President Chuck Norton chaired the meeting commencing at 12:17.
There were no Thoughts for the Day, Birthdays or Anniversaries.
Announcements:
- Rich Lalley reminded us that there just a few weeks left to make the annual contribution to Rotary International. Look for a link to give with the next newsletter.
- The Northbrook Rotary will have a blood drive in the Culvers parking lot at Sanders and Dundee on May 15. Look for the Blood Mobile, but call first at 877-258-4825.
- Bill Leske is working on starting in-person meetings. It should happen much sooner than later.
- Keith Reed announced that the vaccine situation is not nearly as clogged. Do not wait for a call. Be pro-active. By talking to the head pharmacist at his local Walgreens, he was able to get appointments for his son and daughter-in-law. Supply is available. New Trier West is open.
Happy Bucks: Rich Lalley has been fully vaccinated.
Dig and Grin: Rich Lalley entertained us with several jokes such as “Why not write with a broken pencil? Because it is pointless.”
Speaker: Our Speaker today was Suzy Schultz, the executive director of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. The Museum’s mission is not only to celebrate the history of Broadcast Journalism but also to teach the informed use of journalistic endeavors by the public and in that way engage the public in our democracy. The Museum has created a series of modules called the Great Debates which can be found at greatdebates.org.
Take Aways and Interesting Anecdotes:
- The First Great Debate was in 1960 between Kennedy and Nixon.People listening on the radio thought Nixon was the clear winner while those watching TV picked Kennedy.Walter Cronkite offered his help to both candidates and both candidates were offered make-up.Kennedy took both and Nixon denied both.
- The Second Presidential Debate did not occur until 1976 between Ford and Carter.Ford was down in the polls and needed help.In the middle of the debate, the sound went out for 20 minutes.Both candidates looked bad, but Ford looked worse.And then, both of them were caricatured on a new program called Saturday Night Live.Ford was pilloried.
- The goal of the Museum’s Great Debates Program is to reach students, help teachers and teach students to ask questions.
- In Mid-June the Museum is opening a new exhibit—100 years of Radio discussing Radio’s past and re-emergence.