PRESENTATION OF THE BRET RATNER MEMORIAL AWARD TO LEWIS WEBB HILL
DOCTOR SIEGAL, members and guests of the Section on Allergy: I accept the Bret Ratner Memorial Medal for Doctor Hill and convey his pleasure and thanks to the Section and the Academy for this honor you have bestowed upon him. It has been my great privilege to have worked under Lewis Webb Hill and to have assisted him for a number of years with seminars and round tables at Academy meetings in many places. No matter where or what the meeting, Doctor Hill left a lasting impression on his audiences. There was always that quality of plain straightforward presentation in clear, concise and unpretentious English that made him such a great teacher. Some of you here will remember that his popularity became so great that when notices were sent out for Academy seminars in allergy to be given by Doctor Hill, they were oversubscribed by telegram. Another incident that stands out in my memory as a testimonial to his attraction as a speaker was some 10 years ago when he was guest lecturer at the annual meeting of the Dermatologists here at the Palmer House. Doctor Hill arrived about 30 minutes before his scheduled appearance and slipped into the back of the main ballroom where the meeting was going on. Seeing only a scattering of people in the huge room, it occurred to him that it hardly seemed worthwhile to come all that distance to speak to a handful. To his amazement, when he was introduced a half hour later, the ballroom was filled.