Headliners Enjoy Concerts Eric Church Rick Hidell and April 15, 2016 Kay Miller
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Spring, 2016 Headliners Enjoy Concerts Eric Church Rick Hidell and April 15, 2016 Kay Miller. Meg and Dathan Voelter attended with friends Kimberly and Frank Brienzi. Nancy and HEADLINES Wayne McDonald. Flieller family: Sara, Jay and Anne Howard with Craig and Molly Hughes. Jennifer, Jane and James. Bonnie Raitt Jack and LuAnn Gilmore with Claire April 27, 2016 and Doug English. Jane and Chuck Space Carol and Joe Lea with their daughters Amanda Lea Oudt and Joanna Lea Parigi. SPEAKER EVENTS Political Panel March 3, 2016 A star panel of political journalists attracted a capac- A panel of political experts shared their thoughts on this year’s presidential primaries: ity crowd the evening of March 3 following the Super (l to r) Brandi Grissom (Dallas Morning News), Harvey Kronberg (Quorum Report), Ken Tuesday Texas primary. In partnership with the Club, the Herman (Austin American-Statesman), and Brian Sweaney (Texas Monthly Magazine). Foundation provided the program that was attended by members and guests, along with journalism professionals, educators and students. Austin American-Statesman columnist Ken Herman moder- ated the discussion with panelists Brandi Grissom of the Dallas Morning News, Brian Sweany of Texas Monthly, and Harvey Kronberg of the Quorum Report, followed by a spir- Former Ambassador to the United States from the Netherlands (r) ited Q&A session with dinner guests. Rudolf Bekink discusses his coun- try’s politics with Ken Herman (l). - Mark Morrison Andrew York looked forward to spending the evening with his wife Headliners Laura and his mother Peggy. President JoLynn Free with Patsy Woods Martin. Lottie and Sandy Shapiro are always interested in a good political discussion. Kyndel and Laura Bennett are newer members enjoy- ing the club’s activities. Headliners Foundation chairman Mark Morrison, panelists Brian Sweaney and Brandi Grissom with Brandi’s husband Travis Swicegood. Good friends Jo Anne Midwikis and Larry Temple 2 FAMOUS AUSTINITES The Life and Times of Frank Denius March 10, 2016 It’s a story known to long-time Austinites but always great to hear again: the tale of Frank Denius. From his World War II exploits, to his business and civic leadership, to his unique contributions to The University of Texas and its programs - Austin has benefited from the generosity of this Athens, Texas hero. Panelists, buddies and collaborators on a book about Mr. Denius: Tom Hatfield (l) and Frank Denius (r). Headliners members and guests were treated to the telling in March as Dr. Tom Hatfield, co-author of a forthcoming Denius biography, “On the Way,” questioned the local legend (and original Headliners Club member) in an evening exploring his life and times. Educated at Schreiner Institute in Kerrville from the age of 13, Denius heard President Franklin Roosevelt address Congress the morning after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Before the end of the day of the attack, Army authorities at Fort Sam Houston had sent troops to pick up the military institute’s nearly 400 training rifles, two WWI machine guns and one howitzer cannon to send immediately to the defense of the west coast of the U.S. For Denius, the lesson was the nation’s lack of preparedness that required the use of second hand armaments. Penny Burck enjoyed catching up with Ann and John Mobley. 1962 Headliners President Frank Denius with 1960 president Jerry Bell’s son - Jerry Bell, Jr. Don’t you know these two could also tell some good old Austin stories? Neal Spelce and Julian Read. Headliners Chairman Brian Greig (center) was thrilled his son Travis got to hear about WWII from Frank Denius. ...continued on page 4 3 UT football player Mike Cotten with the biggest Longhorn of all, Frank Denius, and Tom Hatfield. “It was amazing how unprepared a country can be. Freedom is not free; it is not an entitlement,” said Denius. In defense of freedom, Denius subsequently found himself landing on Omaha Beach on the second day Concordia’s president of the invasion of Normandy and thereafter was in Donald continuous combat for the next eleven months, pick- Christian and his wife ing up two Silver Stars for gallantry along the way. Deborah. By December 16, 1944, at the age of 19, he was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge in France, where Americans took 100,000 casualties. For that effort, young Frank Denius was awarded two more Silver Stars, the nation’s third highest ranking honor for heroism, as well as two Purple Hearts. All-in-all, he was among the 10 most highly decorated veterans of the war. His take on performing well in combat? “Leadership in battle is being able to manage anxiety.” Beyond his auspicious early history, Frank Denius has excelled as an attorney, businessman, philanthropist, and UT supporter – what Tom Hatfield called “a Mark Eidman legend among all the orange-and-white people.” spent the eve- ning with Frank Denius’ son- “I’d always wanted to be a lawyer and I’d always in-law Gordon wanted to go to UT,” Denius said simply to his distin- McGill. guished audience. He also spoke fondly of his memories of those other interests, including working with the City of Austin to get 90 percent federal government support for the expensive movement of utilities to permit the con- struction of Interstate Highway 35 through Austin, Beth and Tom Granger were delighted and working with Leon Jaworski to complete the to spend an evening with their newly desegregation of UT-Austin. engaged son Louis and his fiancé Kate Vasseur. But the early memories remain almost the strongest. Recalling a conversation with UT football coach Mack Brown, Denius remembered once telling him, “Coach, if you’d have seen me running across Omaha Beach, you’d have offered me a scholarship.” Frank Denius and Ann Butler - Howard Falkenberg remember Austin before it became a big city. 4 Author George Friedman shared his insights about the world with his fellow members. FAMOUS AUSTINITES Sizing Up The World: With George Friedman Maria and Darren Woody were glad they were in March 17, 2016 town for this fascinating discussion. A very earnest George Friedman addressed Headliners members one evening this spring in remarks entitled, “The World is Falling Apart…I’m Serious!” And that he was. “Everything is falling apart (and) the world has entered a very dangerous period,” said Friedman, the noted Austin-based geopolitical forecaster and international affairs strategist. “The European Union is collapsing (there is a massive failure of regional powers), Russia has Elena and emerged again but faces a crisis in its economy Everardo (even with Russian patriot Putin enjoying 80 Goyanes were happy to spend percent support in the country), and China is in the evening with a terminal crisis (with a billion people living at a Molly and Dean Davis. lower standard than Bolivia).” “The entire Eurasian landmass containing five of the seven billion humans alive today is in chaos,” said Friedman. “The only area not in special chaos is India, which is in regular chaos.” The instability is driven by a crisis in the value of exports from countries relying on them for economic success, said Friedman. Only North America is immune because we do not rely for much beyond ourselves in the way of export markets. George and Meredith Friedman like to be surrounded by good friends. (l to r) Don Kuykendall, Kerry Cammack and Brian Greig. ...continued on page 6 5 KIDS MOVIE NIGHTS Speaker Events: Sizing Up The World: With George Friedman Tom Sellers with wife and Headliners Foundation Executive Director Araminta connected with friends Martha and Cliff Ernst. “While China and Europe are in complete instability, North America is a relatively peaceful island and the cen- ter of gravity. The entire Western Hemisphere is open to development, with Mexico a bridge to Latin America, which now is more stable than Europe. Everything in the world is going to a very different place. The pattern that is developing hasn’t been seen since World War II.” Friedman, the former chairman of private intelligence firm Stratfor, is the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures, a new online source focused on explaining and forecasting the course of global events. He’s also a best- selling author whose latest book is “Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe.” Rhett Stone and Gerald Kucera eat supper and discuss what they have just heard. The widely-noted Austinite did manage to sneak quiet smiles into his presentation from time-to-time, thus keep- ing the Headliners crowd from becoming too intensely somber. - Howard Falkenberg Daron Butler, Dan Herd and Phil Barnes gather before an enlightening lecture. Former UT President Larry Faulkner and Judge Lee Yeakel. 6 KIDS MOVIE NIGHTS INSIDE TRACK: LUNCHEON With Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick February 11, 2016 Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick came to cave beetles – all have been a fac- Commissioner Craddick’s tenure on the Texas Headliners to Railroad Commission began in 2012 and explain the cur- tor in energy development. Texas has has been characterized by an intense inter- rent condition of conducted its own surveys to establish the oil industry. est in educating Texans about the oil and gas accurate data in order to fast track industry, water recycling efforts in oilfields some of these decisions. and modernization of information technol- ogy for the Commission. The Midland native The ugly includes a decline in the received her Bachelor’s Degree and Doctor number of drilling rigs in operation of Jurisprudence from the University of (215 today versus 890 two years ago), Texas at Austin. the number of talented energy work- ers leaving Texas, and the “rules, rules, Her mission at the Club? To share the rules” issued by the federal government good, the bad, the ugly and the long to regulate the industry.