Karen Hughes

"Your presentation was the highlight of the convention! I'm sure it won't come as any surprise that you received an audience rating of 4.0 (out of 4.0), the highest of any session. Your insights and observations about the President, world events, politics, and leadership will remain with all of us for years to come."

-Peter J. Larkin, President & CEO, California Grocers Association

"Karen, everywhere I go people rave about our recent Profiles in Power event because of YOU! I can’t tell you the impact you made on our audience, men and women alike. It left us truly inspired. Everyone I spoke with afterwards commented on your message, including the Communications Director with the Austin Chamber of Commerce, who told me that was the best speech she has heard in a long time. I have not had the opportunity to hear you before today, but now I know why 'George' wanted you by his side. You were impactful, courageous and inspiring."

- Austin Business Journal

“Karen (and her message) could not have been more perfect for our audience and she could not have been more gracious to our members! She was magnificent and totally hit this one out of the ballpark.”

- National Association of Government Communicators

"Karen Hughes captivated the audience. From her style, to her energy, to the content of her remarks, our council members felt like they had worked alongside Karen on the campaign trail-- even those of a different political affiliation! She took the time to arrive early to socialize with our guests, and even stayed after dinner to talk with others. Karen has an ability to connect with individuals and audiences on so many levels, and her reviews reflected it."

-Michele Zschau Vice President- Public Affairs, California Chamber of Commerce

"Thank you again for the excellent presentation you gave at our Annual Convention last week. Your comments were timely and well received. Some of the written comments we are seeing about your presentation include: 'Karen Hughes is a fabulous communicator.' 'Karen Hughes is great - every convention should have her!' "

-Diane Spiegel, CMP, Manager of Conferences, California Credit Union League

"Vero Beach certainly was alive with excitement and chatter about your lecture at Riverside Theatre. Thank you for all of your time and energy spent on our behalf. Your enthusiasm emanated from that stage and the audience definitely felt it. They loved your lecture on Communications 101!"

-Frannie Atchison, Chairman, The Distinguished Lecture Series of Vero Beach

"Karen Hughes spoke on behalf of Washington Policy Center last night and we cannot say enough wonderful things. We've rarely had a speaker who knew so much about us, went out of their way to speak to our issues, or was as accommodating and easy to work with as was Karen Hughes. This was one of our top dinners."

-Daniel Mead Smith, President, The Washington Policy Center

"Your speech delivered the goods and you were one of the highest rated speakers of the day."

-George F. Martin, Bakersfield Business Conference

"On behalf of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), I would like to thank The Harry Walker Agency for helping make the 2003 ATA Management Conference & Exhibition an overwhelming success. Karen Hughes' presentation was well received by our audience. Her experiences and lessons learned in the White House proved very interesting to our attendees. Ms. Hughes shared her expertise in communication and leadership, two important keys to success for our attendees and their companies. She was most gracious."

-Rebecca Driver, Vice President of Convention & Meeting Services, American Trucking Associations

"On behalf of Accenture, I want to thank you for participating in the Government Women's Leadership Forum. Your speech was excellent and you had our audience captive. Thank you for tying your speech so neatly to our conference theme. You did so with humor, candor, and fascinating personal anecdotes. Your inspirational speech, the photo session, and the second question-and-answer period made for a day that I think few will forget. I know I will not."

-Michelle B. Pfeifer, Accenture

"She was so gracious about the pictures and meeting our attendees. They just loved her! Thank you, once again, for suggesting her to us. Her speech was an outstanding success."

-Paula Karchner, Director of Meetings, The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers

"It was a great pleasure, personally and professionally, to meet you. Thank you for doing such a great job speaking and meeting with our clients. We have had so many notable speakers over the years. You really stood out and were incredibly generous with your time and energy."

-Doris P. Meister, Senior Vice President, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

"On behalf of the Texas Bankers Association, I want to thank you for your presentation at our convention last week. The bankers were wowed by your speech. Thank you also for so graciously taking the time to visit with so many of our members. They are still talking about how personable you were that evening."

-Kathy Box, Senior Vice President-Education, Texas Bankers Association

"I have heard nothing but rave reviews on your presentation from all the attendees, and really appreciate the great job you did. Everyone I spoke to was struck by your candor, energy, and ability to humanize what to many is a very scary and uncertain time. I also really appreciated the time you took at the dinner the night before to greet all the attendees and give each of them some individual time. That's the kind of personal touch that we love in the hospitality business."

-Charles A. Ledsinger, Jr., President and CEO, Choice Hotels International

"Karen Hughes was exceptional as Southwestern University's 2003 Shilling lecturer! She spoke to a capacity crowd, including over one hundred guests who viewed the lecture by simulcast. Ms. Hughes' substantive talk, 'Public Service from the Statehouse to the White House,' reiterated the challenging, complicated issues facing our country and our world. She encouraged our students to consider careers in Foreign Service and encouraged us all to be active in our communities. Southwestern University's President, Jake B. Schrum said of Ms. Hughes, 'how fortunate for our students to interact with one of President Bush's most trusted and valued advisors.' Ms. Hughes was one of the most congenial speakers with which we've had the pleasure to work, unpretentious and approachable. Her keen sense of humor appropriately balanced the earnestness of her message."

--Cindy Locke, Associate Vice President for University Relations, Southwestern University

"Thank you again for your participation in the 2002 Rosine Smith Sammons Lecture in Media Ethics. Your words were timely and thought-provoking in this day and time of around-the-clock news coverage of politics and politicians. We are so proud of what you have done as an alumna of this school. You inspired our students in the time you spent with them; we can only hope that they will take up the baton and serve professionally and ethically in the next generation of journalists."

-Carole Brandt, Ph.D., Dean, Southern Methodist University

"All of our students were so pleased with Mrs. Hughes, especially her candor, friendliness, and the ease with which she interacted with everyone all day. Her lectures were very interesting, funny, and well delivered, and she was responsive and open to all questions by students. I recall her early in the day asking if it would be all right if she could go to talk to students before the first lecture while we were waiting, to get to know them. She was very gracious to the committee and the LBJ Library, and we had absolutely no complaints. All feedback that I have received was positive, and she will be a great speaker for the Harry Walker Agency in the future. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone."

-Matt Mackowiak, University of Texas at Austin

"Karen did an outstanding job, down to earth engaging and all around a great investment!"

 - Jeff Lombardo, YUM! Brands, Inc.

"I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your extraordinary speech at the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) Conference...I cannot tell you what an honor it was for me to meet you...I admire you greatly for so many reasons, not the least of which is that you put your family first...From the 'hanging chads' debacle through your various positions with the Bush administration, I have always viewed you as poised, articulate, professional-truly grace under pressure."

-Maria VanderKolk, Competitions Director, National Association of Government Communicators

"Ms. Hughes was an absolute delight - gracious, charming and a marvelous speaker."

-Shepperd Institute

"Ms. Hughes did a tremendous job as our Washington's Birthday speaker. It was obvious from her remarks that she had given a great deal of thought to her address and she touched upon all the right notes -- sharing engaging stories from her distinguished career and tying together all of the patriotic and civic themes that are at the heart of our GWB celebration. A big home run!"

-Union League Club of Chicago

“So many people have commented that Karen Hughes was the best speaker we've ever had. I wholeheartedly agree!”

-Wisconsin Women in Government

"Karen Hughes was a huge success and everyone thoroughly enjoyed her!"

-Jackson Walker

"Great experience. She is wonderful to work with and delivered a great speech ... Very professional. It was insightful to hear her stories and opinions."

-The University of Texas at Tyler