The late Theodore C. Sorensen is the man who helped President Kennedy write the famous words: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

This week, Adam Frankel, Sorensen’s former assistant and a current senior speechwriter to President Obama, offered a tribute to the icon at a Ragan Communications speechwriting conference in Washington, D.C.

“Ted’s speeches made America march for equality, for justice, for a New Frontier,” Frankel said in a speech. “They not only explained, they enlightened. They not only changed minds, they stirred souls. And they raised the bar for all of us.”

Sorensen died last October at the age of 82.

You can read the full story of Frankel’s tribute at Ragan.com.

Want to learn even more about Sorensen? In 2008, Mark Ragan, the CEO of Ragan Communications and publisher of PR Daily and Ragan.com, interviewed Sorensen.