TOPIC: What’s the Prescription for US Healthcare: Nip & Tuck or Major Surgery? SPEAKER:  George Bohmfalk, MD Dr. Bohmfalk will discuss the present status of healthcare delivery in the US and various ways in which it might be improved. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Bohmfalk grew up, did his medical training, and practiced neurosurgery in Texas. Since retiring […]

All members old and new are invited to attend in person or via Zoom, our New Member Orientation meeting. Learn more about the organization including how to meet people, join events and how you can help the organization - the best way to meet new people! In person meeting is in Room 106 in PUMC.

TOPIC: How do elections work? A look at how election administration works in the US states. SPEAKER: Mary Jo McGowan, Dept of Political Science and Public Administration, UNC-Charlotte How do elections work? After recent elections many people have questions about how elections work, who runs them, and are they secure? Beyond voting and campaigning most […]

TOPIC: North Carolina’s Energy Future -- An Independent Perspective on Duke Energy’s Transition to Zero-Carbon SPEAKER: John Gaertner, Climate Consultant Duke Energy, community stakeholders, and the NC Utilities Commission engaged in 2023 to produce the latest Carbon Plan and Integrated Resource Plan for energy generation through the year 2050. This energy transition is complex and […]

TOPIC: Shakespeare is Playing You SPEAKER: Dave Collins, Professor of English, Emeritus Shakespeare's language, Early Modern English, can be confusing for people who haven't spent a lot of time with the Bard. Best advice? Don't worry about understanding every word. Enjoy yourself and focus on the big picture. Sometimes understanding depends on knowing about ideas […]

TOPIC: Catawba History 101: History and Traditions of the Catawba Nation SPEAKER: Kassidy Plyler, Cultural Programs Docent/Exhibit Coordinator, Catawba Cultural Center Catawba History 101 explores the rich 6,000-year history of the Catawba Nation BIOGRAPHY Kassidy Plyler is an enrolled citizen of the Catawba Nation, born January 24th, 1992, and raised in Rock Hill, South Carolina. […]

All members old and new are invited to attend in person or via Zoom, our New Member Orientation meeting. Learn more about the organization including how to meet people, join events and how you can help the organization – the best way to meet new people! In person meeting is in Room 106 in PUMC.

TOPIC: Responsible Citizens—The Lifeblood of America SPEAKER: Major General, United States Marine Corps (Ret.) In his world renowned speech to the French at the Sorbonne on April 23, 1910, T. Roosevelt opined: A democratic republic such as ours—an effort to realize in its full sense government by, of, and for the people—represents the most gigantic […]

TOPIC: The Complicated, Immersive Worlds of Whitfield Lovell SPEAKER: Dr. Jen Edwards, Mint Museum of Art Chief curator and curator of contemporary art New York-based artists Whitfield Lovell creates meticulous portrait drawings and immersive installations that envelope the viewer’s every sensory response. Fresh soil, a tumbler of bourbon, cicadas humming, a gospel chorus swelling in […]

TOPIC: The Rural-Urban Divide and the 2024 Election  SPEAKER: Chelsea Kaufman, Assistant Professor, Wingate University Chelsea provide an overview of how political attitudes and voting behaviors have varied across rural and urban areas over the last several election cycles and discuss what this might mean for 2024, especially in "swing states" like NC. BIOGRAPHY Chelsea […]

All members old and new are invited to attend in person or via Zoom, our New Member Orientation meeting. Learn more about the organization including how to meet people, join events and how you can help the organization – the best way to meet new people! In person meeting is in Room 106 in PUMC.

GREAT DECISIONS TOPIC: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)  SPEAKER: Dmitry Vovchuk, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative This presentation will provide an overview of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as we approach the Alliance's 75th Anniversary. The discussion will cover NATO's mission, capabilities, relevance, enlargement, and future. […]

TOPIC: Artificial Intelligence for Defense and National Security SPEAKER:  Tate Nurkin, OTH Intelligence Group, Atlantic Council, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments AI and other emerging technologies are shaping the future of conflict--both kinetic and non-kinetic--and military capabilities. As a result, most modern militaries are prioritizing the development, adoption, and integration of AI-enabled capabilities and […]

TOPIC: Inherit the Land; Jim Crow Meets Miss Maggie's Will SPEAKER: Gene Stowe, Author Two antebellum white spinster sisters in Marvin, NC, raised a black man and then his daughter as their own beginning in Reconstruction. The women left them their 800 acre homeplace, a will upheld against all odds by two White juries in […]