The medallion's obverse bears Hermes, the messenger god, bearing a banner inscribed with UNIVERSAL SERVICE; over him, a bell from which lightning emanates. Around centerfield, within intricately patterned border, · AMERICAN · TELEPHONE · AND · TELEGRAPH · CO · AND · ASSOCIATED · COMPANIES ·
The reverse bears, within intricate border, Bell / Advanced / Management / Program / ANTHONY J. RIZZO / Presented by / (signature) / W.S. Cashel Jr. / October 1978
This large medallion is unsigned and somewhat hard to identify. The closest I could get—corresponding nicely with the medallion's style—is to identify the original designer as Paul Manship and the sculptor as Tom Rogers. Dick Johnson lists a 1980's medal modeled by Tom Rogers, based on a 1916 7 foot diameter floor plate designed by Manship and cast by Gorham. Two such plates originally resided in the Western Union Building at 195 Broadway, New York City. He also references Murtha 75 which describes the floor plates as
"low relief of a male figure carrying a bell which emits flashes of electricity"
This sounds close and together with the corporate connection, the stylistic match, and the absence of other candidates, it sounds like a plausible match. The only mismatch is the 1978 award date, which precedes the 1980's range listed by Johnson by a few years, but small discrepancies in medal dating are not uncommon in reference works.
I have thus tentatively filed this medallion under Manship and Rogers and would love to receive confirmations or rebuttals.
The circular medallion measures 100mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.