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January 18, 2020 Program
Event
George Mason:
Forgotten Founding Father
The January 18, program, held Saturday, 1 pm, in the Harrison Center, 311 Middle Street, downtown New Bern is free and open to ESU members, their guests and the public.
Dr. David C. Skaggs' presentation, George Mason: Forgotten Founding Father, focuses on this founding father who served in the fourth and fifth Virginia Conventions in 1775 and 1776 and prepared the drafts for the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the first Constitution of Virginia. A delegate from his home state to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he refused to sign the document because of the absence of a bill of rights. He opposed the federal constitution in the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788 and his principled argument for a declaration of rights led James Madison to champion ten amendments to the Constitution that supported Mason's ideas in what became the Bill of Rights.
On Saturday, February 15, 12 noon, the Colonial NC Branch's luncheon program entitled, An Unexpected Journey: 29 Years at the Central Intelligence Agency, presented by Elinor Kelly Wilson, will be held at the New Bern Golf and Country Club. Elinor will discuss her exciting 29-year career with the CIA, a federal agency whose primary mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate foreign intelligence to assist the President and senior U.S. government officials in making important national security decisions. Elinor, who retired as a member of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service, will talk about recruiting foreign spies and managing spy operations as an operations officer, as well as her work in building and running a CIA innovation center which developed and implemented cutting edge methods to identify foreign targets for recruitment by operations officers.
A Midwinter Night's Dream, the theme of the 5th Annual Dining with Shakespeare fundraiser, is on Saturday, March 7, 5:30 p.m. at the New Bern Golf & Country Club (4301 Country Club Road). The $50 per person ticket (cash bar) includes, hors d'oeuvres, entertainment during the 3-course meal accompanied by short Shakespearean interludes and a silent auction. To add color and fun to the festivities, attendees are encouraged to dress in Elizabethan garb, or as their favorite character in Midsummer's Night Dream. Judged by audience appeal, winners will be awarded prizes. 
On April 4, a luncheon program, "Pocahontas, From Jamestown to the British Royal Court" will be held at the New Bern Golf & Country Club for members and guests. 
Jim Beckwith's presentation, All in the Family: Diomed, Sir Archie, and Henry, from the 1780 Epsom Derby to the Grand Match Race of 1823 – tells the story of Diomed, the great English racer who came to Virginia late in life, was the father of Sir Archie and became the great foundation sire of the American thoroughbred. His son Henry, foaled near Halifax, NC, ran against Diomed's grandson, American Eclipse in the Great Match Race of 1823 in Long Island. This was the first sporting event to capture the imagination of the young republic, causing Congress to adjourn and the stock market to close. The program, includes an exhibit, "All things Sir Archie," and is open to members, their guests and the public.
