Due to prior obligations (aka work), Karla and I (Kaitlyn) packed up our car early in the afternoon to head to Austin to meet up with our fellow Ambassadors who are attending NPF Campaign Bootcamp.
Although the weather was not ideal, we left determined to get to Austin! Quickly, we realized the drive was not going to be as easy as we anticipated. We avoided multiple road closures by driving south towards Houston. Flooding on the roads and continuous rain created traffic issues on top of the rain…
…but we did our best to stay positive and keep going. At times it was difficult to adapt to the road changes, but we did learn how to use our resources like Texas Department of Transportation, instead of relying only on our phone’s GPS. Around three hours into our drive, we came to an impasse. Not knowing which direction to turn, we called Professor Yawn in Austin for guidance. With his help, we tried multiple roads with no luck, mired in a sea of troubles.
Eventually, we ended up back on the highway headed for Huntsville. After our long day of driving, we sadly returned home. With the torrential rain and storms that struck our area, we decided it was best to stay home with the goal to attend Campaign Bootcamp next year. We know that our fellow Ambassadors will represent Sam Houston well!
Our last day at Bootcamp, and it is our biggest day. We do some final preparations, hear a couple of more presentations from experts, and–the big item on the agenda–give our presentations.
We started immediately upon arrival by working with our groups. Teams were fighting leftover fatigue from the late session the day before. Groups were on the edge, because the deadline to turn in presentations seemed to draw nearer a lot sooner than the students would have liked. Our job was to present before the “Texas Campaign Commission,” a judging panel composed of experts from all aspects of campaigning. Knowing that you are going to put your product before the eyes of experts is a sobering prospect, but it also pushed us to go over things as many times as it took to make it right.
This did not mean, however, that we could just zone out and wait for presentation time. We still had presentations by experts to attend! One such presentation was by Barbara Johnson, the Career Advisor for Moody College, who captured our attention with her lesson on “tailoring your resume.” While much of the material consisted of things we knew, she did provide us with helpful information. Several things stood out:
Once you arrive at college, she recommends omitting your high-school work; Our advisor, Professor Mike Yawn, suggested that that was a good goal, but that many students, depending on the quality of their high-school work, could allow it to carry over for a year into college;
Tailor each resume to the job for which you are applying. Identify the 3-4 skills most needed in the job description and emphasize those in your resume;
In some cases, organizational work can be used under “experience.” That is, experience does not have to be relegated to just employment opportunities.
Our session on campaign law and civics was just as rewarding. Campaigning doesn’t fit into a lot of types of business practices, but there are still rules and regulations. Compliance is not only the right thing to do, but it helps prevent the loss of votes because suspicion of fraud will hamper your campaign. Susan Nold and Ross Peavey lectured us about certain laws and having good ethical leadership in the political world. Mr. Peavey advised candidates to know the law or hire someone who did. He gave us examples of laws that could slip through the cracks, and end up damaging your name as a candidate. While we ate our lunch Ms. Susan Nold, Director of The Annette Strauss Institute, gave us ethical scenarios that were created by the speakers.
She added that these scenarios were real experiences the speakers had encountered in certain political jobs. Her biggest message was that if it feels wrong, and someone is asking you not to tell anyone, the best decision is to resign. It was interesting to hear what everyone had to say. The best part was listening to people’s opinions and their ideas about how to go about solving the ethical dilemmas.
As my adrenaline started flowing, Taylor Foody prompted us to begin. The time had come to actually present in front of professionals in the campaign field. The nerves kicked in, but all the preparation and hard work led us to this point!
We presented information about our campaign, with each student discussing a different topic: budgeting for a campaign, recruiting and keeping volunteers, a fundraising plan, and a communication plan.
There were a couple bumps in the road. For example, we had saved all of our demographic numbers pertaining to votes on google docs, but they were apparently not saved correctly.
Thus when it was Brian’s turn to speak, no numbers came up!
Fortunately, he knew the numbers, and was able to relay the information orally. Afterward, he told us that he “crying in the back of my head.”
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Following the presentation, the judges gave us feedback and complimented the groups on our hard work. They helped us improve our skills and keep a realistic approach on campaigning. Thank you to Matt Glazer, Luke Marchant, Cliff Walker, Taylor Holden, and Taylor Foody for helping us build our campaign skill set and encouraging us to keep advancing in our careers.
The toughest, restless work of this weekend had been finished. We all gathered for one last time to listen to closing remarks provided by Taylor Holden and Cliff Walker on how to improve on our skills to ultimately pursue a career based on what we had learned throughout the bootcamp. Furthermore, they shared their experience of how they began their careers and, as Mr. Walker noted, we should not consider “a job too small or too big.”
Our final activity of the day was the award presentations. Taylor Foody, the Coordinator for the New Politics Forum Boot Camp, was the presenter. And, this being her first time to oversee the Boot Camp, she was as excited as all of us.
As it turned out, Isabela’s team was recognized for their “Communication Strategy,” and Brian’s team was recognized for their “Get out the Vote” strategy.
With two of the three SHSU students taking home hardware (or, paper certificates), we were pretty happy. But apart from being recognized, we were more happy just to learn from the process and meet new people.
After thanking Taylor Foody for her dedicated efforts , we headed over to The Clay Pit. The Indian cuisine restaurant provided a comfortable venue to relax and dine on new, eccentric dishes. These included a flavorful goat saag and lamb roganjosh complemented by comforting piquant jalapeño naan and ending with a sweet Gulab Jamun (deep fried pastries soaked in syrup) and Gajjar Halwa (a spiced carrot puree with vanilla ice cream).
With a very satisfying dinner we boasted with an air of accomplishment for finishing the NPF campaign bootcamp.
The 2nd day of the Bootcamp is the one that matters. It’s when the bulk of the seminars take place; it’s where we have the most time to work with our groups, and it’s a fourteen-hour day.
With those facts in minds little rested by sleep, we arrived at the Belo Center at 8am. We prepared for the day by chowing down on some of the satisfying breakfast tacos…
…some revitalizing fruit, and a cup of coffee. With catchy background music (which successfully roused our spirit) we found our campaign groups so as to begin the thrilling second day of our bootcamp experience.
Messaging 101:
Embodying this spirit of campaign thrill, direct mail consultant Liz Chadderdon instructed us on how to create an effective campaign message. She advised that the best rule is to follow a “one message, one piece” strategy.
In other words, regardless of a candidate’s utilization of varying communication mediums such as television, radio, or direct mail, they should still have the same message across these platforms. Students were happy to speak with her after the presentation. After all, her advice helped establish some of the ideas for our projects.
Polling 101:
As evidence that the New Politics Forum picks out the best campaign officials to bring in, the next speaker was pollster Christopher Perkins, who has done extensive polling for Senator Ted Cruz and many other Republican heavyweights. His presentation was successful in educating the students on how polling can help a candidate win an election.
The students learned that polling helps makes advertisements such as television, radio, and direct mail more effective. The results of a poll can help a candidate have a better understanding of their target audience. In effect, this helps the campaign better appeal to potential voters by aligning their message strategy with issues that voters support.
Armed with information on messaging and polling, our campaign groups retreated for lunch, strategized, and emerged in fighting shape for the afternoon sessions.
Organization 201
Tyler Norris, who recently worked with Senator Ted Cruz on his campaign, was the next speaker. He began by emphasizing the importance of volunteers. His advice was to gather people who believed in the candidate’s policies and give them meaningful work to do. This is not only a budget-saving maneuver, but also a good way to garner votes.
Additionally, he answered questions that were helpful to our teams. As Christina Perez noted, “I thought it was interesting to hear someone who was freshly off the campaign trail speak since he had just finished working on Senator Cruz’s presidential race.”
Polling 201:
After a few technical difficulties, we were able to virtually chat with Vincent Harris. He was streaming in from Canada, where he currently is working on the country’s conservative convention. Mr. Harris is the current CEO of Harris Media, and works for Senator Rand Paul. Known as the “father of Republican internet,” his expertise was a crucial factor to Senator Cruz’s web strategy during the 2012 senatorial campaign. During his presentation he encouraged us to create an account in every existing social media type. Nonetheless, he spoke about the importance of using these modern tools of communication to reach as many voters as possible. He presented them to us with humor, showing examples from previous campaigns.
Wrapping Up
After an intense series of sessions, it was time for the last lecture of the bootcamp, one presented by Luke Marchant and Matt Glazer. They provided us additional information on our presentations, which will take place tomorrow.
Each group is allotted 15 minutes;
We will present our polling data, fundraising tactics, budget, voter targeting, and campaign organization;
Each person is expected to participate and be knowledgeable about each aspect of the campaign, although different members may take the lead in different areas.
It was great to have an experienced team of NPF staff and our mentors Luke and Matt on hand to help us succeed. But at this point, it was up to us to break into groups and work on our projects.
Brian’s Group Work:
Once we gathered in our groups we began to employ every feature of our lessons. First, we outlined our campaign necessities, then we delegated our individual duties, and started crunching data, crafting messages, and laying out the framework for the victorious campaign of House District 117’s future Representative Raul Martinez.
Even though our assignments were hypothetical, the toil and exhaustion was real! After five hours of non-stop work with my motivated team members (Juan Belman of UT Austin; Mason Rasco of TAMU; and Shauntey Walker of UT Austin), we were all ready to go home, meditate on our winning strategy, and recharge for our big campaign “pitch” day.
Isebala’s Group:
I was set on one thing: victory!
The competition was on and each group would show no mercy to the other, since we were all competing for bragging rights. Throughout the process many students battled with a variety of emotions–excitement, fatigue, and nervousness–because they were on a deadline and had to finish. The winner would be determined tomorrow after all the presentations were completed. Who will will win? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog!
Christina’s Group:
I was eager to work with my group, and after the first break out session I became excited about the project.
I enjoyed my team, and the ideas we all brought to the table. My favorite part of the breakout session was that we finally were able to get to know one another. I enjoyed hearing about campaigns they had been on , and the experience they had. Overall, it was a great learning experience and in my opinion was the best part of NPF.
The Environment:
One of the many nice things about the project is the support provided by the many speakers that NPF brought in for the weekend. Luke had a stream of visitors to his “office”…
…who stopped by either to bounce ideas off of people or to data grub…
Matt and the other speakers went from room to room, helping out where they could (which was everywhere!):
And while we all had our own way of dealing with the stress…
…we also all showed a willingness to cooperate with each other.
During our bootcamp experience there was never any contention related to political rivalry, and whether working in groups or alone, we were able to achieve some intense concentration and get the work done.
The NPF also had an “inspiration wall,” where students could write what inspired them and how they would become more engaged with the political process.
With the knowledge we have gained through this rigorous, rewarding weekend we will surely perform well for tomorrow’s big day!
Separating the “governing” part of our day and the “campaigning” part of our day was the local pizza joint, “Frank & Angie’s.” While everyone grubbed on the delicious food—pepperoni with Canadian bacon pizza, pepperoni garlic bread, cannolis, and tiramisu—Professor Yawn elucidated the various cultural allusions in the restaurant. It is named for Frank Sinatra, and the menu includes references to Italian superstars, Sergio Leone, Mario Puzo, Bela Lugosi, and Mira Sorvino.
With well-fed stomachs and minds, we moved on to the second part of our day: the Campaign Bootcamp, sponsored by the Annette Strauss Institute’s New Politics Forum. Our introduction to the process was by Taylor Foody, the coordinator for the NPF…
…who introduced our two mentors: Matt Glazer and Luke Marchant. They introduced themselves, explained why the affiliated with the parties they did (Glazer is a “D”, and Marchant is an “R”), and issued our campaign marching orders: to run a successful “mock” campaign for US House.
Our training then began in earnest, with Rob Johnson and Cliff Walker—veterans of local, state, and national campaigns—who covered the recruitment of political candidates. After noting that running for offices has nothing in common with “West Wing” or “House of Cards,” they discussed the importance of running for offices for the right reasons (e.g., making your community a better place) and the importance of hiring competent campaign managers and financial advisors who, beyond being competent, should also have integrity.
Session Two was led by Taylor Holden, who is the Development Director for New Era Colorado, but who has Texas campaign experience. She was very energetic—she drank coffee during her presentation, we noted—even as she discussed fundraising and budgeting.
Campaigns cannot run unless there is sufficient money. Her points were simple:
Get to the point;
Don’t be afraid to ask for a specific dollar value;
Don’t avoid “awkward” silences; and
Stress urgency.
The importance of urgency was not lost on us, not with only fifty-two hours to meet our campaign team, learn about our campaigns, learn how to campaign, and develop a campaign plan. With that in mind, Ms. Foody allowed us to meet with our campaign groups. Christina and Isabela were placed in separate teams for separate Republican candidates, and Brian was on a team working for a Democratic candidate.
Our closing session—the keynote—was presented by Austin City Councilman Gregorio Casar, who discussed city politics and his campaign experience. Casar, who was elected at the age of 25 and is a New Politics Forum alumnus, offered an interesting presentation not only because of his advice (e.g. “rely on friends”) and personal story (e.g., the youngest person to ever serve on Austin’s City Council)…
…but also because of the interesting things going on in Austin’s politics. For example, most people know that Austin recently required Uber and Lyft to abide by the same regulations as taxis, but did you know that Austin also prohibited local employers from asking about criminal records on their applications? Even large corporations are now required to change their Austin applications to avoid any mention of a police record. This led to much debate among the students, a debate stopped by Mr. Marchant’s admonition that we are here to learn about campaigns, not to debate policy.
It was an interesting close to a day in which we learned about both policy and campaigning and much else, much to our delight and edification.
Riding through through the rain and flooded roads, LEAP Students (Brian Aldaco, Isabela Gonzales and Christina Perez) and Professor Yawn eagerly headed to a Boot Camp–a boot camp for politics, that is. Before arriving at this campus for campaigning, however, we decided it was time to treat our palates with dinner at Southside Market and BBQ in the city of Elgin. We enjoyed a plate of ribs, brisket, and the signature beef sausage (considered “the best around” ), complemented by the restaurant’s homemade honey mesquite bbq. After an amusing table chat and a quick sighting of the Victorian house style which served as City Hall, we resumed our route to Austin, Texas.
Our second pit stop landed us at Mount Bonnell, where we got to enjoy the gorgeous view of Lake Austin. We weren’t the only ones: romantic couples sat alongside the cliffs, watching the last vestiges of the sun as its rays faded over the Colorado River. Indeed, the spot is a great place for a picnic or to simply take selfies with friends.
To the east, visitors see the outline of Austin’s downtown. On both sides, at least at this time of year, the surroundings are lit by the flashes of fireflies–and, on this night, actual lightning! We recommend that everyone visit Mount Bonnell at least once.
Following our “hike” up Mount Bonnell, we detoured the Capitol building which was, surprisingly, open for visitors. We headed in, learning briefly about some of the governors of Texas, enjoying the dome…
…and taking an obligatory photo alongside Elizabet Ney’s Sam Houston.
With our history fixed complete, we took another detour to get a late-night dessert at Quacks 43rd Street Bakery. Brian ordered a lemon cupcake–opting for the vegan option to fully assimilate in the Austin–Isabela ordered a Snicker Doodle cookie, and I (Christina) had a short-bread cookie shaped like a palm tree. Professor Yawn bought us Salted Caramel Brownies and Ginger Krinkles…
Over all we enjoyed the coffee shop styled bakery with its colorful walls and trendy appearance. With our bellies stuffed we headed to the hotel in order to rest and prepare for tomorrow’s busy itinerary.
It was our second day at the convention and, as we would learn, things would unfold a bit differently than the day before. There was more entertainment, but more actual work, too, and that led to some discord in the party ranks–but, thankfully, not among the Walker County delegation, who remained pleasant even when disagreeing on policy issues.
For the first order of convention business, we gathered inside the Senatorial District 5 meeting room. Here, the delegates would vote on state party leaders: State Party Chairman, State Party Vice chairman, State Executive Chairman, and State Executive Chairwoman. After the delegate seating process was finished, with a delegate count of 248, it was then permissible to commence voting and declare nominees for the different positions.
Two nominations for state party chairman were made, one for Jared Woodfill and a competing one to keep Tom Mechler. After the ballots were distributed to each county chair and the delegates gave their vote, it was time for the Senatorial Caucus chairman to announce the winner of this caucus. The rules, however, are a bit more complicated. The vote isn’t to actually see who wins, but to see if candidates can achieve a minimum needed to be nominated from the floor of the convention. The minimum, as it turns out, is to achieve 20% of the overall delegate vote of all Senatorial Caucuses or to actually win three of the 31 caucuses.
As it turned out, Mechler won our caucus. In fact, as we would learn later in the day, he won almost all the caucuses and he would handily defeat Woodfill as Chair of the Republican Party of Texas.
Before we got to the floor, however, the delegates received a rewarding speech delivered by U.S. Senator John Cornyn. His delivery included his opinion on how the party is to keep strong in the upcoming years and received strong support from the crowd.
This powerful delivery was all the more special for we were able to briefly meet with the Senator, a meeting that we were grateful for.
Following our meeting with Senator Cornyn, nominations began for Vice Chair, a process that yielded Kathy Adams and Amy Clark. The delegates then voted 51 to 216 in favor of Clark. This, too, augured well for Clark who went on to win easily in the other Caucuses. Mike McCloskey won the nomination for District 5 Executive Chairman with a 216 majority vote and Nida Davidson won the nomination for District 5 Executive Chairwoman uncontested.
During the convention we came across the opportunity to become an Abbott University graduate. Names can be deceiving, however, for the program consisted of two 45 minute courses ( as opposed to the traditional 4 years). The classes offered in the program were structured to educate its attendants on how to utilize modern tools of communication and efficient organizational skills to run a successful campaign. Alex and Karla attended organization building session…
…and Kaitlyn, Brian and Megan attended the social media class.
While organization building was a class to help expand an organization and mobilize resources to maximize influence, social media would help us learn about amplifying messages and maximizing reach with conservatives on the most effective social networks.
One of my (Karla) favorite pieces of advice during the class was “ask and shut up”. It is similar to the salesman’s mantra of to stop speaking after the sale is made, but I never realized how much of a difference this can make. This is the best way to ask for a commitment from a volunteer, sponsor, or a voter. We also got plenty of advice for one-on-one meetings, including tips on how to make a personal connection during meetings. To achieve a personal level the first thing that is needed is to begin with our personal story, then the other person will most likely proceed to telling their story, in which case we can listen and better understand the person with whom we are communicating. After this, we can “ask the question and shut up” and hopefully get a commitment from them that will help us towards our goal to expand and mobilize resources.
Once we had all shared our different learning experiences over lunch, it was time for more action at the Third General Session. The Second General Session was postponed and combined with the third due to committee meetings running behind. However, the Third General Session was by far the most interesting session!
It began with business from the second session–approval of the committee updates. This included the Report of the Permanent Chair, Adoption of Agenda & Supplemental Rules, Report of the Permanent Organization Committee (on which Professor Yawn served), Report of the Permanent State Nominating Committee, and Presentation of Incoming State Republican Executive Committee Members. This portion of the meeting was quick and easy, although the Rules portion got a bit acrimonious.
Not, however, as acrimonious as the policy platform debates! Many Republicans were passionate about their principles and beliefs and they expressed that by debating for or against certain planks.
The planks varied from educational and judicial power to issues such as abortion. The most heated of the debates was on whether to secede from the US, an issue that is a trifle bizarre to us. The whole secession thing has pretty much been settled. But parties are made up of diverse elements, and the zealous of these elements tend to be the ones who go to convention. The entire discussion not only included debate, but the opportunity to amend each of the amendments–all 266.
It was a long process, however, the LEAP Ambassadors were grateful to have attended Parliamentary Procedures Process training and it was easy to differentiate those who attended and those who did not. Those who did not attend, in my opinion, prolonged the process because they had to verify the rules frequently and were “out of order” many times.
It was also beneficial to us because we followed the meeting fairly well and enjoyed ourselves.
We did not expect to see the heated debates in the session, but it was both interesting and entertaining. After much debate, there was a majority vote to end all debate (which many were ecstatic about; others were very unhappy about) on the entire platform, which then allowed us to participate in the first-ever use of Scantron voting for each plank in the platform.
Even though it took us a while to read through all 266 planks and vote, we felt pride in preforming our delegate duties.
I think the LEAP Ambassadors took a lot away from today. The session really showed the spectrum of issues and the varying level of support for both the sensible and strange policies that had been proposed.
Once we were all finished voting, we took a short drive from the convention center through downtown Dallas where Governor Abbott hosted his tailgate on a parking garage rooftop overlooking the city. Upon our arrival we were presented with our Abbott University Diplomas and directed upstairs. Blake Roach, (one of our favorite JF/LEAP Alums), who works as Governor Abbott’s advance man, welcomed us shortly after we arrived.
He explained his responsibilities as an Advance Man and his experience working with the Texas Legislature. Blake was nice enough to introduce us to Audrey Abbott, the First Daughter of Texas.
Karla, Megan, Audrey, Alex, Brian, and Kaitlyn
She is now a college sophomore, so we had many things in common. Well, other than the fact that her dad is the Governor of Texas, of course! She was personable and easy to talk to. She told us about what her experience as the first daughter of Texas has been like and let us know that Governor Abbott had actually filmed a campaign advertisement in the same parking garage two years ago during his campaign for Governor!
And after eating Texas BBQ for dinner…
we were welcomed by Governor Abbott himself!
On this one, though, Ryan Brim already had us beat, having met the Governor earlier in the day.
It was a great event and fun way to end an eventful day. Knowing we would be back early tomorrow morning, we hurried home to get some rest before our final day of the State Convention.
Would we miss a thrill-packed screening of an American film treasure accompanied by the expertise of a Pulitzer-Prize wining journalist? As the Duke would say, “That’ll be the day.”
This past Friday, the LEAP Ambassadors saddled up in their western garb and rode down to the Katy and E. Don Walker Education Center to volunteer at the showing of The Searchers. The 1956 western masterpiece, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, follows the story of a Confederate soldier’s return to his Texas home three years after the Civil War. However, the joy of reuniting with his brother and sister-in-law is short-lived, when a Comanche tribe attacks his family. After the raid, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) discovers that his brother’s family has been killed and her two daughters kidnapped by the tribe leader. It is then up to him and his brother’s adoptive son Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) to journey through Comanche territory in search of little Debbie Edwards (Natalie Woods) and her older sister Lucy Edwards (Pippa Scott).
Before the screening, the guests enjoyed a reception in the Center’s lobby area with popcorn, chips, and a punch of our own concoction. It was during this time that the attendants had the chance to talk with former The Washington Post journalist and author of “The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend”: Glenn Frankel. In his book, Frankel discusses the film’s historical background and significance in American film culture. Apart from providing signatures to his book, Frankel had the opportunity to interact with guests who shared his admiration towards the film.
As a bonus, guests also had the chance to venture into the Walker Education Center’s art gallery, where they could see the wonderful work of Mark Burns. As another treat, SHSU History Professor Dr. Jim Olson stopped by to watch the film. In fact, he brought an autographed copy of his book on John Wayne to give to Mr. Frankel, and Mr. Frankel gave Olson an autographed copy of “The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend.” It was a nice moment.
Moreover, in the center of the foyer was Burns’ 25 foot panorama of the Grand Canyon. Although the film was shot in Monument Valley not the Grand Canyon, the landscape evoked the rugged western landscape of the film very well, and set the stage for a wonderful evening.
The film was introduced by Glenn Frankel whereupon he briefly discussed the topics of his book.
From this presentation, what was really captivating was Frankel’s devotion to learn more about the film, one which ultimately led to his extensive research. By sharing his experiences we were able learn about the film’s capacity to revive Ford’s dejected spirit, the homage offered to western movie legend Harry Carry by John Wayne, the dynamic relationship between all of the actors, and much more. Furthermore, we gained a greater understating of Ford’s artistic ability in directing the film, one which inspired renowned directors such as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Whether it was our first time or our hundredth to view The Searchers, Frankel was able to instill in us a greater appreciation towards the film. Through the screening of the film, my second time to watch it, it was hard not to wonder how much this movie meant to the rest of our guests.
As a young eighteen year old I lacked the intimate bond of other viewers who had first watched the film closer to its release. The Searchers had the power to foster in Frankel’s youth a love for charismatic characters, intriguing plots, groundbreaking directing techniques, which would later in his life compel him to devote part of his life to the film. Because of this I feel all the more fortunate to have been part of this experience.
LEAP Ambassadors with Glenn Frankel (in a John Wayne pose)
After the screening, the ambassadors, Political Science Professor Mike Yawn, English Professor Ralph Pease, Wynne Home operator Linda Pease, and Glenn Frankel enjoyed dinner at Carbonero. It was here that we continued to indulge on the film and had the opportunity to learn more about Frankel’s career in journalism. As the night drew to a close we marked the end of a very restless week, one which will reside within me for a very long time after meeting some of the most fascinating and inspiring people.
In the middle of a busy week for the LEAP center, the Ambassadors made time for a day of “Let’s Talk.” This event is one of our favorite, giving us, SHSU faculty and staff, and the community a chance to dine with guest speakers from all over the country. With speakers ranging from paranormal activity investigator Kenneth Rigali to Jiu-Jitsu instructor Daniel Rivas to true-crime author Kathryn Casey to Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it was difficult to choose which table at which to sit.
But before the actual event itself, the LEAP Center, as the sponsor of four of the speakers, had a day full of activities. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Glenn Frankel, for example, visited with Dr. George Diaz’s Texas History class….
…where he discussed Cynthia Ann Parker and the TX frontier. The students were engaged, and his topic was lively…
Mark Burns also led a classroom discussion, but his classroom was moved to his exhibit space at the Walker Education Center. Dr. Rebecca Finley’s class met there and had the chance to not only meet with Burns, but do so in the midst–literally–of his work.
Things got more interesting as Mr. Burns joined some of us–along with true-crime author Kathryn Casey–at the Texas Prison Museum. Casey and Burns enjoyed the various exhibits, and Burns even spent time in jail…
Following the full day of events, the evening began with a VIP reception, which our speakers attended and met with other speakers…
…then was followed by a more general reception…
…and then by an introduction from President Hoyt and dinner.
I was dining with Mr. Bill Hensel, who was the External Affairs Manager for the Port of Houston Authority. We were joined by former Houston Post journalist Mrs. Hensel, Conroe’s Community Impact Newspaper Editor Jesse Mendoza , a Sam Houston State University web editor, Houston World Affairs Council representative Sandija Bayou and her two colleagues, and Sam Houston State University Political Science Professor Mike Yawn.
Mr. Hensel began with a discussion of the historical background of the port and, particularly, Congressman Tom Ball’s contribution to the Ship Channel. We also learned of the every-day activity of the port, the disruption resulting from weather events, and anti-terrorism measures.
For someone who was not very familiar with the modern marvel that is the Port of Houston, it was a rewarding experience to learn how crucial the Port of Houston Authority is to American commerce. But apart from his current profession, it was just as pleasant to learn of Hensel’s past journalism experience. Before his employment by the Port of Houston Authority, Hensel had worked for the Houston Chronicle. With all of his past experiences in journalism and now local government, combined with the perspectives of all of us sitting in the table, every question and comment directed towards Hensel served as an extra ingredient that at the end would makeup a very rich conversation. At the end of the dinner we all slowly rose from our seats as if we were unable to pull ourselves from our captivating speakers, exchanged business cards, and thanked Hensel for his willingness to share so much about his career.
Even though I had the experience of only one table, we had LEAP Ambassadors at several tables. Austin Campbell, for example, was at astronaut Tommy Hollaway’s table. “He was a very good host,” noted Campbell. “He had a way of making something as complicated as science and NASA understandable to the common person. Food and conversation are fundamental to human nature and mixing the two resulted in an enjoyable evening!” –Austin Campbell
Other Ambassadors sat at the table of Iron Chef Michael Frietsch, the table of artistic directors Andy and Dionne Noble, Paranormal Investigator Kenneth Rigali, and financial advisor Flip Flippen.
Meanwhile our sponsored speakers held their tables captivated, whether it was Mark Burns discussing photography…
…Philip Mudd discussing the CIA and FBI…
…Glenn Frankel discussing the Texas Frontier and John Wayne’s The Searchers…
…or Kathryn Casey discussing murder in Texas…
…the evening was engaging and fun.
With so many bright minds sharing their professional joys and struggles, it was easy to be inspired. Although all the professions practiced by these guests were very different, the spirit that has impulsed their success is identical. Unspoiled by the desire for fame or wealth, this spirit of dedication and passion is what every speaker had to offer. This virtue embodied in our special guests is what made my Let’s Talk experience so rewarding.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 