Ross Perot Earns Eisenhower Award for Support of Military Service Men and Women From Business Executives For National Security (BENS) DALLAS, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Heralded for "a heart that's red, white and blue," Dallas businessman and philanthropist Ross Perot was honored last night for more than three decades of unstinting support for American servicemen and women in a ceremony attended by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Myers; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Vietnam POWs; Medal of Honor recipients; governmental leaders including Texas Governor Rick Perry; and more than 1,500 friends and admirers. (Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040326/SFF046 ) Business Executives for National Security (BENS) presented Mr. Perot with the Eisenhower Award, earned by individuals whose contributions to the nation's security reflect the spirit of President Eisenhower's farewell address, in which he called for an "alert and knowledgeable citizenry" so that "liberty and security can prosper together." "It's typical of Ross that tonight, when so many military leaders and service people gathered to thank him for decades of extraordinary support, he protests that they are the heroes, not he," said the President and CEO of BENS, General Charles G. Boyd, USAF (Ret.), a co-chair of the awards dinner with Dallas philanthropist Ruth Collins Altshuler and Liener Temerlin, founder and chairman emeritus of Dallas ad agency, Temerlin McClain. In filmed testimonials and speeches delivered to those assembled, military representatives and their family members expressed gratitude for acts ranging from encouraging personal phone call from Mr. Perot, whom they had never met, to increasing the nation's awareness of POWs held in Vietnam, to dramatic life-saving rescues. BENS is a nationwide nonprofit organization of our country's senior business leaders. Over the last 20 years, BENS has become the primary channel for private sector leaders to apply their experience to help enhance our national security. Dallas-based business executives Ross Perot, Jr. and Jan Collmer serve on the BENS national board of directors. Past recipients of the award include former President Jimmy Carter; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard B. Myers; Secretaries of Defense William Perry, William Cohen, and Donald Rumsfeld; Senators Sam Nunn, Richard Lugar, and John McCain; as well as National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and business leaders Maurice R. Greenberg and Thomas Watson, Jr. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040326/SFF046 http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Perot Systems Corporation CONTACT: media, Kyle Hall, +1-214-263-0725, for Perot Systems Corporation Web site: http://www.perotsystems.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/122686.html

Copyright