|
Past
Speakers
Kiwanis Club of
Bethesda, Maryland
|
2006 |
Speaker |
|
March 23
|
Jeffrey
H. Birnbaum, the award-winning
TV commentator and author of “K Street Confidential” in the
Washington Post, will speak to the Club on lobbying scandals,
past, present and future! Birnbaum joined the Post in March 2004
following seven years as the chief of Fortune magazine's Washington
bureau and stints at Time and the Wall Street Journal, the latter as
White House correspondent. He’s a political analyst for Fox News
Channel, a regular panelist on PBS's Washington Week, and the radio
business show, Marketplace. Birnbaum has authored four books including
his latest, The Money Men, which examines campaign
fund-raising. A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Birnbaum is married
with three children. He graduated as an English major from the
University of Pennsylvania in 1977. |
|
March 30
 |
Walter Mitchell,
a leading maritime consultant based in Bethesda and Baltimore, will
speak to the Club on the issues surrounding the Dubai Ports security
concerns
currently afflicting our lovely town. Unlike most talking heads you hear
on TV, Mitchell is actually qualified to speak on this matter – he’s a
shipping and ports expert with direct knowledge of P&O and the other
parties out there. Watch this space for more biographical info on
Mitchell – and don’t miss this talk if you want to understand what is
really going on! |
|
April 6
 |
Ambassador
Thomas J. Dodd, continues our Club's excellent foreign
affairs series, and will speak on "United States and Latin America:
Current Issues and Trends in Diplomatic Relations" - a topic of
growing importance. Dr. Dodd, who holds a Ph.D. in Latin American
history from George Washington Univ., served as U.S. Ambassador to Costa
Rica and Uruguay, and has taught at Georgetown University's School of
Foreign Service, the Foreign Service Institute, American University, and
other prestigious schools here, in Mexico and in Europe. He epitomizes
the statesman-scholar tradition in the U.S. foreign service, who rose to
his position through gaining a deep understanding of the cultures he was
working with. Eminently qualified to address his topic, Amb. Dodd
will deserve a large, inquisitive audience, which we will provide!
Please bring a guest to this important talk.
|
|
April 13 |
Presentation on the Bethesda Kiwanis website
by Ben Schlesinger and Jim Lynch. The website has recently
been reorganized and is now a great tool for members to know what is
going on and to help them get involved. It is also a good tool to
solicit new members and sponsorship by Bethesda businesses. |
|
April 20
 |
David Elfin,
veteran sportswriter for the Washington Times who’s covered the Redskins
for 20 years, will share his wisdom about our almost-great last season,
and the coming greater season! This man is a fan – he wrote "Hail To RFK:
35 Seasons of Redskins Memories" (1996), "America's Rivalry: The 20
Greatest Redskins-Cowboys Games," (1997), "The Ultimate Washington
Redskins Trivia Book," (1998) "The Unofficial Book of Redskins Lists,
(1999), "Cole Classics: Maryland Basketball's Greatest Men and Moments,"
(2001) and "The Ultimate Washington Baseball Trivia Book" (2004). Don’t
miss this! |
|
April 27
 |
Rita Smith, Nurse
Epidemiologist at Suburban Hospital will provide background on the
Asian
Bird Flu and updates on how our community is preparing for a possible
pandemic. Rita graduated with a BSN from the University of
Maryland in 1971, and completed a Master of Science degree in Nursing
from the University of Maryland in 1997. She has been working in the
area of infection control since 1998, and is certified in Infection
Control. She is actively involved in emergency preparedness at
Suburban Hospital. |
|
May 4
 |
James R.
Edwards, Jr., expert in
immigration reform, homeland security, health care, and social policy,
will speak to the Club on the major issues surrounding this key
question. A principal and co-founder of Olive, Edwards, & Brinkmann, Mr.
Edwards has nearly 20 years of experience in public affairs. With
experience in and out of government (including a stint with Sen.
Thurmond), Mr. Edwards co-authored The Congressional Politics of
Immigration Reform (Allyn & Bacon, 1999), and is an adjunct fellow with
the Hudson Institute. His writing has appeared in the New York Times,
Christian Science Monitor, Investor’s Business Daily, and National
Review, as well as other publications. Mr. Edwards has appeared on CBS
Evening News, NPR. He has been dubbed “Jim ‘Can-Do’ Edwards” by a
lobbyist who has worked closely with him – should be a great speaker!
For more information, please visit the
Hudson Institute. |
|
May 11
 |
Michelle Horwitz Cornwall, Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Chamber of Commerce.
Michele is a native of Montgomery County, MD and currently lives in
Rockville with her husband and four young sons. She received
her master's degree from the University of Maryland School of Urban
Studies in 1986, and has been with The Chevy Chase Land Company since
then, where she is now Senior Vice President in charge of the company’s
two million square foot portfolio of commercial and residential
properties. She is the Chair of the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber
of Commerce and the Chair Elect (and past Treasurer) of the Board of
Directors of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. She is also chairing this
year's Metropolitan Washington Council of Chambers. A past Chair of the
Friendship Heights Transportation Management District Advisory Committee
and a representative of the Friendship Heights Task Force. Michele is a
2004 graduate of Leadership Montgomery. |
|
May 18
 |
David A. Vise is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
reporter for the Washington Post and the author of three books,
including the New York Times bestseller The Bureau and the
Mole. He will speak to us about his latest book,
The Google
Story - Inside the Hottest Business, Media, and Technology Success of
Our Time. A former Wall Street investment banker at Goldman
Sachs, Vise graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and holds an
MBA from the Wharton School and an Honorary Doctorate of Literary
Letters from Cumberland University. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Vise
started in journalism at The Tennessean, first as a copyboy and later as
an intern reporter. He is currently working on a movie based on The
Bureau and the Mole, in development from Jerry Bruckheimer Films and
Disney's Touchstone Pictures. What a great talk!
|
|
May 25
 |
Ambassador Gordon S. Brown -
The
War on Terrorism: Are we in a Religious War?
During
a thirty-five-year Foreign Service career, Amb. Brown served mainly in the Middle
East and North Africa including assignments as General Norman
Schwarzkopf's political advisor in the first Gulf War and U.S. Ambassador
to Mauritania. Since his retirement, he has written Coalition,
Coercion, and Compromise on the diplomacy of the first Gulf War,
The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily, and his most
recent work, Toussaint's Clause: The Founding Fathers and the Haitian
Revolution.
|
|
June 8
 |
Michael Fumento
will speak to us today on the subject of longevity - how advances in
bio and nano technology will prolong life. He is a Senior
Fellow at the Hudson Institute and an
author, journalist, and attorney. His areas of expertise are
science, technology, health, legal issues, environment issues, and
biotechnology. He has lectured on science and health issues throughout
the country and in Europe, China, and South America. His honors include
the American Council on Science and Health’s “Distinguished Science
Journalist of 1993” award, the American Agri-Women’s “Veritas Award,”
and a nomination for the 1998 National Magazine Award. Mr. Fumento
has also been on two visits to Iraq. Stay tuned for a future
program from him to view his photos and hear about his first hand
experiences. For more information, please visit
his website and the
Hudson Institute. |
|
June 15
 |
Sue Palka Emmy Award-winning
weathercaster Sue Palka has been preparing and presenting the forecast
at W1TG TV FOX 5 in Washington, D.C. since 1985. Her current duties
include analysis of forecast data and creation of the computer graphics
for the 5:00 and 10:00 News. Sue is a five-time Emmy Award winner for
outstanding weather forecasting in the National Capitol Region. In 1997,
she was named Broadcaster of the Year by the National Weather
Association. In addition to her interest in forecasting, Sue is
especially passionate about experiencing and reporting the weather
firsthand. Some of her happiest memories are from broadcasting live in
Wilmington, North Carolina when Hurricane Bertha made landfall. Sue
witnessed the eye of Bertha passing overhead and filed reports for the
morning and evening news for several days. Sue is a native of Erie,
Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.
She lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. |
|
June 22
 |
Ambassador Gordon S. Brown
(biography above) revisited the Club and spoke to us today about a
little known part of American History. In his most recent book,
Toussaint's Clause: The Founding Fathers and the Haitian Revolution,
he narrates one of America's early foreign policy balancing acts and one
of the nation's defining moments. Brown tied this back to the Louisiana
Purchase, which he documents would not have happened were it not for
French frustration over Haiti's slave revolt, led by Toussaint. |
|
July 20
 |
Master Sergeant Bradley Irish will speak to the
Club, courtesy of the
US Army's Operation
Tribute to Freedom (OTF) program, which is designed to connect
soldiers returning from Iraq/Afghanistan with the American public.
MSG Irish served in Iraq and Afghanistan from October 2002 to September 2003
with the 299th Engineer Company. He currently serves as the Senior
Military Instructor at Loyola College in Columbia, MD. His awards
include the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal, Bronze Star Medal,
Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. Originally
from San Jose, CA, Irish holds a B.S. in Business Management and Finance.
MSG Irish will speak to us on his
experiences, including leadership, professional development and teamwork. This should be a
great program - be there! |
|
July 27
 |
Washington DC Official Tour Guide Bob Gray spoke
about his love for his work as a "step on" guide to incoming bus tours of
our Nation's Capital. |
|
September 7, Thursday
 |
Bodybuilding expert and consultant Jackie Knee
will speak to the Club on Physical Fitness and the Art of Bodybuilding.
In his 40-year career based Southern California, Jackie has been personal
trainer to numerous movie actors, including Chuck Norris, William Shatner,
Mike Connors, as well as people in all walks of life. He's lectured on
maintaining physical fitness before civic, school, medical, government,
military and private groups across the nation - and, of course, Kiwanis
Clubs as well. Should be a useful and interesting presentation! |
|
September 14, Thursday
 |
Dominic J. Pulera, an internationally recognized
expert on issues of race, ethnicity and gender, will speak to the Club on
the tremendous progress of the Italian-American people over the last 100
years. Mr. Pulera has authored two well-received nonfiction works, Visible
Differences (2002) and Sharing the Dream (2004), and his next work, Green,
White and Red, will trace the experiences of people of Italian origin,
particularly Italian Americans, around the globe. Mr. Pulera has appeared on
Book TV and "The Tom Pope Show” and numerous local stations. A native of
Wisconsin, he was born in 1974. He is a magna cum laude graduate (1995) of
Beloit College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned
Departmental Honors in History, among other honors. |
|
September 21, Thursday
 |
Author Armiger "Jay" Jagoe will speak to the
Club on why all of us should take the time to write our autobiographies -
that's right, get busy and write or dictate your autobiography! A
native of Mississippi, Jay attended Harvard University before entering the
U. S. Air Force in 1941. During WWII, he was with the 12th Air Force in
Corsica and flew 77 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying
Cross with two clusters. Following his service, Jay has had a long
career in business, founding and working in several firms. As a
lecturer and author, he wrote The Winning Corporation, a best selling
business book, Executive Bedtime Stories that was in 700 guest rooms in the
Country Inns of America, Tell It Again, Mother Goose, Southern Boy and Next
In Line, Everyman’s Guide For Writing His Autobiography - that's the subject
of today's talk. Jay has developed a radically new technique for
recording life stories. By using his Guide, a library staff person or
volunteer can conduct a workshop with ease. An interesting and
colorful speaker - be there! |
| |
|
|
