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Thursday Morning Roundtable had 65 members in 1965-66.
The most frequent attendees included 11 from governmental
offices, 10 from civic groups, six from business, and
four from educational institutions. At the conclusion
of the 1965-66 season, the director prepared an annual
report listing members, programs, and statistics, including
attendance records. This practice was followed every
year.
Beginning with the first full season, I started an attendance-taking
practice which amazed TMR members. I prepared a roster of
members, observed the group from several perspectives during
the formal presentation and checked those who were present
on the roster. It was said that no one could recognize more
people by the backs of their heads than I. Some observers
attributed my proficiency to my experience as a school teacher.
The importance of attendance increased as membership
grew rapidly and the desired mixture of members became
more complex. From the beginning, it seemed important
that members attend TMR regularly, regardless of the
personal appeal of a particular topic or speaker. To
serve its function as a catalyst for community development,
it was essential that TMR become a weekly habit for
governmental officials, civic leaders, agency professionals,
board members, and others who were involved in a particular
project, proposal, or development within the community.
It became customary for many of these people to meet
after the TMR session to work on their own agendas.
Members who did not attend on a regular basis were
eventually asked to relinquish membership to others
requesting membership. Regular attendance was generally
considered to be one-third of all sessions. Over the
years, members often commented on the "attendance
letter" sent out to clarify this requirement.
The program year 1967-68 was notable with regard to
the future development of TMR. As already noted, the
initial invitation to membership was sent to 80 well-known
men. There were no female members until the spring of
1968. In the summer of 1967, the Executive Director
of the local Human Rights Commission wrote to the Dean
of University College complaining about the systematic
exclusion of women members. After pointing out that
the law prohibits such discrimination, Millicent Allewelt
claimed "that a program of such importance to the
planning and decision-making process of the community
should not arbitrarily exclude all members of any particular
group."
In March 1968 I wrote to Karen DeCrow, president of
the local chapter of the National Organization for Women,
informing her that formal membership invitations were
being sent to several women. The first were two Syracuse
City Councilors and the head of the local League of
Women Voters. In time, many League of Women voters members
became active in TMR and one of the city councilors,
Norma Coburn, remains a very active member.
Several programs during this year were prophetic of
later TMR developments. There have always been a few
political officeholders within the membership. More
have been county officials than city officials, and
in general, county participation and leadership has
been more important. One prominent exception was a city
councilor named Lee Alexander. In 1967, he spoke at
TMR about his "Vision of the Syracuse of Tomorrow."
Two years later, following his election as Mayor, a
TMR program was devoted to drafting a letter to Alexander
outlining specific recommendations for his administration.
For many years, there were close programming relationships
with the city administration.
Program emphasis was not limited to city and county
matters. In 1967, there were four programs examining
issues before the State Constitutional Convention. The
results of these discussions were sent to all Central
New York delegates to the Convention. In future years,
many state legislators, department heads, and the Governor
were frequent speakers at TMR.
Certain local problems and issues recurred regularly
as TMR topics through the years. In 1967-68, the problems
of school integration, Onondaga Lake cleanup, solid
waste disposal and major highway construction were discussed,
as they would be many times in future years. Community
planning and health issues have also been recurring
themes in TMR history.
TMR program scheduling was usually arranged on a monthly
basis and distributed to members. Occasionally, there
was reason to make a last minute schedule change. A
dramatic example of this occurred following the assassination
of Martin Luther King in April 1968. That week, a special
program was presented at TMR featuring a tape recording
made at the Croton School (later renamed Martin Luther
King school). The tape featured student reaction to
the assassination, in addition to comments made by the
Syracuse Chief of Police and the principal of Croton
School. This highly emotional session convinced the
leaders of the local Community Chest (later United Way)
to develop the Urban Crisis Fund as an effort to improve
racial discrimination and poverty situations. These
two social issues were the subjects of TMR discussion
many times in the future.
Also during this year, the Roundtable received its
first national recognition when the National University
Extension Association awarded TMR its "Creativity
Award." This was the first of dozens of awards,
citations, and other forms of recognition that have
marked TMR history.
By the time TMR reached its tenth anniversary, several
significant changes and innovations had taken place.
Increases in membership numbers, as well as average
attendance and longevity of membership, were significant.
TMR's popularity, reputation, and variety of activities
also increased greatly during the first decade.
Membership grew to 136, including 25 women. Fifteen
had been members for all ten years. About one-half had
been members for five or more years. Average weekly
attendance was 81. Major affiliations of members changed
during this time. Social agencies and civic organizations
still provided the most members, but more business people
got involved. Government offices and educational institutions
were also well represented.
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