Please join us for our October Torch Club dinner. The presentation at the October meeting will be by Robert Spitzer who will discuss “2024 Presidential Election.” We look forward to a wonderful evening with you and your guests.
Your timely response about your plans for dinner is very important-RSVP by October 11 at noon.
TORCH CLUB OF WILLIAMSBURG MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
OCTOBER 15, 2024 Dinner Meeting
LOCATION: Colonial Heritage Clubhouse
6500 Arthur Hills Drive Williamsburg, VA 23188
Meeting Agenda
5:30 p.m. – Mingling; registration; cash bar
6:00 p.m. – Announcements and reports
6:15 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Program/Questions
8:00 p.m. – Adjourn
MENU
Salad-BLT Chopped Salad or Romaine Tossed w/herb croutons w/classic Caesar Dressing; Entree-Pasta Primavera Smoked Chicken Breast or Butter Crumb Cod w/Chardonnay Sauce; Wild Mushroom Risotto, and Green Beans, and Dessert
A Word from President Peter Mellette…
We are in the midst of a presidential election. As the Vice Presidential debate on October 1 suggests, the new President will likely influence what happens over the next few years – and what historians say about what happened in our time going forward. Our own legal historian and SUNY-Courtland professor emeritus Bob Spitzer has been following the twists and turns of the last year and will do his best to put the upcoming election into historical context at our October meeting. Bob is the author of four books on the presidency, see Faculty/Staff Detail – SUNY Cortland and ROBERT J. SPITZER (google.com), and his talk should prompt an engaging discussion. I encourage everyone to attend.
We had a good start to the 2024-25 Torch year in September with Nick Luccketti’s talk on the Lost Colony in Manteo. Nick showed us how archaeologists do their work, often serendipitously, and how he followed the evidence from Manteo inland toward Edenton. The talk prompted lots of discussion and interest among those in attendance.
Speaking of which, thanks to everyone for your continued interest in Torch! It has been truly heartwarming to see the growth of our Club over the last 19 months and to get to know so many interesting professionals in the Williamsburg area. The Torch Club of Williamsburg is for you – it is dedicated to lifelong learning and to building new connections to information and interesting people in our community.
Your Board met on October 2 and noted that most of the members have already paid dues for the upcoming year. Bill Evers will be at the October meeting to accept dues payments for those who have not yet paid.
Bill would appreciate a volunteer each month to assist at the greeting table. Please let Bill know of your interest.
The Board would also like to encourage one of the members to fill an open position on the Board. Please let me know of your interest.
The International Association of Torch Clubs held a Fireside Chat on Sunday September 29. IATC President Art Bloom announced that a new club is forming in Towson, MD and that the IATC plans to hold a convention in June 2025 in Savannah GA. Savannah is not quite as convenient as Richmond but it has its own attractions, including a potential new Torch club. At the Fireside Chat, Mike Mason (who should be at our October meeting) gave an engaging program on membership and how we can all step up to share the value of Torch with our friends and associates.
Membership growth continues to be a focus for our club. Please be sure to invite guests to the upcoming meetings. I had a couple of guests at the September meeting and I plan to improve upon that in October. One of the guests from September has already agreed to give a talk. Absent any objections, the Board would like to find someone willing to photograph the group so that we can use the photographs to add website content and help with marketing to prospective members.
The Program Committee continues to plan informative and engaging topics for each meeting. The talks ahead range from local history in November (the Bray School story), to aging in December, to government oversight, to space exploration, to spiritual women in the Spring and to what love is on Valentine’s Day week. We welcome your recommendations and invite your participation as we finalize meetings for the remainder of the year and beyond.
We look forward to continuing to build on our successful first year! See you on October 15th and please be sure to let Denise know by October by Friday, October 11th, at 12 pm, if you and your guests plan to attend.
Williamsburg Torch Club 