Rick Ahearn
Frederick L. "Rick" Ahearn (born 1949) is an American political and corporate consultant, currently serving as executive vice president of Potomac Communications Strategies in Alexandria, Virginia. He is best known for his long service as lead advanceman for Ronald Reagan, as a candidate in 1979–1980 and for most of his two terms as president; he was standing close to Reagan during his attempted assassination on March 30, 1981. Ahearn was also a senior adviser and planner for the presidential funerals and burials of Reagan (in 2004) and Gerald Ford (in 2006–2007), as well as Jack Kemp (in 2009) and First Lady Nancy Reagan (in 2016). In all, he has served five U.S. presidents and six vice presidents, and aided 14 presidential campaigns from 1968 to 2016. Early life and political jobs Ahearn was born and raised in Chestnut Hill, the son of Francis X. Ahearn, one-time president of the Boston City Council and first deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Doris E. (Johnson) Ahearn. At age 9, he handed out circulars promoting Boston Democrats; as a teenager, he organized crowds for political rallies. He attended Boston Latin School, graduated from Brighton High School, and studied marketing at Boston