by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
With arguably the most important presidential election just under four months away, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of the speakers in this year’s Florida Forum line-up have political connections.
The forum, which is organized and hosted by the Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital, begins Oct. 7 with political historian Michael Beschloss who will talk about what makes a great president. The election between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama is Nov. 4, less than a month after Beschloss will be in town.
Over the course of the next three Forums, Jacksonville will hear from comedian and political satirist Dennis Miller, actor/director Ron Howard, attorney and syndicated talk show host Charlie Rose, television journalist Jim Lehrer, former aide to President Bill Clinton George Stephanopoulos and former presidential advisor David Gergen.
Organizing this year’s event, the 17th annual Florida Forum, was the responsibility of Women’s Board members Jackie Bargas and Carolyn Hawthorne. Bargas is a “domestic engineer” and Hawthorne owns The Write Touch in San Marco. Both have been involved in the Women’s Board for several years and both said it’s a long and time-consuming process to line up speakers for the Forum. The task begins shortly after the two are officially named chairs and continues until four dates worth of speakers has been secured.
Unlike years past in which four people are selected for four dates, this year’s forum will feature a round table discussion between Gergen, Lehrer and Stephanopoulus Feb. 3.
“Carolyn and I have been working in terms of the speakers for over a year,” said Bargas, who has been a member of the board since 1997.
Bargas explained that she and Hawthorne were chosen to chair the event by Women’s Board President Mary Pietan.
“I was very honored and accepted,” said Bargas. “She gave us great freedom to be creative in regards to our lineup of speakers.”
After being named chairs, Bargas and Hawthorne sat down and created a list of possible speakers. One of the first things that had to be considered was, would the person come and talk? Bargas said obvious dream speakers — someone like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet — were out of the question. Others, like Steve Martin, simply don’t do such engagements.
“We had to make sure they are entertaining and informative,” said Bargas. “First and foremost, what would 1,800 to 2,000 people like to hear and personally, what would we like to hear? We knew we wanted to address the election and if the topic was going to be the election, we also wanted some levity which is why we wanted Dennis Miller.”
Once the list was formed, Bargas and Hawthorne contacted the various agents, explained the Forum and offered potential dates. Each speaker charges a fee and the Women’s Board also pays for the hotel stay and meals while in Jacksonville.
“We did research on all of them before we made our decision,” said Bargas, adding the list was also approved by Pietan. She also said Miller accepted the invite rather quickly.
In Beschloss, the Forum is getting what is considered the pre-eminent presidential historian. He’ll cover both the Republican and Democratic national conventions for PBS and he’s written nine books.
Now that the speakers and dates have been set, Bargas and Hawthorne can concentrate on the real objective of the Forum: raising money for Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
“Now, we are going to try and sell tickets and get sponsors,” said Hawthorne, who has owned The Write Touch for three years. “Luckily, through Wolfson’s, we have local and generous support. There’s an ebb and flow to tickets and sponsors, but we always need new and more.”
Following each Forum, there’s a private reception for sponsors and the guest speaker at the home of one of the sponsors. Hawthorne said she and Bargas also have to line up the hosts of those receptions.
This year’s Florida Forum schedule is as follows:
Oct. 7 — Michael Beschloss
Nov. 6 — Dennis Miller
Jan. 17 — Ron Howard and Charlie Rose
Feb. 3 — David Gergen, Jim Lehrer and George Stephanopoulos
All of the Forums begin at 7 p.m. at the Florida Theatre.
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