A True Community Shares

Nearly 200 members of the Saint David's community gathered at a midtown venue yesterday evening to hear Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of FOX News and Chairman of FOX Television Stations, speak about "The News in America Today" for this year's Saint David's School Networking Event.

Known for his candid, direct style; and rarely reticent about expressing his views and opinions, Mr. Ailes spoke of his introduction to the media business working on The Mike Douglas Show in the sixties, where he first encountered Richard Nixon, crediting an exchange the two had over the role television would play in determining election outcomes with truly beginning his career in broadcasting.

From covering man's first steps on the moon in 1969 (he broadcasted the first interplanetary shot in history, which would feature Neil Armstrong's legendary exclamation: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."), to his successful embrace of Rupert Murdoch's challenge to build a channel that could beat the competition, he spoke of success resulting from commitment, hard work, and what he termed his greatest talent: "I hire good people; they do a great job."

Mr. Ailes also addressed the seismic shifts in the way news can be delivered as the result of rapidly evolving technological advances and the challenges these present, noting "an atmosphere of radical growth and change," and the continued importance of excellence, integrity, teamwork and positive attitude as essential qualities for success, along with having good mentors.

Following his talk, attendees broke out into networking affinity groups that covered five professions, each led by a Saint David's community member: Hospitality, facilitated by Richard Coraine; Finance, by Martin Vulliez '86, Education, by Arthur Samuels III, '84; Media, by Annika Pergament; and Recruiting, by Carolina Dorson Ponzer. Alumns, current and past parents then "networked".

The annual networking event, an occasion for alumni, current parents and parents of alumni to network together is now in its sixth installment, and growing stronger each year. Last evening, which happened to fall on Founders Day, the date that the school was founded in 1951, marked yet another example of the "true community" that is Saint David's, members coming together to share insights, provide information about various industries and professions, and offer advice and support to each other.

Comments

OLIVER!

This morning our fifth graders continued a great year-end tradition at Saint David's, The Fifth Grade Musical. The boys performed Oliver! and they were fantastic, providing impressive performances and demonstrating great vocal ability. They have been mastering the dialogue and musical numbers for weeks, and clearly gave it their all. Congratulations to the cast on a job well done, and to their Producers/Teachers James Hubbard and Jamie MacNeille, Director Phyllis Clark, Musical Conductor Jeff Moore, and the Parent Committee of Cynthia Chapman, Susan Kissane, Tara Neumann, Joyce Restituto, and Ann Roberts. Musical theater is alive and well at Saint David's!

NE Patriot Tom Brady at Saint David’s

Last night, Saint David’s was honored to have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, four time Superbowl champion and three-time MVP winner Tom Brady, as the guest speaker for our Alumni Parents Council Lecture Series. Tom, who is the father of one of our Saint David's boys, addressed a standing-room-only audience in Hyman Hall comprised of our eighth graders, alumni, alumni parents and faculty. Friendly, introspective, witty, and wise, he directed his talk to the delighted eighth graders in the front of the room, and focused on the topic of leadership. “You are the young men and leaders of Saint David’s,” he noted. Tom debunked the perception that leaders are born not made, and credited his leadership abilities to “standing up to and facing fears” and to “cultivating a mental strength,” which he cited as “more important than being physically strong.” He also stressed the importance of working hard, honoring teamwork, believing in oneself and being a good lis...

Fascinating Art Talk by Michelle Marder Kamhi at Grandparents Event

Yesterday evening, independent scholar and critic Michelle Marder Kamhi ( www.mmkamhi.com ), co-editor with husband Louis Torres of Aristos , an online review of arts; author of Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts ; and grandmother of two Saint David's boys, gave a thought provoking talk on art for our grandparent community. An advocate of objective standards in arts scholarship and criticism, Ms. Kamhi focused her talk on the ways in which art critics such as Clement Greenberg promoted the shift from representational art to abstraction. Kamhi argues that the abstract and post-modern art prevalent today, which often requires explanation by docents in order to be understood, goes against art's purpose. Taking issue with Greenberg's contention that representation is an expendable convention of painting, she quoted the late art critic John Canaday: "Art is the tangible expression of the intangible values that men live by." ...

Headmaster's Blog

Search This Blog