Previous Speakers

Founded in 1933, The Norfolk Forum is the oldest publicly subscribed speakers’ forum in the country. Speakers have included legendary personalities—seven former heads of state, Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winners and other thought-provoking public figures who have dramatically shaped American thought and events. Following is a sampling of speakers.

 

2007-08 Speakers

BOB SCHIEFFER
Tuesday, October 2, 2007 – 8:15 p.m.

Bob Schieffer joined CBS News in 1969 and has covered Washington for more than 30 years including all four major beats in the nation’s capital— the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill. He has been chief Washington correspondent since 1982, a floor reporter at all Democratic and Republican National Conventions since1972 and anchor and moderator of Face The Nation since 1991. Schieffer is a member of the Broadcasting/Cable Hall of Fame and in 2003 was named the recipient of the Paul White Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association. The Paul White Award recognizes an individual’s lifetime contribution to electronic journalism. He has won many other broadcast journalism awards, including six Emmys and was the National Press Foundation’s Broadcaster of the Year in 2002. He is the author of the 2003 New York Times bestseller, This Just In. What I Couldn’t Tell You On TV.
 

DAVID SOKOL
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 – 8:15 p.m.

David Sokol attended the University of Nebraska, lived at home, went to school during the day and worked at night as a grocery store manager. He graduated in 1978 and went to work as a structural engineer for HDR, Inc., one of the top five engineering companies in America. Part of his job was advising clients on engineering-related business decisions. Citibank, one of HDR’s largest clients, offered him an internal position, which he accepted because they agreed to educate him on finance. He worked full time during the day and took business courses at night. When Citicorp started a waste energy subsidiary called Ogden, Sokol was selected to run it. In seven years, Ogden grew from four to 1,200 employees and became the leader in that industry. In 1991, Sokol was named CEO of Cal Energy, which was later renamed MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. Today, he serves as MidAmerican’s chairman and CEO. The company is a global leader in the production, supply and distribution of energy from diversified fuel sources including geothermal, natural gas, hydroelectric, nuclear and coal.

JEFF SHAARA
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 – 8:15 p.m.

Jeff Shaara was a very successful rare coin, precious metals dealer. His father, Michael Shaara, wrote The Killer Angels which was brought to film as Gettysburg. When Michael Shaara died, Jeff sold his business to manage his father’s estate. Gettysburg director Ron Maxwell approached Jeff about the possibility of continuing the story, finding someone to write a prequel and sequel to The Killer Angels. Although he had no previous experience as a writer, Jeff decided tackle the project himself. Two years later Gods and Generals, the prequel to his father’s novel, was published. Within two weeks, it was a national bestseller. The sequel, The Last Full Measure, was published with the same result. Subsequent historical novels written by Shaara, dealing with the American Revolution and the First World War, have also been bestsellers. His latest endeavor, Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields, was published in 2006 and is a unique look at ten of this country’s most valuable pieces of hallowed ground.

JAMES A. BAKER, III
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 – 8:15 p.m.

Jim Baker’s record of public service began in 1975 as Under Secretary of Commerce to President Gerald Ford. He also served as White House Chief of Staff and later Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan, Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush, and concluded with his service as White House Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to President Bush. Long active in American presidential politics, Mr. Baker led presidential campaigns for Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush over the course of five consecutive presidential elections from 1976 to 1992.Mr. Baker has received many awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991.Since leaving public service, he has served as a Personal Envoy of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Special Presidential Envoy for President George W. Bush on the issue of Iraqi debt. He also co-chaired the Federal Commission on Election Reform with former president Jimmy Carter and co-chaired the Iraq Study Group, a bi-partisan blue-ribbon panel examining a forward-looking approach to Iraq with U. S. Congressman Lee H. Hamilton. Mr.Baker’s memoir, Work Hard, Study . . . and Keep Out of Politics! Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life, was published in October 2006.