March 17, 2011
To: Members and Supporters of Forum
From: Irene Bandy-Hedden for the Forum Board of Directors
Re: Future of Forum Truth
In the spring of 2003, Steve Schlossberg and Jeanne Nunn sat in a living room discussing the state of the nation and their concerns about the direction it was taking. They resolved on that day to bring others together to talk about what they might do to become better informed. Forum 2004: Truth for a Change was created that summer, with the mission of bringing national figures to Sarasota to shed light on the issues of the day for the people in our region. Paul Duke agreed to be our Honorary Chair, and the Board included journalists, lawyers, educators, and community and business leaders.
In January of 2004, we presented our first speaker, Kevin Phillips. Since then, Forum has brought over 80 national personalities to share their insights on many critical topics. Time and again, speakers shared their perceptions that our audiences were well informed and asked great questions, which got around in Washington and New York and made it easier to entice speakers to come. Many of our speakers were friends and colleagues of Forum Board members and came out of respect and friendship, which kept our costs down and allowed us to keep the cost of our tickets reasonable.
Today, the composition of the Board has changed. The cost of venues, transportation and rooms has risen, and the competition for audience participation during the season has increased. While we have a wonderful group of knowledgeable and involved people at each of our events, the numbers have gone down.
After much discussion about our options, we are announcing that this has been the last season for Forum Truth. It has been our pleasure to provide informative events for you, and we thank you for your involvement, your attendance and your support over the years. Our hope is that you will continue to read the articles and listen to the commentary of the many individuals who came to Sarasota to share their thoughts with us. Most importantly, we hope you will carry on discussions of the national issues and remember when Forum brought them closer to our community through its many events.