The
Honorable Howard Pyle
Class of 1987
Background:
The Honorable Howard Pyle, former governor of Arizona, was
born March 25, 1906, in Sheridan, Wyoming, USA. He received
honorary doctorates from Arizona State University, Redlands
University, Lebanon College, Bradley University, Chapman College,
and the Detroit Institute of Technology.
Professional
Experience:
Governor Pyle served as president emeritus of the National
Safety Council from 1973-present. He was president and chief
executive officer of the National Safety Council from January
1959 until October 1973. From 1955 to 1959, he served as Deputy
Assistant to President Eisenhower for federal-state relations
in the White House. He served as the Governor of Arizona for
two terms from 1950-1954.
Career
Highlights:
Governor Pyle served on numerous committees, councils and
boards, including: as chairman, National advisory Committee
on Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor,
1971-73, and assisted in the development occupational health
and safety policies; and chairman, Western Governors Conference,
1951-53, where he promoted and formed the present expanded
national highway construction program. He was a popular and
highly-sought speaker and profile writer. Some of his speech
or article topics include: "Grim State of Emergency Medical
Services," "Traffic Safety Job is Not Being Done,"
"Occupational Safety and Health Role of the Private Safety
Sector," and "Safety Belts, the Real Preventive
Medicine in Automobile Safety." He received many honors
and served a number of organizations or agencies; including
honorary membership in the American Society of Safety Engineers
(this is the highest award of the Society presented to a non-member);
recipient of the Arthur Williams Memorial Award, presented
by the World Safety Research Institute for his contributions
to traffic safety; and White House contact for the President's
Committee for Traffic Safety and keynoter for many of the
committee meetings from 1955-59.
Governor
Pyle's philosophy is clearly evident by one of his statements
when he first joined the National Safety Council: "We
worry about the international tensions of our times -- we
pray for peace -- we contribute billions of dollars in taxes
in an effort to help guarantee peace -- then we proceed to
do more damage to each other from behind the wheels of our
automobiles than has been done to our people by all the wars
we have ever fought."
