June 26, 2013

FINEST HOUR 132, AUTUMN 2006

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As I write, the Centre has completed its annual Board of Governors meeting. This year it was in Denver, home of Vice President Chuck Platt, where the rarified air was certainly no deterrent to thorough and often vigorous discussions.

The board’s agenda was, as usual, quite full, so full in fact that the first day’s session lasted nearly ten hours, while the second day reached eight. Much ground was covered and many decisions made. Attendance was excellent. All board members were present with one exception, Paul Courtenay from England, who, while unable to join us, was available by telephone. Trustee Marcus Frost drove (yes, drove) to Denver from his home in central Texas and provided a valuable perspective on many issues. Governor Phil Larson drove from Illinois. After experiencing a sixteen-hour series of flights back to Chapel Hill, I am beginning to wonder if they are on to something.

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While the minutes of the meeting will provide a detailed picture of the matters considered, and will be posted on the members-only section of our website, a few should be noted here.

The Churchill Centre’s high activity level of 2006, topped off by the 23rd International Churchill Conference in Chicago in September, will continue in 2007. Early in the year an elegant benefit dinner honoring trustee Chris Matthews will be held in Washington. This major event, which may exceed in scope and attendance our previous benefit dinners in Chicago, will be followed in early spring by a Churchill Forum, also in Washington, sponsored jointly by the Centre, the English Speaking Union and the British American Business Association. Then in mid-May the Centre is planning a tour of Turkey (Istanbul, Gallipoli Peninsula, the Dardanelles and Yalta in the Crimea). One month later, a Churchill Centre mini-conference will be held in Hyde Park, New York, in conjunction with the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Our annual American Political Science Association panel discussion and dinner will be held in Chicago at the end of August. Shortly thereafter, the 24th International Churchill Conference will convene in spectacular Vancouver, British Columbia to consider “Churchill and the Pacific War.”

Not to be overlooked are the Churchill high school teacher seminars, at least four more of which are being planned, and the inauguration of our internet classroom, “Discover Churchill.” These teacher and student programs underscore the Centre’s primary emphasis on education. It is likely they will be supplemented by one or more student seminars and the Churchill Lecture.

Despite all the plans laid, actions taken and visions shared, the aspect of this board meeting that stood out for me was the quality of the deliberations. When highly intelligent and articulate people, who are firmly committed and motivated to produce positive results, meet to pursue a common goal, expectations rightly should be high. Mine were, and they were fully met.

Each governor and several trustees laid out their views on each issue under consideration with clarity and civility. Admittedly on a few occasions certain points were forcefully pursued and even a bit of contentiousness crept into the discussions. A wide diversity of opinions and judgments were constantly on display to an extent that for me at least was memorable.

This board’s willingness to expend the time and intellectual energy on Centre programs augurs well for its future. My fundamental goal for the Centre has always been its viability as an institution, a lasting, durable, relevant and vital organization that has the respect and support of all Churchillians, wherever located.

Organizations established even for the most noteworthy purposes are often beset by those who would advance self-serving personal agendas, promote cults of personality, seek excessive ego fulfillment or foster narrow cliquish attitudes, all incompatible with the Centre’s goals. Thankfully, none was evident in Denver. This Board’s willingness to weigh carefully all relevant factors with whatever appropriate degree of texture or nuance before reaching carefully considered judgments gives me confidence that those corrosive influences will not undermine the Centre’s progress towards permanence and ultimate fulfillment of its noble mission. 

 

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