EP-TRANSCRIPTS-portraitofafriendchap12

ELVIS
PORTRAIT OF A FRIEND
BY MARTY LACKER, PATSY LACKER
AND LESLIE S. SMITH
June 1979

Chapter 12
Honor and Heartbreak
pg. 137

EXCERPT ONLY...I just typed the information about the Jaycees Award.:)

For some years the Memphis Chapter of the Junior Chamber of Commerce had been trying to persuade Elvis to agree to be t
heir candidate for one of the places in the Ten Outstanding Young Men in America awards. He was always flattered but
declined the offer each time since he wold be unable to attend the ceremonies if they were held at a time which would conflict
with his tour schedule or in some city where it would be difficult to arrange security. Many awards had been presented to Elvis
but he had never been to a ceremony to accept them. He felt the Jaycees award was too important to accept the nomination
and then not attend the function.
January, 1971 was to be the first and last time he ever accepted an award in person.
Elvis and all of the guys were fairly close to the former sheriff of Shelby County, William N. Morris. Bill was a past president of
the Jaycees and active in their work. He came to Elvis one day with news that the ceremonies for the Ten Outstanding Young
Men of 1970 were to be held in Memphis. This was the first time in Jaycees history that Memphis had been selected as host
city for the festivities. It would be a coup for the city and the Jaycees wanted to nominate Memphis' favorite son.
The age limit for the award is thirty-five and that year was the last time Elvis would be eligible. Bill Morris was a good salesman.
He told Elvis about John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon who had been past honorees and that there was a chance President
Nixon would be able to personally present the awards. In addition, he told Elvis that the others who had been nominated for
that year's awards included Presidential Press Secretary Ron Ziegler, scientists and doctors who were seeking cures for some
of the world's most dreaded diseases and others who were working to help all mankind.
The setting was perfect and Bill was very persuasive and Elvis agreed to accept. The first small problem arose when we
learned that the ceremonies were to take place at a time when Elvis would be in rehearsal for a Las Vegas engagement, but
since they were scheduled to last for only two days Elvis agreed to be present for all of the final day. That made everyone
happy but then a request was received from the Jaycees that he attend a dinner on the night before the awards. He simply
could not be back to Memphis in time for that.
Elvis really wanted to do something special to honor the other candidates, but he did not want to be thrown among the
thousands of Jaycees and their wives at a big public event which could cause problems for everyone. I suggested that rather
than going to the Jaycees dinner, he should consider giving a cocktail party at Graceland and then a sit-down dinner either at
Graceland or at one of Memphis' fine restaurants where there would be sufficient facilities for a large group. When I made the
suggestion I didn't know what I was getting myself into. He turned to me and said, "Okay, Moon, it's all yours. I have to be in
Vegas rehearsing and I can just about get back to Memphis in time for everything, and I'll have to leave again right after the
awards. You're the best man for the job, you set everything up for me."
"Okay, Elvis," I said. "Any limit on the amount you want to spend?"
"None, just see that it's done right."
Bill Morris and I got together and made plans. He was going to take care of the security at the breakfast, the luncheon, the
question and answer period in the afternoon, the cocktail party at Graceland, the dinner and finally the awards ceremony.
With the exception of the cocktail party, dinner, awards, everything was going to be held in the Holiday Hall of Memphis' nicest
and largest hotel, the Rivermont, on the bluffs of the Mississippi River.
Because the newspapers kept mentioning that Elvis would return to Memphis and personally accept the awards, we knew we
would have a problem of getting to and from the hotel if Elvis stayed at Graceland. He decided to stay overnight at the
Rivermont which made the life of the security men much easier. I reserved all the rooms on one side of the top floor of the
hotel. Elvis had the biggest suite in the hotel. It was next to the service elevator so we could get in and out without being
noticed. I then set about to complete the cocktail party and dinner arrangements.
I called upon my friend Harlon Fields, the owner of one of Memphis' finest restaurants, The Four Flames, and took him into my
confidence about the plans. He was pleased to be able to help and to have the honor of arranging the cocktail party and
dinner which would be for more than one hundred people. The florist was next on the list and the table pieces and decorations
were chosen and ordered.
The night of Elvis' arrival from Las Vegas came and I went to the private airport to meet his chartered customized G-2 jet. We
all got into limousines and had a motorcycle escort to the rear entrance of the hotel where Bill and I led Elvis, Priscilla and the
guys up to their rooms. We went to Elvis' suite where we discussed what was going to happen. Bill worked out the security
with Sonny and Red West and then went over the events of the next day. It was then that Elvis was told there might not be
enough room for most of the guys at the breakfast and luncheon. Elvis told Bill that if the boys didn't go, he wasn't going.
Room was made for everyone.
The breakfast went fine, as did the luncheon, and that afternoon there was a question and answer period for all of the
nominees. One of the people present asked Elvis, "What kind of message do you hope to bring to the world?"
He answered, "I'm not here to bring anyone a message. I'm here to entertain people and make them happy. If that has any
meaning then I'm accomplishing something of value."
After the question and answer session we changed to formal clothing and, along with our wives, then went to Graceland for the
cocktail party. As each nominee and their guests arrived they were met at the front door and given a tour of the house. They
were then taken to the huge trophy room where waiters from the Four Flames restaurant were serving their famed barbecued
oysters, champagne and mixed drinks. After about an hour and a half we went with a motorcycle escort to the restaurant.
There we were seated in a private room where we dined on Caesar's salad, chateau-briand, stuffed baked potatoes and
cherries jubilee.
Elvis had an extra, extra well-done, cut-up filet mignon and a huge salad with Thousand Island dressing. That was what he
wanted and I had it cooked espescially for him. Everybody was happy and each man toasted the others. During the serving
of dessert, which Elvis also had, he and Priscilla looked over at me and with his hand he gave me the okay sign for a job well
done. After dinner we all got into the automobiles and followed the motorcycles to the downtown auditorium where the awards
were presented. Elvis had, by this time, learned that President Nixon would be unable to attend the award ceremony. He was
disappointed but still excited about the affair.
My job was over, the rest was up to Elvis. All the guys and the wives sat in the front rows which were reserved for the families
of the nominees. Along with Priscilla, Vernon and Dee, we, too, were a part of Elvis' family.
During the awards ceremony Elvis literally glowed with the enthusiasm of a happy young man who has accomplished something
great. I was thrilled to see him looking so good and acting so very much alive and interested in what was happening. It was a
great day for all of us.
Elvis and Priscilla had worked together for many hours on his acceptance speech the day before the awards were presented
and they were both justly proud of the results. He was introduced to the audience and presented the award which was placed
around his neck. In accepting the he began the speech, "I am very humbled by this award, not so much in receiving it but
receiving it in the company of the other nine men honored here tonight."
The closing lines were, "I'd like to say: 'Without a song, a man ain't got a friend, without a song, the road would never end,' so,
I'll just keep singing my song. Thank you." With that, the audience gave Elvis a standing ovation.
We all left and went to the hotel and when I went to his suite he came over and hugged me and said, "Thanks for making this a
memorable night."