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The Presidents Club

"Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs have taken us inside one of the most powerful and unusual families in American life – the brotherhood of former presidents of the United States.  Political junkies, historians, psychologists and main street citizens will find the tales of friendship, envy, conspiracy, competition and common cause irresistible."
-Tom Brokaw, bestselling author of The Greatest Generation

 The Forum Club of the Palm Beaches closed its season by taking you inside the  world's most exclusive fraternity.  TIME magazine editors Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, authors of The New York Times bestseller The Presidents Club, talked about the secret society of presidents and what binds the Bushes and Obama in a bipartisan way – overriding both politics and party.


Nancy Gibbs is the deputy managing editor of TIME magazine and coauthor with Michael Duffy of The New York Times bestseller The Preacher and the Presidents:  Billy Graham in the White House.  Named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the 10 best magazine writers in the country, she is the author of more than 150 TIME cover stories.

Michael Duffy is a TIME executive editor and directs the coverage of presidents, politics and national affairs for the magazine.  He joined TIME in 1985 as a Pentagon correspondent and ever since has covered Congress, the White House, national politics and national security.  He has appeared regularly on PBS’s “Washington Week” for the past 15 years.

 

 

Forum Club Presidents Club Pt.1 Forum Club Presidents Club Pt.2 Forum Club Presidents Club Pt.3

Lester Holt at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Lester Holt, weekend anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” co-anchor of the weekend edition of “Today” and principal anchor of “Dateline NBC,” spoke about the emerging role of the media when he addresses the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches Jan. 17, 2012.

Holt has reported from many of the world’s hot spots and has been with NBC since 2000.  From the streets of Cairo, he reported on the latest political and civil unrest and travelled overseas to cover the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan as well as the earthquake in Haiti.

Before becoming co-anchor of “Weekend Today,” the award-winning broadcast journalist anchored “Lester Holt Live,” a daily news show on MSNBC in which he covered breaking news and provided news updates and analysis.  Hold has also served as the lead anchor for daytime news and breaking news coverage on MSNBC. He had served as primary anchor for MSNBC’s coverage of the biggest news events of the last several years, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war in Afghanistan.  Of special interest to Palm Beach County, he was the lead daytime anchor for MSNBC’s coverage of Decision 2000.

 

Lester Holt (1/3) Forum Club January 2012

 

 

Lester Holt (2/3) Forum Club January 2012

 

 

Lester Holt (3/3) Forum Club January 2012

 

Frank Brogan at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

State UniversityChancellor Frank T. Brogan tackled the issue of revamping Florida’s university system when he addressed the Forum Club Dec. 12.  Gov. Rick Scott has called for state colleges and universities to be on the front line of his fight to create more jobs.

Brogan is a former Florida lieutenant governor and a past president of Florida Atlantic University.

Frank Brogan began his career as a classroom teacher before serving as a dean of students, assistant principal, principal, superintendent and finally Florida’s Commissioner of Education.  He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1998 and re-elected in 2002.A year later, he was selected to be president of Florida Atlantic University, a position he held until 2009 when the Board of Governors of the State University System unanimously chose him to serve as Chancellor of Florida’s public universities.

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Watching Florida's Finances

What takes place in Washington doesn’t stay in Washington.  Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater talked about the federal debt crisis’ impact on Florida as well as Florida’s own financial condition when he addresses the Forum Club Sept. 12.

The event was a homecoming of sort for the fifth-generation Floridian and former North Palm Beach resident and Florida Senate President.  

Atwater, a Republican, began his legislative career as a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 2000.  Two years later, he ran for and was elected to the Florida Senate, representing a constituency that included parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties.  After chairing high profile Senate committees, Atwater served as Senate President from 2008-2010.

As a community banker for more than 25 years, his background provides him with unique insights in banking, insurance, finance and fiscal responsibility.  He has served on boards for the United Way of Palm Beach County, Boy Scouts of America, Children’s Home Society of Broward, 5-Star Magnet Program of Palm Beach Gardens High School, Roger Dean Stadium Northern Palm Beaches Chamber of Commerce.

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Senator Bill Nelson at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Florida’s senior U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson will open the Forum Club’s season Aug. 25 with an economic congressional update touching on the national debt, unemployment and the future of entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

The noon event will be held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach.  Tickets may not be purchased until receipt of your electronic or standard newsletter.

A fifth generation Floridian, Nelson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 after serving six years as a member of the Florida Cabinet.  He currently serves on the Senate Commerce, Budget, Finance, Intelligence and Aging committees and is recognized as the leading congressional expert on NASA.

Find Video after the jump

camera obscura

Edgar Mitchell traveled to the Moon aboard Apollo 14. After that 1971 journey, Mitchell took home a movie camera from the mission. He recently tried to auction it, but the space agency sued. Mitchell's lawyer says the camera was a gift, and in any event, NASA waited too long to ask for it back.

Here you can read a transcript of his interview on NPR regarding this.  We had a chance to meet Edgar Mitchell last year and discuss among other things, his path to Apollo and his development of the study he calle Noetic Sciences.

 

Issues: 2011 Florida Legislative Review

Governor Rick Scott has called his first legislative session successful, but was it?  Four south Florida legislators join us for a panel discussion to analyze the highs and lows of this year’s session.

 

Rep. Allen West at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Newly-elected U.S. Rep. Allen West, who rode the wave of anti-government sentiments into office in November, addressed the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on March 18, 2011.
 
West, a Republican, defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Ron Klein and represents District 22 encompassing parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties.  He is the second African-American Republican congressman elected since 1876.

Before retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, West served as a Field Artillery Officer in several combat zones: Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Afghanistan.  He is the third of four generations of military servicemen in his family.

“I have traded in my camouflage uniform for a suit,” West said.  “But the commitment to protect the people of the United States is still my mission.”

West received his Bachelors degree from the University of Tennessee and Masters degree from Kansas State University, both in political science.  He also holds a Masters of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College in political theory and military operations.

During the same March 18 program, the Forum Club will honor former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw with its Exemplary Elected Officials Award given to former elected officials who have made outstanding contributions to their community.  Shaw served in Congress, in the same district West now represents, for 25 years.

 

U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw - Exemplary Elected Officials Award

Rep. Allen West (1/3) Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Rep. Allen West (2/3) Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Rep. Allen West (3/3) Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Down Where the Tradewinds Play

SUBTROPICAL CITIES 2011: Subtropical Urbanism Beyond Climate Change is an international conference co-hosted by Florida Atlantic University and the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. The biennial collaborative event comes to the United States for the first time as experts in various disciplines and academia convene at FAU’s downtown campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 8-11, 2011.

This is very exciting as it is the first time the international event will be held in the United States.  Hundreds of leading experts from around the globe will convene in downtown Fort Lauderdale to discuss the latest developments and the future of sub-tropical design and environmental sustainability. We invite you to attend the conference as a media guest or perhaps you would like to speak with one of the experts in advance.

Experts available for you to speak with include conference co-chairs Anthony Abbate AIA LEED AP, Florida Atlantic University, Broward Community Design Collaborative and Rosemary Kennedy, Queensland University of Technology Centre for Subtropical Design or any of the distinguished keynote speakers.

Key themes include: subtropical cities in the urban age, sustainable practices and decision making for resilient cities and adaptation to climate change. http://www.subtropicalcities2011.com

 

 

Rosemary Kennedy - Subtropical Cities 2011

Antony Abbate - Subtropical Cities 2011

Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America

Author and journalist Kate Zernike talked about the impact of the tea party movement on American politics when she addressed the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on January 7, 2011.

Zernike is a national correspondent for The New York Times  and is the author of Boiling Mad:  Inside Tea Party America. 

Zernike was a member of the New York Times team that shared shared the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.  She has covered education, Congress and four national elections for The Times.  Previously she was a reporter for The Boston Globe.

Here is the video from the Forum Club Luncheon: NY Times Kate Zernike (1/3) NY Times Kate Zernike (2/3) NY Times Kate Zernike (3/3)