In the Community
Speakers Assembly of Southwest Florida
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Tucked into a small corner of south Lee County is the Speakers Assembly of Southwest Florida, a nonprofit that has for years brought high-profile speakers that once included a panel on baseball featuring Yogi Berra, says Arden McCurdy, executive director. Other guests have included publishing chief and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, executives with Harvard University and the Ford Motor Co., each heavyweights and authorities in his or her field, McCurdy says. “I guess [you] could say we believe in free speech,” she says.
Sneaking up on its 25-year anniversary, Speakers Assembly of Southwest Florida was formed by retired executives and others interested in leadership skills benefiting the community. The Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce administers the project. And there was plenty to choose from, McCurdy says, as Southwest Florida is a natural magnet for leadership in a thousand points of light. Some 150 prominent guests have trickled through in the ensuing years. Dr. Eric Haura from Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center gave remarks in March on cancer medicines, for example. Another speaker in February, DuPont CEO Edward Breen, shared the view from his elevated position. And because the Assembly had added a c omponent involving high schoolers, those students are given time alone with these leaders “to ask anything they want,” McCurdy says.
Speakers Assembly in 2014 established a $10,000 college endowment, awarding four annual $2,500 scholarships. Speaking events are scheduled November through April. There are some 300 members, McCurdy says, that still rely on friends of friends to bring the major players to our corner of the world.