothers, but they never thought of calling Miss America, Kate Shindle. Here is a women who is twenty years of age, who is speaking on that very issue and probably has more of benefit to say to young women of this country about things like that, then anybody. Why is it, that the knee-jerk reaction of the media is not to call Kate Shindle? The reason is that we have an inherent problem . . . it takes awhile for a person to become known as an authority and respected as such. By the time she does become accepted she gives up her crown and we have a new Miss America with a whole new issue. So it is a problem that makes it very, very difficult to get that national coverage. We have been unable to get the mass media to recognize that the young woman who enter this program are college woman who are being given a worldwide forum to express their views and their values . . . and who can really make a difference.”
Leonard C. Horn was born and raised in the Atlantic City area. He still has many ties to southern New Jersey and plans to return often. “I have a son Steven and family members still here, (Horn has a daughter Lisa, who is married and living in Baltimore, MD and a daughter Susan living in Washington, D.C). I am on the Executive Committee of the Bachrach Rehabilitation Hospital, (Horn was President of Bachrach for 7 years) and I plan to stay on that Board, as well as having my law firm here which I expect to remain associated with in some way. So I will come back to this area as often as needed. I love this area and it has been this area that has given me all my values.” In the meantime, when this years’ Miss America Pageant (1998-99) takes place in September, you can be sure that Leonard C. Horn will be there . . . perhaps for the last time
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Rest In Peace Laurie!
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