Philippe Boucher's Rendez Vous: Greg Connolly about his/our friend John Slade
Greg Connolly about his/our friend John Slade
(Be sure to visit the JOHN SLADE MEMORIAL PAGE)
By Greg Connolly/Philippe Boucher
Friday February 1st 2002
Dear Friends of Rendez-vous,
Our dear friend John Slade passed away on Tuesday January 29. Many of us have expressed their sadness via numerous emails and I wanted Rendez-vous to be a small part of this collective act of celebration and remembrance. Especially since because of his stroke. John had been unable to complete the rendez-vous we had planned
Greg had shared with a group of us a few of his memories about/with John. He agreed for his message to be posted on rendez-vous. Here it is.
-- Philippe Boucher
John and I were great friends.
Over the past 18 years John and I have grown up together enjoying adventures and trips to many places where we caused great mischief, had fun and formed a brothership that is eternal.
We took tours of Asian nations when the Reagan Administration was forcing cigarettes on to them, to Congress, the White House, tobacco company's annual meetings, pages of scientific journals and the news rooms of our nation's networks.
As these two days have passed I have thought back to the many adventures we had and found it difficult to smile or laugh as John and I did so often but I thought it would be worth sharing them with you.
John was a devout Christian. A few years ago John convinced me to go to a Sunday morning service at Westminster Abbey in London with Frances (his wife) and Jack Henningfield. It was beautiful and the music and sermon reflected John's devotion to God. A year or so later we were once again in London advising the UK on tobacco issues and John dragged me to Vespers at a beautiful Anglican chapel a few blocks from the meeting. When the minister asked me what Anglican church I attended in Boston I had to admit that I was a Catholic and it was St. Joe's in Belmont. John laughed and told him same "company" but only a different floor. We all laughed. I had my religious revenge with John when Farther Mike Crosby a close friend of John and I baptized my son James about 11 years ago at our home. John and Alan Blum came to Boston so that that they could celebrate my son's baptism. It was a wonderful occasion. The night we celebrated Vespers I came closer to God because of John. When you fight the immoral actions of the tobacco industry you need a moral touchstone to persevere and stay on an ethical path. John was that touchstone and has kept many of us on that path. I am sure John is close with God this evening.
I remember a trip John and I took in 1989 to six Asian nations at the request of Dr. Koop to help organize efforts against the use of US trade sanctions to dump cigarettes into that part of the world. We had just left Taiwan where we had a very productive meeting with David Yen of the Tung's foundation who agreed to fund and establish APACT a regional anti tobacco to combat smoking in the region that became so important in the future struggles with USTR and inThailand. The next day we were in Hong Kong and I told John that today was a special day, my birthday born in 1949. He smiled and told me it's mine too, same day same year.
A day later we were in Penang, Malaysia helping Simon Chapman develop his report on smoking and developing nations. The funniest experience was John insisting that we take a tour of the Island and at every billboard for "Indirect" tobacco advertising (Salem Concerts) stop and take a picture. The driver thought we were crazy!! The Philippines were next and he spent hours interviewing impoverished children who sold cigarettes to passing motorists about their smoking habits. John spent enormous amount of time with Dr. Daniel mentoring him about good tobacco control and Dan later became that nation's greatest advocate. John's quiet tenacity against the US government's trade threats against Asia paid off and his work led to the Bush administration's backing off its immoral tobacco trade policy.
About the same time John became fascinated with RJR's novel nicotine delivery device, Premier. In 1988, we testified together before Waxman's Commitee on why Premier was a drug and John convinced the New Jersey Health Department to get involved. John had a vision that none of us had about these new products. His vision was that an agency like the FDA should regulate tobacco and that was in 1988!! Premier died in test market but John's vision flourished.
In 1992, he got in contact with two reporters from ABC's Day One Segment , Keith Summa and Walt Bogdanich. I thought the piece would go nowhere but John was insistent that with science and the right industry leaks it had legs. He was right. We appeared on Day One and John got called as a witness when Philip Morris sued ABC for $ 15 billion. He told me that the deposition was horrible He has suffered far more pain from his actions than anyone of us knows.
A few days later we testified together before Waxman after David Kessler at the House hearings. John in his own brilliant manner brought a beaker of pure nicotine to the Committee to show how the industry manipulated it. But his best work was with guiding and researching for the FDA. Without him the rule would never have made it to the White House. In 1996, we sat together in the East Room of the White House listening to the President announce the FDA rule. The first question from a reporter was why cigars, a Clinton favorite wasn't part of the rule. Immediately Kessler sought John to get the right answer.
John and I had other things in common, Molly and Ginger. No not girlfriends but lovely Vizlas hungarian hound dogs. Since that revelation we have e mailed back and forth photos of them. John loved Ginger and Ginger loved John.
And of course there were the annual trips to the shareholder meetings of Philip Morris, RJR et al. Alan Blum, Farther Mike Crosby, John and I would take our spring constitutional to Richmond, Va. to ask the board of PM to clean up its unethical act. John was always eloquent, gracious but tenacious. He quietly disrobed the kings of PM, Hamish Maxell, Michael Miles and Geoff Bible and showed them for what they were.
I also remember sharing a room with John and Alan Blum at the Tokyo World Conference in 1988. We all got up at 4 am to run down to the Tokyo fish market to experience the excitement. We laughed the whole time and had so much fun.
These are just a few memories of many with my best friend.
John and I planned to reunite last July at a WHO of the Tobacco Product Committee in Penang Malaysia, a ten year reunion. He had his stroke a day before leaving.
John had a wonderful life filled with trips to places that the average person would never have dreamed of going. He changed America's view on tobacco more than any other person I know. Malcom Gladwell's book "Tipping Points" describes how large social changes occur. He ascribes the changes to Mavens who possess such enormous knowledge about a topic that they are compelled to share it with everyone: John right on!!!, Connectors, persons that engage people from different disciplines and bring them together to address a problem in a new and innovative way: Yes John!!, Salesmen, persons that convince others to act agressively and in an assertive manner, Yep our best friend John!!!
While many people have claimed responsibility for some of the great achievements in tobacco control over the past decade John Slade has been the "Tipping Point" for changing our world. In his life he has changed America and saved the lives of many of its citizens. In his short life he has done more than many of us could do in three lifetimes.
I am deeply sorry to see such a close friend depart but know that John is at peace and is with us.
Greg Connolly
Arrangements for the memorial service for John Slade:
Saturday, February 9th 2:00pm EST
All Saints Episcopal Church
16 All Saints Road
Princeton, NJ 08556
609-921-2420
There will be a church service and reception following. In lieu of flowers, John requested contributions to:
Princeton Pro Musica (the choral group his wife, Frances, directs)
20 Nassau Street
Princeton, NJ 08540
or
All Saints Episcopal Church
You may send condolences to:
Frances Slade
166 Montgomery Road
Skillman, NJ 08558
There is also something being planned for the upcoming SRNT conference. Some months into the future, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will host a special symposium, to celebrate John's contributions.
A memorial on line (with a nice picture of John) can be accessed at: http://www.tobaccoprogram.org/jobit.htm
***********************
Go To: Tobacco BBS HomePage / Resources Page / Health Page / Documents Page / Culture Page / Activism Page
***********************
***********************
END OF DOCUMENT