April 7, 2015

Finest Hour 123, Summer 2004

Page 11


Local Organizer’s Meeting

At the second annual meeting of local organizers during the International Churchill Conference in Bermuda, it was announced that guidelines will be developed for the “Action This Day Award,” sponsored by Michael Maibach, a Washington-area member. This award will include a $5000 Churchill scholarship program for high school students, which local groups will assist in implementing.

An “Action This Day” award banner will be presented at the annual conference to the Affiliate or local group that acquires the most “points” for the previous year ending July 30th. The award is a banner, which rotates among the winners annually, with a ribbon added each year bearing the name of the winners. A framed certificate on an easel for display at programs and events will be presented annually to individual groups. A group winning the banner for the third time will receive an engraved tabletop lectern. The president or local group organizer will receive two free registrations to the following International Churchill Conference, to be applied as he or she sees fit. The first award, for the period 2003-04, will be presented at the conference in England in September 2004.

Points will be awarded as follows: five for the greatest number of sponsored or co-sponsored programs and events; five for the greatest number of new Churchill Centre members; five for the highest total attendance at all sponsored programs and events; five for the most volunteer hours given to Churchill Centre programs or projects; five for attaining Affiliate status; ten for the most students at events; ten for the most Heritage Fund participants; ten for the greatest funding of local education (donations, sponsorships, books for school libraries, scholarships, etc.); ten for the most locally obtained funding for specific Churchill Centre events or activities (e.g., scholarships, receptions, panel discussions, staff, publications); fifteen for the most new Churchill Centre Associates; twenty for the largest number of programs in local high schools or colleges.

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Professor James W. Muller, chairman of CC Academic Advisers, introduced the Advisers present, and announced speech topics for each for possible local programs. Before adjourning, time was given to meet and talk with each Adviser.

Local organizers attending were Danny and Heather Mander and F. Stuart Kuhn, Northern California; Jerry and Judy Kambestad, Southern California Churchillians; David Ramsay, Coachella Valley, California; Philip and Susan Larson, Winston S. Churchill Friends of Greater Chicago; Martha Chawner and David Minnerly, North Texas Churchillians; Gary and Beverly Bonine, Detroit; Richard and Jenny Streiff, Gainesville, Florida; Shirley Hartman, Jacksonville, Florida; Gary Garrison, Georgia; Daniel and Suzanne Sigman, New England Churchillians; Hill Riddle, New Orleans; A. Wendell Musser and Bill Ives, North Carolina; Ken Childs, North and South Carolina; Michael and Carol McMenamin, Northern Ohio Churchillians; Kathleen Utz, Philadelphia; Lorraine Horn, Washington Society for Churchill; Nigel Knocker, ICS (UK); Randy and Solveig Barber, ICS (Canada); Norman MacLeod, The Other Club of Toronto; Christopher and Dorothy Hebb, Sir Winston S. Churchill Society of British Columbia; and Daniel Myers, Churchill Centre executive director.

Enquiries on forming groups have been received from Bermuda, Denver, Utah, and Portugal. Email or call Judy Kambestad if you would like to participate (address opposite).

Alaska

ANCHORAGE, NOVEMBER 30TH— Twenty-four Alaskans braved sub-zero temperatures to celebrate Sir Winston’s birthday at a black tie dinner at the Hotel Captain Cook, which flies the Union Flag along with the Stars and Stripes and Alaska Flag. The group, founded in 1990, has been renamed the Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Society of Alaska.

Aside from Churchill’s favorite Champagne Pol Roger, this fourteenth annual birthday dinner featured Swedish fare in honor of the semicentenary of Churchill’s Nobel Prize for Literature, received on his behalf in Stockholm by his wife Clementine and daughter Mary. James Muller described the history of the Nobel Prize for Literature and the 1953 award. Joseph Henri proposed the toast to the President, Peter Gamache proposed the toast to the Queen, and Robert Dickson proposed the toast to the memory of Sir Winston. Stuart Hall, a charter member of International Churchill Society (U.S.), attended and contributed books for the door prizes.

The evening included Harrow School Songs by the Canaries, who sang “The Silver Arrow” and “Lyon, of Preston, Yeoman, John”—the latter new to their repertoire. Keith Padden sang a solo of “You.” The other singers were Craig Carlson, Robert Dickson, Craig Goodrich, Mark Wohlgemuth, and James Muller, accompanied on the piano by Marie Matetich. The evening ended with the traditional “Forty Years On” and “Auld Lang Syne.”

Arizona

PHOENIX, FEBRUARY 9TH— Arizona Churchillians, representing The Churchill Centre in the Grand Canyon State, was formally established today. “We are grateful to President Bill Ives and to Judy Kambestad for taking the initiative last autumn, during their visit to Phoenix, to encourage a chapter in Arizona,” said new President Larry Pike. “We will grow rapidly and will relish the opportunity to promote the continually growing, remarkable legacy of Winston Spencer Churchill here in the southwest.”

The interim organizing committee and contact information is as follows: Lawrence V. Pike, President ([email protected]), 4927 E. Crestview Drive, Paradise Valley AZ 85253, bus. tel. (602) 955-4364; Diane Cook, Vice President ([email protected]), bus. tel. (480) 557-1391; Steve Tully, Treasurer
([email protected]), bus. tel (602)256-9400; Ron Lebowitz, Secretary ([email protected]), bus. tel. (602) 256-1801.

British Columbia

VANCOUVER, NOVEMBER 28TH— The Annual General Meeting of The Rt. Hon. Sir Winston S. Churchill Society was held today. Rafe Mair, a well known B.C. radio broadcaster, spoke on “Churchill’s Thinking Outside the Box.” A $600 prize was presented to the university student winner of the annual Essay Contest, who gave a fine address to the members. Dr. Joe Seigenberg retired as president and Christopher Hebb assumed the Presidency. Sixty members present elected twelve directors.

VANCOUVER, JANUARY 8TH— U.S. Consul General Luis Arreaga Rodas spoke on Canada/U.S. Relations at an “Evening with Churchill.” Thirtyfive members attended. Mr. Rodas informed attendees of several joint initiatives in regard to Canadian/ U.S. border security. The technology for these initiatives has been developed in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. At one border point in Central British Columbia, Canadian and U.S. immigration and customs share the same facility.

The softwood lumber issue, a major irritant between the two countries, was also discussed. The political damage for the U.S. in Canada outweighs any economic advantage that the U.S. lumber industry may be gaining. The other issue is beef exports from Canada to the U.S. Rodas stressed that steps must be taken to avoid this issue from becoming major or long-lasting. The Consul General answered questions from the floor. The British Consul General addressed members five weeks later on February 16th.

Victor Burstall of Vancouver Island relates an interesting event: “I met a woman who said that a Hawthorn tree planted in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria by Sir Winston on 6 September 1929 was in bad shape. I went to the site and indeed the tree does appear rather anemic. I intend to follow this up with the City Parks Department to see if something can be done to improve its health.” Vic, please keep us informed.

VANCOUVER, MARCH 25TH—Nearly fifty members and friends of the Sir Winston S. Churchill Society of B.C. attended the Society’s “Evening with Churchill.” Mr. Dick Torre talked of his research into Richard Sorge, a World War II agent who achieved immense intelligence success on behalf of the Soviets. Among Sorge’s intelligence coups were an early warning of Operation Barbarossa and the confirmation, after June 1941, that the Japanese would not attack northward. This information enabled Soviet General Zhukov to transfer many divisions to the defence of Moscow.

Mr. Torre directly addressed the issue of Stalin’s “surprise” at the German invasion. Stalin had been informed it was coming by Sorge, Churchill and others but chose to ignore the warnings. Upon hearing of the invasion, he did nothing for several days, permitting the Germans to advance significantly without effective opposition. Torre compared the situation to that of MacArthur, who did nothing in light of Pearl Harbor and allowed his fighters to be obliterated on Clark Field.

After Sorge was arrested by the Japanese in 1941, Japan proposed an exchange of certain prisoners, which would have sent Sorge back to Moscow. Apparently, Stalin wanted nothing to do with this because if Sorge were returned to Moscow it would have become more evident that Stalin had ignored advance knowledge of Barbarossa and ignored it. So Sorge was left to be executed by the Japanese.

Mr. Torre’s speech was well received, and may be heard at other west coast locations in future.

VANCOUVER, MAY 3RD— The Rt Hon Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Society held its Annual Banquet. The guest speaker was Professor John Lukacs, whose address was well received. Attendance was 150, up about 20% from last year. We had representatives from the Vancouver Island Society present, and talked up the Portsmouth Conference. I think that we will have good representation there from British Columbia.
—CHRISTOPHER HEBB

California

COACHELLA VALLEY (PALM SPRINGS)— David Ramsay is organizing Churchillians of the Desert in the Coachella Valley. They will meet during the winter season. He has two speakers ready for this autumn. If you are a member in the Coachella Valley, contact David: [email protected], tel. (760) 837-1095

LOS ANGELES, NOVEMBER 30TH— A blacktie dinner for 120 people was held on the Queen Mary to celebrate Winston Churchill’s 129th birthday. Attendees came from as far away as San Diego, the eastern border of California, and Santa Barbara. The Hon Celia Sandys, Churchill’s granddaughter, spoke on her book Chasing Churchill, and described the times spent with her grandfather celebrating some of his birthdays. A remarkable 138 signed copies of Chasing Churchill and We Shall Not Fail were sold.

Jerry Kambestad hosted the evening. Martha Applegate said grace. The loyal toasts were presented by Professor Paul Alkon, Churchill Centre academic adviser; Diana Gutman, Vice President, Art Museum Council, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Mark D. Kimball, Headmaster, Winston School, Del Mar. Journalist Terry McGarry introduced the speaker.

Two students came from the University of Southern California, and many attendees who arrived as non-Churchill Centre participants left with membership applications. Capping off the evening, a number of those present took advantage of the special cabin rate and spent the remainder of the night on the historic ship which Churchill used for ten voyages before, during and after World War II.

SAN FRANCISCO, DECEMBER 5TH— Celia Sandys spoke to members in the San Francisco Bay area for their Churchill birthday dinner. Michael Barrington, our local coordinator, is stepping down owing to a heavy work and travel schedule. Michael brought some interesting speakers to the group. Thank you, Michael, for your time and work.

LOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 28TH— Professor James Muller, chairman of CC academic advisers, spoke to the SoCal Churchillians on “Winston S. Churchill’s Education.” Churchill did not particularly “take” to school, Muller related, but it was through books that he acquired his vast education. Muller answered questions from the audience. The luncheon was held at McCormick & Schmidt’s and thirty people attended.

Delmarva

WASHINGTON, DC— Chris Sterling, editor of the Washington Society for Churchill’s The Churchillian, has been elected president of this Churchill Centre affiliate. He is a Professor of Media and Public Affairs and Telecommunication at George Washington University. Congratulations Chris, and we thank Caroline Hartzler, outgoing president, for a job well done. The Washington Society is “standing down” on local events for the spring because there are so many national Churchill events in their area including the Library of Congress exhibit, two Churchill symposia (February and June), and the Churchill Lecture (April).

Georgia

ATLANTA, MARCH 4TH— It was a great pleasure to announce our inaugural meeting for Georgia Churchillians featuring a leading scholar, James W. Muller, Professor of Political Science at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where he has taught since 1983. Prof. Muller is advisers chairman of the Churchill Centre and editor of Churchill as Peacemaker; Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech Fifty Years Later; and a definitive new edition of Churchill’s second book, The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan, to be published in two volumes. He spoke on “The River War: The Best of Churchill’s Early Books.” The event was held at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta. We took a few minutes to discuss future organizational business for Georgia Churchillians.

Florida

JACKSONVILLE, JANUARY 9TH—We are sorry to inform members of the passing of Bob Chalmers, our local organizer in Jacksonville. We shall miss Bob and the talents he brought to the group. His wife Lynn plans to attend the Churchill Conference in Portsmouth. Our thoughts are with her. Jacksonville members will be included in the Gainesville local group.

France

TROUVILLE-SUR-MER, MAY 10TH— This pleasant Normandy seaside town staged an International Literary Festival to mark both the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the centenary of the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain. Many events were staged, including a number of round-table discussions by distinguished authors on a variety of themes. One of these was billed as “Churchill and de Gaulle: Entente Cordiale?” The three-man panel which tackled this subject consisted of François Kersaudy (author of Churchill and de Gaulle, Winston Churchill and Churchill Against Hitler); Jean-Luc Barre, journalist and historian, author of a number of works on de Gaulle; and Paul Courtenay, Vice Chairman, ICS (UK). The large audience was generally enthusiastic about the achievements of both leaders and took a lively interest in what was said.

The three speakers followed much the same path. They agreed that Churchill correctly promoted de Gaulle, recognising him, even before his journey to London and the French collapse in June 1940, as “l’homme du destin.” They agreed that Roosevelt’s antipathy towards de Gaulle was the major factor in the lack of recognition given to his movement until very late, and that de Gaulle saw himself as France personified. This, they thought, was why he behaved in such a haughty manner, even though (at the start) he had no assets of any kind with which to bargain. He and Churchill had frequent arguments, after which they might not speak to each other for some time, but the sun always shone in the end—until the next time.

Illinois

CHICAGO, APRIL 18TH— Churchill Centre Trustee Celia Sandys paid a flying visit to Chicago, where she spoke to nearly sixty members prior to a Champagne brunch at the Wyndham Drake Hotel, Oak Brook. Her topic was her book, Chasing Churchill. Susan Larson opened the meeting with news of The Churchill Centre, including an announcement of Phil’s election to the Board of Governors. She also commented on the Library of Congress exhibit, the upcoming Tommy Franks benefit dinner, and International Conference. Volunteers for the 2006 Chicago conference were solicited, Champagne glasses were raised in a toast to Sir Winston. After her remarks Ms. Sandys took questions from the floor prior to a book signing.

Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS, NOVEMBER 30TH—Fifteen interested persons met at the home of Hill Riddle, Jr. for the purpose of organizing a new Affiliate. After refreshments, Ted Martin called the meeting to order. After some discussion, the interested attendees voted to organize. They then selected as President Hill Riddle, Jr.; Vice President Ted Martin; and Secretary William Reeves. The members then discussed a possible dinner with speaker in early February. The officers were to make the necessary arrangements.

North Carolina

Dr. Wendell Musser of Durham ([email protected]) has become local organizer for North Carolina Churchillians, replacing Gary Snyder, who had to resign. We welcome Wendell to the select group of workers. Wendell is a Churchill Centre Associate, a regular conference attendee, and a longtime member. We thank Gary Snyder for the organizing work he has done and wish him well in his endeavors.

Northern Ohio

CLEVELAND OCTOBER 28TH— We belatedly report a successful meeting at the Greenbrier Suite, Terminal Tower, for a discussion of Churchill’s short story, The Dream, about a conversation between WSC and the ghost of his father, Lord Randolph, in November 1947. Churchill recounts all that has happened since Lord Randolph’s death in 1895, without revealing the role he himself played. The Dream is available in booklet form from Churchill Stores, and can also be found at pages 364-72 of the official biography, Volume 8. A new deluxe limited edition is to be published shortly by Levenger.

North Texas

DALLAS, NOVEMBER 29TH— The elegant Zodiac Room at Northpark NeimanMarcus was the setting for the annual Churchill birthday party of the North Texas Emery Reves Churchillians. Eighteen people gathered for a happy hour before dinner. The traditional Champagne toast was given by ten-year member John Restrepo, who recalled “that premature birth at Blenheim Palace 129 years ago” as being a “close call with a change in the course of history.” After a traditional dinner of beef Wellington, Restrepo presented the story of Captain Bill Vanderkloot, “The Man Who Flew Churchill,” from the book by Bruce West.

Ontario

TORONTO, MAY 10TH— The Annual Dinner of ICS Canada in conjunction with the Albany Club of Toronto was a sold-out event, with 144 members and guests. The address was given by former Canadian prime minister John Turner, who declared Churchill “the greatest man of the 20th century, without a doubt.” He then recalled, as a ten-year-old schoolboy, being outside the Parliament buildings on a very cold December 30th 1941, listening by way of loudspeakers to Churchill’s “Some Chicken—Some Neck” speech to Canada’s Parliament.

After the speech, and the snapping of the famous Karsh photographs (FH 94), Churchill mingled with the crowd, and Turner’s mother thrust him forward to shake hands with the great man. Toward the end of this stimulating and amusing speech Mr. Turner recalled another event, the Churchill funeral in London, which he also attended. He was mindful that the crowd mourned not only Churchill, but a time that would never be experienced again. Local Director Gordon Walker gave the vote of thanks and presented Mr. Turner with a bottle of Churchill’s favorite champagne, Pol Roger, and two bottles of Churchill’s Vintage Port. ICS Canada President Randy Barber officiated.

Philadelphia

VALLEY FORGE, PA., MAY 2ND— Two dozen Churchillians turned out today to recommence activities of our Philadelphia chapter and hear Professor James Muller, who is traveling around the country showing his daughter each state, talk about Churchill’s books, He enlightened the group on many phases of Churchill’s writings. Everyone was very interested in the new unabridged edition of The River War which Jim is editing. And, of course, there were questions and comments about Jim and his family’s travels. Overall there were very positive feelings from all present. Our next meeting will be the organization meeting since everyone wanted to review Churchill Centre suggestions for Local Groups and sample bylaws.

Bernard Wojciechowski was elected president, Jerome Zeiger treasurer, and Phyllis Ruoff secretary. Plans are for two meetings per year in the spring and autumn, with a newsletter in interim periods. (By the way, Bernie brought Churchill books to give away, which encouraged the idea of future book swaps or exchanges.) We displayed framed full page cartoons of Churchill from old editions of Punch. Phyllis generously presented a copy of the St. Louis Dispatch from the day after Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech to Jim Muller as a token of appreciation for his time and effort. The cover contains a full-page color photo of Churchill, a great addition to Jim’s library, since he had edited Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech Fifty Years Later, published in association with The Churchill Centre in 1999.

Detroit

JUNE 16TH— Jim Muller is still making the rounds and what a job he is doing! He was here today. We are all most grateful to Jim for his many appearances at local gatherings throughout the country on his marathon 48-state trip with his daughter Helen and wife Judith (see President’s letter, page 5).

A tribute, join us

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