Wise Men (US dining club)

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The Wise Men was a PR industry discussion and dining group set up at the instigation of John Hill of Hill and Knowlton. It got its name form 'an early occasion when John Long, public relations director of Bethlehem Steel, invited the group to Bethlehem and transported them there in two company planes. during the "happy hour" at the next meeting, the question of a name for this exclusive group came up, and Verne Burnett said "since we have made our pilgrimage to Bethlehem, how about 'The Wisemen'"[1]

Arthur Page was an early and active member of "The Wise Men," founded in 1938 in the apartment of John Hill, founder of Hill and Knowlton. The group, which continues its monthly meetings to this day, took in members by invitation only and included about 60 blue chip corporate and agency PR executives.
Hill described Page as one of the star members of the group who talked seldom but had plenty to say when he spoke. "Once he started speaking, no one wanted him to stop because he could express himself so well," Hill is quoted as saying. Page remained in the group until the early 1950s.[2]


Notes

  1. Scott Cutlip The Unseen Power, Lawrence Erlbaum, 1994, p. 508.
  2. Jack O'Dwyer Reviews Noel Griese's Biography of Arthur Page O'Dwyer's PR Services web site, August 7, 2001.