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 Early
in Roundtable history, various routines and rituals
were established, eventually becoming recognized traditions
enriching the total experience. The start of a Roundtable
session has always been a noisy endeavor. Part of
the project's charm is members coming together every
Thursday morning, a social as well as an informational
gathering. To quiet the loud chatter and moving around
the room, I first used an ashtray to bang for order,
and asked noisy members to sit and be quiet. A few
years later, several members presented me with a fine
gavel inscribed to the "Maestro of the Roundtable."
That gavel is still used, although two others were
later given to me. One was hand-made by the father
of the Dean of SU's Hendricks Chapel, fashioned from
wood from a replaced stage of the chapel. A third
was a large gavel marking the end of our first 25
years. This was presented by Patrick Mannion of our
advisory committee at a session featuring the Syracuse
Mayor and the incoming University Chancellor. The
Mayor, a friend, commented on the anomaly of such
a large "hammer" for one so old. I was 72
at the time.
The scenario of a Roundtable session has remained
very much the same over the years, although we have
changed rooms twice. Members arrive from 8-8:30 a.m.,
pay one dollar (50 cents in earlier years) for coffee,
tea, and a donut, and select a table or wander around
chatting with colleagues. The original room had a
podium with a microphone and speaker, and later a
central sound system was added. The podium featured
a "Thursday Morning Roundtable" sign, and
behind the podium was a colorful banner, "Syracuse
University Continuing Education." Tables were
arranged by the janitorial staff in an informal pattern
with five or six chairs around each.
For quite a few years, smoking was allowed. The county
Commissioner of Health, a member and a cigar smoker,
occasionally brought a meter to measure the smoke
volume in the room. Some years later, we divided the
room in half, designating one side for smokers and
the other supposedly smoke-free! Members chose their
side, and even after all smoking ceased, they often
remained on the same side.
Most members sat around the same tables for years,
which made attendance-taking much easier. However,
efforts have been made from time to time to move people
around to encourage more getting to know one another.
Generally, these efforts have failed, and most members
feel more comfortable sitting with their friends or
colleagues.
I began each session around 8:30 with some remarks-perhaps
recognizing some member for an achievement, announcing
some event sponsored by a member's agency, or promoting
WCNY-FM or the Onondaga Citizens League. I then introduced
the member selected to introduce the speaker. Usually,
that member was related to the topic being discussed
or was familiar with the speaker.
Several members became well known for the quality
or length of their introductions. Dr. Leo Jivoff,
one of the earliest members, was especially recognized
for his rather long, but usually scholarly and humorous
introductions. Occasionally, during an overly long
introduction, someone from the audience would shout
out, "Who's the speaker?"
As already mentioned, I monitored attendance each
week and discouraged infrequent attendance. Regular
attendance was encouraged for two reasons: to improve
individual understanding of a broad range of public
issues and problems; and to make possible the catalytic
function of TMR in regard to community development.
To reinforce this whole concept of attendance, I
began very early to recognize certain members for
perfect attendance or some special contribution to
the success of the Roundtable. The first version of
this ceremony was the presentation of homemade wine.
I made wine for several years with Lucius Kempton,
a colleague at University College. At the end of the
season, bottles of this wine were given to a few members
and to the College secretaries who hosted the coffee
and donut tables. Eventually, we varied the awards
for attendance and service to include pins, TMR coffee
mugs, or my homemade candy. The candy tradition has
lasted the longest.
Another tradition begun in the early years was participation
in the University's Community Leadership Conference.
These two-day meetings were held at the University's
Adirondack Mountains Conference Center-one at Sagamore
near Raquette Lake and one at Minnowbrook on Blue
Mountain Lake. These conferences were started two
years prior to TMR by University College with the
cooperation of the Metropolitan Development Association
and the Chamber of Commerce.
The conference was designed to bring together a broad
representation of civic leaders, public officials,
business leaders, and other interested citizens to
examine in depth one particular issue, problem, or
development affecting this community. The topic of
the first conference was metropolitan government (repeated
in various guises many times), and the second explored
the local arts and culture scene.
When TMR began, I assumed responsibility for planning
and conducting these conferences. In one sense, they
were an extension of TMR. The subject of the conference
sessions was usually one already discussed briefly
at a TMR meeting. These two-day events at a remote
retreat center permitted extensive and intensive examination
of one subject, reinforcing the educational value
of TMR.
In a few years, the conference really became an adjunct
of TMR. The majority of participants were TMR members
and programs were planned by individuals active in
TMR. Some of the conferences resulted in printed reports
widely distributed in the community. The Syracuse
newspapers usually covered the conferences, thus enhancing
their effectiveness. For many years, both the City
Mayor and the County Executive were active participants
in these conferences. Quite often, a TMR member photographed
events and personalities at the conference and prepared
displays which were shown at TMR meetings.
Other routines and symbols have become part of the
TMR tradition. In most years, the season was started
by presentations from the Syracuse Mayor and County
Executive. In election years, candidates were excluded
from the schedule. However, we often arranged debates
or joint presentations by candidates early in the
fall. The Syracuse University Chancellor was also
frequently scheduled early in the season.
Symbolic features strengthened the sense of group
identity among members. Very early, a lapel pin was
designed for members. Coffee mugs with the TMR logo
were purchased and sold to members. Some, including
the County Commissioner of Health, carried these mugs
to various meetings, supposedly to save on paper or
styrofoam cups. The TMR logo-a stylized round table
with TMR letters-was designed in the beginning by
a staff artist in University College's public relations
department. It appeared on every schedule and publication
throughout TMR history.
We also bought thousands of packages of stick matches
with TMR and the starting year "1965" on the cover.
These were most popular in the smoking years, but many members
still pick them up whenever they are available on the display
table outside the meeting rooms.
That table was where we displayed handout materials
from speakers, promotional materials from participating
agencies sponsoring a public event, various TMR or
OCL publications, or other materials I thought members
should see.
From time to time, we surveyed the TMR membership
to identify characteristics and attitudes. The surveys
were often developed and processed by the University's
political science faculty. As recently as 1996-we
developed our own survey. The results in general described
a mostly white, middle-to-upper-class membership,
involved in community groups and programs, and very
well educated (most had a college degree). More members
have been registered Republicans, but the margin between
Republicans and Democrats has narrowed in recent years.
Most consider themselves to be "moderate"
or "liberal" in opinions on public issues.
The increasing number of female members has produced
a generally more liberal tone in the membership.
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