HUSBAY Lecture Series
Usually on the First Monday of Each Month(in season)
Speaker: Tom Boeke, Professor, State College of Florida
Topic: The Fut rue of the Middle East
Synopsis: to follow
Previous Lecture: Monday, Dec. 2, 2019
Speaker: David Williamson
Topic: Secular or Equal?
Synopsis: "While religious fundamentalism may be losing in the court of public opinion, its grip on local, state, and national government officials remains strong. David will discuss the various methods employed when challenging establishment clause violations and the importance of continued vigilance."
Speaker's Bio: David Williamson is an atheist activist fighting for the separation of state and church and building a Humanist community in Central Florida. He is co-founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community (CFFC), an organization of
atheists and Humanists focused on the separation of state and building a thriving secular community in
the Greater Orlando area. Locally, he is a member of the Central Florida Commission on Religious
Freedom, is Secretary of the Florida Humanist Association, and co-coordinator of the organization’s
conference FREEFLO. David serves 2 national organizations. He is on the Advisory Board of the
Freethought Equality Fund and a Florida State Representative for the Freedom From Religion
Foundation.
For his complete Bio, plesee click here.
Click here for information on our previous lecture.
Click here for information on
upcoming Monday evening events lectures.
Presented at the Roskamp Center for Arts and Humanities
Arrive by 6:30 to mingle with fellow members and guests, and enjoy snacks and beverages, courtesy of Claudia Holmes and Garret Cantrell.
1226 N. Tamiami Trail 
*Note - Members are admitted free of chanrge. Non-members will be rquired to pay a $5.00 fee (reimbursable if they sign up for membership shortly after the evening is over.
Our Lecture Series Schedule
The 2018-19 Season Began on Monday, October 1
Mostly on Mondays except where noted*.
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
|---|---|---|
2018 |
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| Oct. 1 | ||
| Nov. 5 | ||
| Dec. 3 | ||
2019 |
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| Jan. 7 | New Years Party |
Party (Finger foods and drinks furnished, entertainment) Begins at 6:30. (Any member is welcome to bring a non member guest. Donation $5 per non member.) |
| Jan. 18, | ||
| Mar. 4 | ||
| Apr. 1 | ||
*Apr. 7 Saturday |
||
| Jun. 3 | Karen R. Koenig | Weight Stigma—Time to End the Blame-Shame Game? |
| Aug. 5 | Brian Usher | The challenges that come with recycling |
| Oct. 7 | Bill Schoolman | National director for the Speakers' Bureau at Final Exit |
| Nov. 4 | Alan Grindal, MD | The Aging Brain: Realities and Opportunities. |
| Dec. 2 | David Williamson | Secular or Equal? |
Click Here For a Complete
List of Upcoming Events Through 2020
The 2017-18 Season Began in October
Usually first Monday of the Month, *except where noted.
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 2, 2017 | author, editor/ publisher |
and Billie Jean King |
| Nov. 6, 2017 | ||
| Nov. 15, 2017 | and Presidentof the Secular Coalition for America |
“An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Land” |
| Dec.4, 2017 | ||
| Jan.4, 2018 | Years celebration instead |
your fellow humanists. |
| Mar. 5, 2018 | Courage,Dignity, Determination |
|
| Jun. 4, 2018 | Frank Alcott |
Florida Constitution Revision (Click for info) |
| Aug. 6, 2018 | Our own Dan Dana |
Quelling the Conflicts that Disrupt Our Lives
 |
Our Previous Lecture Season
(Began October 2016)
1. October 3 - Jennifer Hancock, founder of Humanist Learning Systems and author of several books about Humanism, will lead us in a discussion about Humanism as an applied active philosophy and what it means, practically speaking, to be a humanist and to attempt to live humanistically.
2. November 7 - Tim Rumage works closely with Dr. David Houle, a globally recognized futurist and guest lecturer and futurist in residence at the Ringling College of Art and Design. He will address climate change and the impact on the future of our earth. He will also address economics, health issues, and climate change as it relates to Sarasota.
3. December 5 - Chris Costello, a Sierra Club administrator, presented a case against Big Sugar and its contribution to our algae problem and other environmental effects. For more, go to this location: Lecture
4. January 2 -Our program was a New Year's gathering. We had party plates on hand along with our usual drinks.
5. February 6 --We had, as our guest speaker, Dr. Alan Grindal, MD. His talk focused on on the Biological Basis of Ethical and Moral Behavior.
Dr. Alan Grindal is a board certified Neurologist and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his Medical degree from the University of Illinois. His Neurology training was obtained at the Medical College of Virginia where he also served on the medical faculty.
Dr. Grindal was in private practice in Sarasota for over thirty years and is currently on the Clinical Faculty of Florida State University. He is the medical director of the Memory Disorder Clinic at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and is also a volunteer in the Community Clinic at the hospital. He often teaches classes at the Lifelong Learning Academy at the Ringling College and Pierian Springs Academy. He was selected by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America consecutively from 1997 to his retirement in 2004.
6. March 6 (Final Session for the 2016-17 Season)-Matthew Edlund, MD, Director of the Circadian Medicine Center in Sarasota, is an internationally recognized expert on biological clocks, performance, and rest. His latest book,The Body Clock Advantage, explains how to take advantage of our body inner timing to get the most out of life.
Thanks to these Volunteers
We would like to acknowledge the following people for their contributions in making our lecture series a success:
- Claudia Holmes & Garrett Cantrell, current providers of goodies before the lecture
- Donna Gannon & David Coe, former providers of the goodies before the lecture
Past Lecture (Jan. 18, 2019)
(See the photo below)
When: Friday, January 18, 2019
Speaker: Jim Helton
Talk Title: American Atheists - The Time Is Now
Description: What is an atheist issue? American Atheists redefines what is an atheists issue. We will challenge the status quo. In doing so we will lay out a plan to fight for equality and the true separation of religion and government. If you are not happy with the way things are then the time is now to make a change.
Speaker's Bio: NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZER Jim G. Helton is the National Field Organizer for American Atheists. After attending the 2012 Reason Rally, he co-founded the Tri-State Freethinkers and was appointed American Atheists’ Kentucky State Director. Under his leadership, Tri-State Freethinkers adopted the highway in front of the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter and led a protest that received international attention. He played a key role in eliminating Gideon’s bible distributions in public schools and removing abstinence-only sex education.
Mr. Helton’s activism at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter landed him appearances in the 2017 documentary film Bill Nye: Science Guy and the forthcoming documentary We Believe in Dinosaurs. He has been quoted in countless news outlets, including The New York Times, Miami Herald, and Washington Post. He is a fixture in local media and has given interviews for international television specials in France, Switzerland, and elsewhere.
As National Field Organizer, Mr. Helton works with affiliates, local partners, and state directors to challenge religious privilege and fight to protect church/state separation at the local level by building coalitions around specific issue campaigns, including medically accurate sex education, LGBT non-discrimination ordinances, and religious exemptions.
From left to Right: Barry Zack, Donald Slate, Gale Russel, Jim Helton, Dave Helgager,
Baerbel Kavanaugh, Sandra Zelick, Judy Helgager
Previous Lecture: Monday, June 3, 2019
Speaker: Karen Koenig
Topic: Weight Stigma—Time to End the Blame-Shame Game
Synopsis: Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, MEd, eating psychology expert and author of seven books on eating, weight and body image, discussed the negative emotional and physical impact that fat shaming and weight stigma have on higher weight people and offered a more humanistic approach to this issue.
Note: Some of Karen's work can be found on our
Write Stuff Page
Previous Lecture: Monday, August 5, 2019
Speaker: Brian Usher, Solid Waste Collections Manager of Sarasota County Public Utilities
Topic: The challenges that come with recycling
Synopsis: The last of our summer lecture series focused on recycling and related issues in Sarasota County and most likely globally and the US.
We were fortunate to have Brian Usher, Solid Waste Collections Manager of Sarasota County Public Utilities as our guest speaker. Mr. Usher has more that 25 years of experience in the waste industry including waste collections, hazardous materials management and environmental engineering. As the Solid Waste Collections Manager, Brian serves the community by administering the solid waste collection, recycling, hazardous waste, litter prevention and education programs.
He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from St. Andrews College in North Carolina and holds the professional certifications of Manger of Solid Waste Collections and Integrated Solid Waste Systems from the Solid Waste Association of North America.
Mr. Usher addressed how recycling is progressing in our county and throughout our country. This presentation was more than just about what goes in those blue and red bins, though those issues will certainly be part of his presentation. (That info is available on the Sarasota County website.) "What will happen with all this plastic we keep using and throwing away," a member emailed me. "Some areas in our country can no longer find a way to recycle it." I am sure many of you have watched the debris pulled from our oceans and experience the piles and piles of plastic and other waste overwhelming other countries. The evening proved to be interesting and enlightening.
There's an important article on this subject which you can download by clicking here.
Previous Lecture: Monday, October 7, 2019
Speaker: Bill Schoolman—National Officer, Final Exit
Topic: Preparing for the next stage
Synopsis: Our October lecturer manages the speaker's bureau for the Final Exit Network.
Bill has spoken to many free thinker, atheist and Humanists groups. He has also been vice president of the Florida ACLU. Before he retired, Bill was a business and legal executive for both profit and not-for-profit organizations. He currently lives in Ft. Lauderdale and has been a proud Humanist for decades.
Previous Lecture: Monday, Nov. 4, 2019
Speaker: Alan Grindal, MD
Topic: Preparing for the next stage
Synopsis: The Aging Brain: Realities and Opportunities
December 5, 2016
Learn about Big Sugar
Sierra Club's Cris Costello
Appeared at Our HUSBAY Lecture
Cris has been organizing the grassroots for the Sierra Club since May 2007. She is the lead organizer for the Sierra Club Our Wild Florida Campaign, which encompasses the Everglades Restoration, Red Tide, and the Stop Sugar Field Burning campaigns.
She coordinates the Sierra Club’s water quality campaign to prevent harmful algal blooms in both coastal and inland waters in Florida by eliminating point and non-point sources of fertilizer, sewage and animal manure pollution. Cris works with partner environmental organizations, local government staff and officials, homeowner associations, and landscape maintenance professionals around the following issues: Everglades restoration, springs protection, local and state-level urban fertilizer management policy, and water quality standards for Florida’s fresh and estuarine waters.
In November 2013 Cris organized the Citizens’ Clean Water Summit in Orlando, where 253 activists from 121 organizations gathered to make plans for a higher level of collaboration among the state’s water quality and water quantity advocacy community. Cris coordinates the result of the Summit, the 156-partner
Prior to joining the Sierra Club, Cris was a rural and urban grassroots community organizer, a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, an organizer and negotiation/arbitration specialist in a seventeen year career in the labor movement, and a consultant to the Gulf Coast Community Foundation in Venice, Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
March 5, 2018
Learn about Newtown Alive
Vickie Oldham enjoys good storytelling. She is foremost a journalist. Presently, Oldham is spearheading a groundbreaking historic preservation project called “Newtown Alive.” It began as an initiative to trace the 100-year history of the African American community of Newtown; but has quickly expanded into a rebranding effort that is causing residents and visitors to take a second look at the neighborhood through the lens of history.
A comprehensive 350-page research report was completed and later reformatted into a book. Other Newtown Alive products include 15 historic markers placed in important locales that tell stories about the resilience of Sarasota’s African American pioneers. There is a documentary short, a guided trolley tour led by high school students, a traveling exhibition, a brochure with a map of marker locations, the newtownalive.org website, a mobile application, videotaped oral history interviews, an inventory of 150 historic structures and a speakers’ bureau.
In May, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation honored Oldham’s team with an outstanding achievement award. The group is pursuing a National Register of Historic Landmarks designation for the Newtown Conservation Historic District.
Oldham’s propensity for asking questions is the impetus that led to another African American history project. In 2004, she spearheaded the "Looking for Angola" project. Multi-disciplinary in its approach, archaeologists, anthropologists and historians are piecing together the story of a little known and almost forgotten 1800’s Black Seminole settlement that existed in the Tampa Bay region.
The Sarasota resident made her mark as a reporter and TV host at the local ABC affiliate after receiving a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications at the University of Florida and a master of fine arts degree at Florida State University’s Conservatory of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts. She hosted a popular TV program called Common Ground, interviewed some the country’s most recognized entertainers and has appeared in numerous commercials and an ABC network primetime drama.
Oldham has produced documentaries and shorts: “Reflections: A History of Sarasota County;” “Triumphant Struggle;” and “Looking for Angola,” and most recently “Newtown Alive.”
A career transition led her into higher education in 2006. She was Albany State University’s Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Fort Valley State University’s Director of Marketing and Communications/Special Assistant to the President. Both are Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Below is a photo of Vickie and her three associates during this well-attended meeting.
June 4, 2018
First of 2 Summer Lectures
Our speaker for the first summer lecture will be Frank Alcott discussing the proposals coming from the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Some of these are of questionable impact on our state. The lecture will be held Monday, June 4, at the Center for Arts and Humanity, 1226 N. Tamiami Trail (corner of 13th and 41. To avoid construction turn right on Coconut and left at 13th just past 10th.).
There will be social gathering at 6:30 and the lecture at 7.
Frank Alcott is a political science professor at New College and ran for the State Senate in 2016. He has been a political contributor for our local ABC TV station, the Sarasota Herald Tribune and other news outlets. He is considered an expert on the proposals coming from the Constitution Revision Commission. Attend and learn about the effect of these proposals on the citizens of Florida. We will be voting on these in November.
Second Annual HUSBAY New Year's Party
A sizeable group of HUSBAY members met at at the Center for Arts and Humanities to celebrate the New Year. We were entertained by the guitar stylngs of Dominick (Donny) LaPonte, who just kept on strumming. Donny also provides tech support at our lecture meetings.
Claudia Holmes and Garret Cantrell provided the goodies, to whom we extend our thanks and appreication.
Photographic Evidence
(through the courtesy of Betsy Helgager Hughes)
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| Our President gets things going | Guitarist pulls some strings | Two members perform navel maneuver |
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| Mary & Bob, making such a big "Magilla" | Listening and talking at the same time | |
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| Hail from the chief's Mrs. | Snap Chat: they chat, Betsy snap |
Board members, but not bored members |