News from the Den!

September President's Message

Scott Free, and giving away the kitchen Sink too!

If you believe working the names of candidates into your blurbs is a task for the Young and not the Meek, then you'll do this one  ustice by giving it a read.  Why the talk of giving things away?  Because I'm happy to announce the Club has given away its first free membership.  As you know, last year, under the leadership of past president Dr. Darryl Paulson, our board adopted a membership recruitment incentive.  This incentive includes the "big prize" of a free membership for any Member who brings six new Members to the Club.  Long-time member and current board member Martha Lenderman has won this prize, having brought six new members to our Club this year.  Way to go Martha!  Its not that hard, and several other Members are on their way to gaining their own Tiger stimulus package.  We offer one of the best products membership can buy:  access to and the ability to freely question some of the top leaders of our region, state and nation (and good sticky buns).

While part one of this message deals with giving something away, I want to discuss something our Club recently chose to keep:  its integrity and principles.  Several times recently our program committee and Executive Director have been presented with terms and conditions from potential speakers seeking to have us bend our program model.  However, your directors, coming as they do from all political backgrounds, have stood in unity to oppose such requests.  We will not modify our start and end times so as to short our Members of a full program.  We will not agree to avoid throwing jabs during introductions.  We will not require all questions to be submitted in writing or in advance.  And we will most certainly not agree to limit our most coveted question time to 3 questions!  We will pass on the speaker first before doing so.  Getting top candidates to agree to our program model gets harder each year as candidates try hard to "stick to the script" and avoid challenging events.  I wanted to convey this to you, our Members, so you can appreciate even more the tough task our program committee has in bringing you your regular red meat!

Final note:  In a recent column by a good friend of our Club, it was observed that Members failed to lay a paw on a speaker.  I cannot say I disagreed.  If we are to maintain our historic reputation as polite but fierce questioners, we need to put thought and effort into this important task!

See you in the Den! 

Rob Eschenfelder

President

August President's Message

Doing Nothing this Summer

It's summer time.  This, in most parts of the South, translates into slowing down.  Taking a break from the heat.  Yet, as we have just witnessed, our Governor summoned our Legislature into a special session right smack in the middle of summer.  And, when they promptly voted to turn right back around and return to their respective districts for mint julips and constituent service, the Governor called them a "do nothing Legislature" (invoking the chiding of a former Democratic President when his Congress declined to advance his agenda).

All this "do nothing" talk got me to recalling one of my favorite philosophers.  Sir Edmund Burke, Irish political philosopher, is perhaps best known for observing:  "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."  So, was our Legislature confirming the Governor's view that evil is now upon us?  Or did our Legislators simply conclude this didn't apply, given the reference to "good" and all?

Its been a while since I dug into Mr. Burke's wisdom, and so I figured I'd revisit some of his observations to see if he had anything to contribute to our current political climate.  In doing so, I was reminded how timeless a good political philosopher's observations can be, and how instructive they may be for today's leaders.  For instance, while President Obama and the Congress continue to struggle to expand health, income and other social benefits, Burke would offer the following caution should the money run out:  "And having looked to the government for bread, on the very first scarcity, they will turn and bite the hand that fed them."

And, as we observe Governor candidate Rick Scott continue to press his lawsuit against Florida's public finance campaign laws, perhaps he will pause at Burke's suggestion that, "it is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do."

In witnessing the recent termination of a long-term, hard working African American federal farm assistance employee for what a "lemming-like" media reported as her racist lack of desire to help white farmers when it turned out the exact opposite was true, Burke aptly observed:  "Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind."  One hopes writers learn from this event.

As Congressman Charlie Rangel and former State House Speaker Ray Sansom mull their respective ethical quandaries, perhaps they will cogitate on Burke's observation that:  "All persons possessing any portion of power ought to be strongly and awfully impressed with an idea that they act in trust, and that they are to account for their conduct in that trust..."

And finally, as we watch another year of political leaders of all party affiliations (or none) battling each other with some of the most negative, corrosive, truth-stretching ads we've seen, it can only be hoped that they stumble upon one of Burke's lesser known but apt observations:  "Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together."

Please "do something" by joining your fellowTigers for our upcoming programming as weapproach the fall election season, so that you can do your part to ensure the future of our great empire.  You don't want to contribute to evil, now do you!?

See you in the Den! 

Rob Eschenfelder, President

July President's Message

Getting the Job Done

While large in membership, our Club is but a small, not-for-profit corporation which must, like any other business entity, be run.  Since our resources afford only the paid services of our dedicated part time Executive Director, we must, year in and year out, rely on the dedicated work of our volunteer board.  I regularly say to all I can that I'm fortunate to be leading such a fine, capable, and hard working board!  In this quarter, Vice President & Program Chair Rick Edmonds continued to bring home great programs, and more are mentioned in this newsletter.  Ben Friedlander spent copious hours working with the Pinellas Education Foundation to improve our scholarship program and policies.  Membership chair Gary Stempinski continued to add members to our Club's numbers by personal recruitment efforts, which included attending and speaking at local community group meetings.  And our Treasurer, Pam Meador added to her usual duties of ensuring our financial house is in order by developing a series of proposals to better manage operational risks.  These are but a few of the tasks your board undertakes for you, the Members, each month.  When you see them at meetings, please thank them for their hard work.

I'm also continually impressed by how readily Members step up to help when needed.  In the past quarter, we had to accept the resignations of several board members mid-term for various reasons.  But we've been able to bring on new members of the highest quality.  Past President Cory Adler-Leidersdorff, with a deep history of board work and a 13 year Club Member, has come on board for another tour.  Accepting his first Club leadership role is Neil McMullen.  Neil, an Eagle Scout, hails from a family with deep political and community roots, including having a grandfather who, when in the State Senate, filed the bill to create Pinellas County.  Neil's executive experience in education, health care and finance will be a welcomed addition.  Last but not least is Anne Drake, whose background includes lobbying, holding key posts in several state presidential campaigns, and executive level experience in both the public and private sectors.  In her first month, Anne increased young tiger attendance at programs by 200% and successfully put together our Republican Attorney General candidates forum, which marked the first time all four of the candidates went head to head in a debate.  Please join your board in thanking Cory, Neil and Anne for accepting these mid-term appointments.

Turning to business, one job our Executive Director must get done is securing firm attendance numbers for our programs.  We've seen an increase in the number of folks who register late (defined in board policy as less than 48 hours before a program).  Where the counts are off, the Club can face added lunch expenses from our venues, not to mention backed up lines on the day of the event.  So, the board has instructed Chandra to begin actively enforcing the Club policy of adding $5 to late registrations.  We of course realize that modern schedules at times will result in late registrations, and of course we want as many folks to come to our programming as possible.  Please make every effort to RSVP as timely as possible, and we'll see you all in the Den!

Rob Eschenfelder, President

June President's Message

Interesting Times

It is often said that the phrase "may you live in interesting times" is an ancient Chinese curse.  While this attribution has never been able to be verified, and probably isn't true (you can't even get real curses these days!), it has resonated over time for its underlying political truth:  Its hard to be a politician in "interesting" times.  Our Nation has been at "war" for many years now, but fighting not a nation-state but ideals and beliefs held by loose-knit groups.  We continue to be closely divided politically, but also see a growing, amorphous third-party/non-party movement.  Candidates need more money than ever to win offices wherein they will preside over public budgets which have less money than ever.  Fewer and fewer citizens are receiving quality, science and math based educations as our economy demands knowledge workers and sheds low-skilled labor jobs.  And in an asserted "post-racial" era seeing the election of our first minority President, laws hostile to minority immigrants continue to be adopted.

Clearly, we are living in interesting times, and those who seek to win or keep their political offices in this atmosphere will have a harder time than ever navigating the difficult policy and economic questions of our time.  And voters, more than ever, should pay close attention to who they select as their leaders.  That's where we come in!  The core of what Tiger Bay is, and why it exists, is to facilitate the kind of unscripted, politically-neutral conversations the governed need and want to have with those who would govern them.  Our program committee is hard at work bringing you the top candidates in the coming elections so you can kick the tires for yourselves.  Now, all you need to do is RSVP!  While we can't promise you everything they'll say is any more true than a fake Chinese proverb, we can promise our programs will always be interesting times! 

See you all in the Den!   

Rob Eschenfelder, President

May President's Message

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Primaries

Americans have long felt the need to look on the humorous side of government when trying to deal with the things government often does for (or to) us, and the month of April provides exceptional opportunity for this pastime.  For instance, has anyone been confused by all the federal government activity this April?  The feds really asked a great deal of us in April.  First, we citizens are supposed to hand over information on how many people live in our homes.  In the same month, we're supposed to calculate how much money we have to send to them. I heard one exasperated citizen got confused and accidentally mailed off his tax check to the census bureau, while sending his mother in law in to the IRS!  However, this is far less ironic than the fact that April 14^th was National Pecan Day and April 15^th tax day.  Think of it, on the first day we honor a group of nuts, and on the following day we send it tons of our money to support a group of nuts!

In all seriousness, as our Club hosts more candidates for Governor, Senate, Attorney General and other high offices this year, I cannot help but notice that funny things are happening on the way to our Florida primaries.  With primaries only open to voters of that same party, it can be argued that more moderate candidates with cross-party appeal and seemingly better general election chances face up-hill battles to win the votes of party primary voters seeking liberally or conservatively (depending on party) "pure" candidates.  One need only mention the Crist/Rubio battle to see this phenomenon playing out.

While fair debate can be had as to whether this phenomenon will continue to balkanize the Congress into memberstoo rigidly wed to the right or the left, one thing will remain right up the center.  And that is your Vice President and Program Chair
Rick Edmonds' mission to bring to the Club the full range of Florida candidates this election season.  Rick and his Program Committee work hard each week trying to get "the yes" from campaign staffers wary of sending their candidates into the Tigers' Den.  However, under Rick's leadership, we have already had some great candidate programs, and as we approach the fall primary election, we will be announcing even more exciting candidate visits.  If you have ideas or (even better) leads on prime speakers, please let Rick know, at vicepres@tigerbay.org.  And of course we ask you to show your ultimate support of Rick's hard work by attending our programming on a regular basis, and coming with some "fang & claw" worthy questions. 

See you all in the Den!   

Rob Eschenfelder, President

April President's Message

In my continuing effort to showcase the wonderful work of our hard-working board, this month, I'd like to let you all in on what great work our marketing committee is doing, led by Chair Mo Eppley.  Last year, the Club fully redesigned its website, setting the tone and the bar for this year.  The Committee's job is getting the message out to everyone about the Club, to enrich the membership experience, and to increase membership and program attendance.  It has moved forward on this front by rebranding our marketing materials to look consistent, and developing new marketing methods.  These include designing Club business card-size ads perfect to give to prospective new members.  Next program, grab some at the back table and give them out liberally (or conservatively)!

The Committee has also begun video recording the Q&A portion of the meetings and posting the winning question and other hot quotes on our own YouTube channel.  At the end of programs, every speaker is also asked a question as well about their experience speaking to the Club.  Our last video with PSC Chair Nancy Argenziano was posted on one of the St. Petersburg Times Political Blogs, giving us some great cross-exposure!  To view, visit www.YouTube.com, then type in Tiger Bay Club.  Our Club is also exploiting social media tools, and we now have a presence on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  If you use these tools, become a fan, follow our posts, and make your own posts. To learn more, visit our website's new media page, which will allow you to make direct links to these tools and join in!

But our marketing committee hasn't stopped there.  Since we're putting lots of time and effort into these initiatives, the board wanted to be sure they were working.  To that end, the Committee has installed tracking tools which allow us to capture and analyze our web traffic including where visitors come from, what pages they go to, the top key words they use to search for our site, and the top sites they link to us from. This information helps us to know how our marketing efforts are working and how we may tweak our efforts.  Here is a taste of our most recent data:  Over 5100 visitors last year, almost 3000 of which were unique.  So we know we're getting both new visits, and members are returning regularly.  Some of the top "referring" websites included, google.com, baynews9.com, blogs.tampabay.com, mitymo.com, and twitter.com to name a few.  We also know the average time spent on the website is almost 2 minutes.  We can also tell the most popular pages on our site which last year included the home page, the Calendar, RSVP, Membership, and Fang & Claw page in that order.  This data helps us know which pages are most important to Members so we can focus improvement efforts on them.

Our Marketing Committee is doing fabulous work!  When you see her at a future program, please thank Mo personally.  We are blessed to have someone with her industry talents!

And, speaking of talents, from time to time Members will ask "how can I join the board?"  While most of you know we have an annual nomination/election process open to all, interested Members are encouraged to give their names/resumes to Executive Director Chandra Tracy or Nominations Chair Darryl Paulson any time of the year.  And be it mid-year openings (we have one at the moment) or the annual turnover, Nominations will add you to the mix.  You are also encouraged to volunteer for a board committee.  Helping in that manner will certainly demonstrate your commitment to our Club. 

See you all in the Den!        

Rob Eschenfelder, President

March President's Message

Membership has its Privileges

Tigers, as you know, from time to time I intend to use this space to let you know what the various committees of our Board of Directors is up to.  This month, I'd like to feature one of the most critical committees we have: Membership.  Our Club is blessed to have an energetic, professional leader in the person of Gary Stempinski.  Gary's only been at work since January, but already his committee's hard work is paying off with significant membership growth.  Below is his report to the Membership:

As we start the new year 2010 for the first month and a half, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club stood at 407 members, or a 10% increase (37 member) increase since the first of the year.  Why are we gaining members? Well, let me tell the reasons why I joined the club.  First, we are a unique group that invites political and business leaders to speak at our meetings.  I like the opportunity to meet these people face to face, get to know them, and learn about what's going on in my community.  Our luncheon meetings give members a special opportunity to make new friends and enjoy networking fun.  Membership also brings the privilege of questioning guest speakers with tough and insightful questions. Each meeting a member has the chance to win the Fang & Claw Award, the coveted growling stuffed tiger.  In fact, thanks to member participation and media coverage, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club is well known for it's probing questions and is respected throughout the entire area. Most importantly, our members learn about pertinent issues and participate in making their community a better place to live.  Like any organization our strength comes from our members and member participation.  My committee is actively greeting guests who attend programs.  They also all carry with them the great marketing materials created by our Marketing Committee last year, and of course we are engaged in the work of contacting past members who have not enewed to encourage them to return to the Den.  This is the work which will continue to make our Club the best Tiger Bay in the State!  How can you as a member help?  Attend meetings regularly and invite guests!  There's no better recruitment tool than for our guests to see what an entertaining and informative time our events can be, and with the new, higher guest lunch fee, the benefits to simply joining are even more clear.  Keep your $75.00 annual.  And, of course, if you want to volunteer to work on my committee, just approach me at any event.  You can usually find me greeting guests at the beginning of our programs.  Let's make 2010 a record membership year!  As the old slogan notes: Membership has its Privileges!

See you in the Den! 

Rob Eschenfelder

President

February President's Message

An Interesting Question

One of the key elements of the Tiger Bay Experience is the well-done question.  One of the legendary questioners of our Club is the venerable James Gillespie.  While I don't have an official count, I would take it on faith that he possesses more stuffed Tiger awards than any other Club Member in history.  I have asked him, as a special guest columnist, to recount his thoughts on how Members should craft a question:

Tiger Bay speakers and questioners range from excellent to mediocre or miserable. Tiger Bay members need to improve their questions in order to achieve a higher level of quality, consistency, relevance and toughness. After all this is one of a member's key roles in serving Tiger Bay and perhaps your own ego. This statement is a suggestion to guide members in asking questions that count and make a difference.

The question preface refers to BITING analysis and RAKISH questions, but this isn't a model of clarity when your asking and ranking questions on a scale of 1 to 5 and your focus is the QUALITY AND SUBSTANCE of the question. Naturally there is some subjectivity in ranking but these guidelines may help temper that influence.

The purpose of Q & A format is to hold our speakers accountable for their actions (past and present), words and attitudes, whether expressed at Tiger Bay or elsewhere. There is an element of making the speaker squirm a bit due to the question. THIS IS DONE BY ASKING A CONCISE, POINTED AND PROBING QUESTION WHICH FORCES THE SPEAKER TO AVOID A YES OR KNOW ANSWER AND THINK ABOUT THE ANSWER. The question must be tough, understandable, substantive rather than crude, defamatory, simplistic or a puff question if questions are to be reasonably ranked. The question must TEST and TRY the speaker.

To judge the question you must listen to the wording, guile and intricacy of the question, whether obvious or obscured.

Your judgment of the question rests on the question asked and not who asked it, how the speaker responds (except when the answer is clearly evasive), how the audience reacts or if the speaker says that is the toughest question or the winner. It is your judgment and it must be independent.

Attention to the wording makes sure a specific issue or point of view confronts the speaker - key words in a question are might (which raises the issue of possibility), should (which raises moral/ethical issues) and could (which suggests mere possibilities). The three words help frame the quality and difficulty of the question.

The question must require the speaker to think or be forced to think about a clear topic, issue, problem or the like.

There are at least three types of questions experts recognize:

Definitional - generally not too difficult

Empirical - facts lead to comparisons and explanations of causes and predictions

Evaluative - call for opinions or justifications of opinions (good type question for Tiger Bay)

Some experts say a question should be no more than 20 words, should be clear and meaningful and not a free floater or a multiple choice and not encourage wishful thinking. Your question should advance our knowledge and insight if it is successful.

I hope some of this statement is helpful. Go forth and have at it, but ask a single question and not a multiple one.

Jim Gillespie, Past-President, 1987

Another interesting question I often hear is "Why should I become a Member?"  While the key aspect of membership is the ability to ask a question, another is a lower lunch cost.  However, while your Board of
Directors has remained set on keeping Member lunch cost stable, we recently were required to respond to growing lunch costs by increasing guest lunches by $5.  This measure will help ensure the Club does not begin subsidizing guest lunch costs, while reinforcing a key Membership benefit: lower cost lunches. 

See you in the Den!

Rob Eschenfelder, President

January President's Message

Fundraisers & Friendly Crowds

Our Club's programs are what its all about.  Folks join Tiger Bay to hear, and be able to ask questions to, the movers and shakers, princes and potentates representing local, state and national government, business, media and educational institutions.  Each year, your Club's Vice President has the hardest job in the Club: Program Chair.  It seems the job only gets harder each successive year.  Recently, after months of trying to secure an appearance, a representative of a very prominent statewide candidate intimated the candidate was only doing fundraisers and friendly crowds.  This isn't to single this candidate out, as more and more of our fellow citizens who are seeking to make major decisions for us simply don't feel the need to open themselves to questions about their qualifications and policies in what handlers call "unscripted events."  While responses such as these are sad reminders of how our leaders are becoming more detached from those they lead, rest assured your incoming Vice President Rick Edmonds, is on the job, and with his program committee will work tirelessly to bring great programs to us in 2010.  However, he can't do it alone.  Last year, regular Members helped us close the deal on several popular programs.  So, while Rick will always be open to program suggestions, he will also be grateful for Members help in getting a "yes."  So, if you have personal connections to candidates or current officials who would make a good program, let Rick know.  And, when you run into those officials or candidates who have been willing to appear before us, please, as a Member and regardless of party, thank them for appearing!  They need to know how much we appreciate not only the time from their busy schedules, but their brave willingness to be openly questioned by some of the County's most informed and involved citizens. 

Finally, a format note.  While this space has traditionally been reserved for the musings of the Club's President, I intend to use the space to allow other voices to speak as well on relevant matters to you, the Members, introduce the Club to individual Members, and provide details on Club happenings from those who are making things happen.  As always, please let us know what you think.  We are, after all, a friendly crowd!

Rob Eschenfelder

President

December President's Message

     In the words of Roy Rogers, "it's the end of the trail, partner."  It's time for a new president, a new program chair and some new blood on the Board of Directors.  Rob Eschenfelder will be taking over as President, Rick Edmonds will become VP and Program Chair and a half dozen new Board members will be replacing outgoing Board members Jamie Bennett, Sara Cramer, Jerri Evans, Bruce Marger, Nancy Riley and David Zachem.  Thanks to all of the above for taking on a leadership role in Tiger Bay.

     One of Clint Eastwood's early movie successes was The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  As President for the past year, I could talk about the good, the bad and the ugly in Tiger Bay.  I could, but I won't.  I will leave the bad and the ugly to your judgment, and I will focus on the good.

     Your new President, Rob Eschenfelder, has done an outstanding job as program chair.  Everyone knows that this is the toughest job in Tiger Bay.  I know it is because I have done it twice.  Rob has scheduled 19 program for 2009 with an average attendance of 106.

     Mo Eppley and Robin Mitchell have done an extraordinary job chairing the Membership Committee.  We have added over 80 new members in 2009, including 17 who joined during one of our October meetings.  Pick up some of the literature they have produced and help to recruit new members to Tiger Bay.  Tami Simms and Linda Goldfarb have become the first members to recruit three new members and earn a free lunch.  Tiger Bay would love to provide a free lunch to you.  Just bring us three new members.  Mo has also done a wonderful job on our website.  Check it out at www.tigerbay.org.

     Bev Mitlin served as Chair of the Annual Dinner Committee and worked hard to bring in a political humorist.  Unfortunately, things couldn't be worked out, but that does not diminish all the hard work she put into the project.  Simon Shewmaker has agreed to take over as Chair and we are putting together a free event for Tiger Bay members in January or February of 2010.  There will be free food and drink, along with a special guest speaker.  All the more reason to pay your 2010 dues today.

     I want to extend a personal thank you to Executive Director Chandra Tracy.  Tami Simms left big shoes to fill (she wears size 12), but Chandra stepped right in and has done a phenomenal job.  She has kept me informed, put out fires, offered valuable advice to improve the Club and has been as solid as the Rock of Gibralter.

     To all those who suggested programs and speakers, thank you.  To the Board members who invested many hours in working to make Tiger Bay better, thank you.  To all the long-time members like Thomas Dunn, Jim Gillespie, Lou Kubler and others, thank you for your long term commitment to Tiger Bay.  Finally, to those of you who are new to Tiger Bay, do more than come to the meetings.  Suggest programs and speakers and offer to serve on the Board.  Help the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club continue to be the best political club in Florida.

    It has been my pleasure to serve as your president in 2009.  I'll see you in the Tigers' Den in 2010.           

Darryl Paulson
President
Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

November President's Message

     As program chair in 2008 and current President of the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, I thought it would be good to review programming and attendance at meetings over the past few years.

     In 2007 our meetings were attended by only 1,479 members and guests and the average attendance was only about 70 per meeting.  In 2008, we had 19 meetings attended by 2,019 for an average attendance of 106.  This was over a 30% increase in average meeting attendance.  We have kept on pace in 2009.  So far we have had 18 programs with 106 as the average attendance.  With two meetings left, we will once again break the 2,000 mark in overall attendance.

     Attendance is up and that is great news, but not all meetings appear to be equally attractive to our members.  Although we are a political club, elected officials are not always big draws.  This year Mayor Rick Baker drew only 86 and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio drew 80.  Iorio was thrilled with the turnout telling me that it was much larger than the turnout at the Tampa Club.  Attorney General Bill McCollum drew only 82 and Calvin Harris, Chair of the Pinellas County Commission attracted only 60 members.

     So what attracted the largest turnouts?  Candidate forums are a huge draw.  The first St. Pete mayoral forum attracted a sellout crowd of 250.  The second forum with Ford and Foster attracted another 206.  The program involving District 5 and 6 city council candidates was attended by 155.  Other programs in 2009 attracting more than a 100 members were Jeff Lyash, Tom James and Paul Tash.

     Unfortunately, over the past two years we have had four programs attract 55 or fewer members.  A program on school choice attracted 54, a debate on the repeal of the "equal time provision" drew only 50, the head of the Florida Board of Education spoke to only 47 and the head of the Pinellas Democratic Party addressed 43 of our members.  Two of these programs I thought were exceptional.  I am not sorry we scheduled any of those programs because I believe Tiger Bay has a responsibility to showcase major political figures and discuss hot-button political issues.  My only regret is that so few of our members took advantage of the opportunity to attend these meetings.

     There should be just as many Republican members of Tiger Bay attending the meeting of the head of the Pinellas Democratic Party as there are Democrats if for no other reason than hearing what the opposition has to say.  In addition, Republican members should be thrilled to have the opportunity to grill this individual with their questions.  Likewise, Democrats should be attending the meeting with the Republican Attorney General and now gubernatorial candidate for the same reasons.

     I am thrilled that attendance has substantially increased over the past two years.  I will never be satisfied until we have at least 100 members attending each of our meetings.  That's a goal we should all strive to achieve.

Darryl Paulson
President

Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

October President's Message

     I'm back.  After spending 10 weeks relaxing with family and friends in northwestern Minnesota, I decided it was time to head back to the Sunshine State.  During my time in Minnesota, the temperatures averaged in the high 60's and low 70's and I thought of all of my Tiger Bay colleagues basking in the 90% humidity and temperatures in the 90's.  I must say, Florida was not created for life in the summertime.

     I want to thank all of those who stepped in during my absence.  Vice President Rob Eschenfelder has done a great job at providing quality programming for Tiger Bay, and he and former president Jerri Evans presided over the meetings in my absence.  Executive Director Chandra Tracy kept me informed via phone calls and email and helped to keep everything flowing smoothly.

     So, with three months left on my term, what's on the horizon for Tiger Bay?  First, we will continue to provide quality programming on a wide range of political issues.  Programs this month feature mayoral hopefuls Kathleen Ford and Bill Foster in what could be the major event in the race for mayor.  Former Eckerd College President Peter Armacost will speak about his experiences in heading a Christian college in Muslim dominated Pakistan.  The New York Times ran a story recently citing the increased persecution of Christians in Pakistan.  We also hope to have Congressman Bill Young speak to us in either December or January.  Will he run for another term?

     Objective number two relates to membership.  Like many organizations during an economic downturn, Tiger Bay experienced a temporary drop in membership over the past couple of years.  We now have an aggressive membership program headed by Mo Eppley and Robin Mitchell and they have done a wonderful job of working to retain current members and attract new members.  This is where every member of Tiger Bay has a role to play.  Every member of Tiger Bay should know of at least one potential new member that you believe will join Tiger Bay.  Remember, if you bring in three new members, we will pick up the cost of lunch.  Bring in six new members, and we will pick up your annual membership dues.  We have our first corporate sponsor, Progress Energy Florida, and hope to have a second corporate sponsor on board shortly.

     Finally, the main function of Tiger Bay is to provide a forum to discuss contemporary political issues.  We have had some great debates this year on issues ranging from the "equal time provision" on radio and TV to the St. Pete mayoral primary debate that resulted in our first sell-out crowd in over five years.  We have had leading political figures address us this year, including the mayors of both St. Pete and Tampa.

     Membership is growing and attendance is up.  Almost every one of our programs have attracted extensive media coverage from radio, TV and the print media.  The success we have had is not due to any one individual, as much as I would like to believe it was all due to my efforts.  We have a group of officers and Board members who have worked hard to make the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club the best political organization in Florida.  The only thing we need to make this club even better is your active participation and support.

Darryl Paulson
President

Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

September President's Message

Presidential campaigns are serious business, but  Americans have always delighted in making fun of those who run for the highest political office in the land.  Most of the jokes focus on what people believe to be the defining trait or characteristic of the candidate.  For example, Dan Quayle's misspelling of "potato" helped to define him as not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Fairly or unfairly, George Bush was also defined in a similar fashion.  Bill Clinton jokes were either about food or sex.  Most McCain jokes were about his age.  Humorists have been slow to define President Obama, although a majority of the Obama jokes relate to his messianic qualities.

     During the Obama campaign, Obama spoke to 75,000 people at a rally on the banks of the Willamette River in Oregon.  According to witnesses, after the rally Obama fed the crowd with just five loaves of bread.  During his first trip to Israel, Obama left time to visit his birthplace in Bethlehem.

     Obama's campaign theme was "yes we can."  That was not the first time that theme was used.  President Clinton used that line on interns.  We all know that you can get aids from sex.  President Clinton was the first to prove you could get sex from aides. 

     Obama attended a Hollywood fundraiser that charged $28,500 a ticket and raised $9 million in one night for his campaign.  The theme of the evening was how John McCain and the Republicans were out of touch with the common people.

     The first time McCain ran for the presidency his campaign was labeled"the straight talk express."  When he ran in 2008, his campaign was known as the "Antiques Roadshow." Obama'sSecret Service code name was  "renegade."  McCain's code name was "enlarged prostate."

     McCain was a supporter of the war in Iraq.  He even remembers when Iraq was known as Mesopotamia.  McCain, a highly decorated veteran in Viet Nam spent over 5 years in prison before entering politics.  Usually, for most politicians, it is the other way around. 

     McCain was upset that Colin Powell endorsed Obama.  As an older man, McCain should have known he would have colon problems.  McCain's selection of Sarah Palin was controversial, although many saw them as a good team.  She was pro-life and he was clinging to life. 

     Obama's selection of Joe Biden also raised some eyebrows because of his lifelong illness.  Biden has long suffered from foot-in-mouth disease.  On the day that Biden announced his own presidential bid, he called Obama the first African American "who is articulate, bright and clean."  That was, also, essentially the last day of the Biden campaign.  During the campaign, Biden said that although he wanted to be president, he'd rather be home making love to his wife Jill. Surprisingly, Bill Clinton said the same thing.  He would rather be home making love to Biden's wife, too.

     Humorists had to be careful in making fun of the three major presidential candidates in the 2008 campaign.  You couldn't criticize Hillary because that would be sexism.  You could not criticize Obama because that would be racist.  Finally, you could not criticize McCain because that would be elder abuse.

~ Darryl Paulson, President

Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

August President's Message

     Like most Americans, I am confused about my political orientations.  Although a lifelong Republican, I have been asked twice by Democrats to run for office.  I've been a Fellow at the Conservative Heritage Foundation and hired a half dozen times by the liberal NAACP as an expert witness in voting rights cases in Federal Court.  I'm so confused about my political orientations that I don't know whether to get out of the right or left side of the bed in the morning.  To avoid confusion, I simply stay in bed.

     I relate to both political parties.  I eat like an elephant and act like a jackass.  With over 35 years as a professor of government, I have come up with some useful guidelines to help those who are confused about their political orientations.

     Democrats name their children after currently popular sports figures, politicians and entertainers.  Republicans name their children after their parents or grandparents, depending on where the money is.

     Democrats grow shaggy beards.  Republicans have trimmed mustaches.

     Democrats make up careful plans and then do something else.  Republicans follow the plans their grandparents made.

     Democrats buy most of the books that have been banned somewhere.  Republicans organize censorship committees and read them as a group.

     Republicans tend to keep their shades drawn, although there is
seldom any reason they should.  Democrats ought to, but they never do.

     Republicans sleep in twin beds or even in separate rooms.  This is why there are more Democrats.

     When someone says Marx, Republicans think Groucho and Democrats think Karl.

     Republicans are pro-life but support the death penalty.  Democrats are pro-choice except when it involves vouchers and the public schools.

     Teddy Roosevelt was giving a speech and kept being interrupted  by a man who kept shouting, "I'm a Democrat".  Finally, Roosevelt asked the man why he was a Democrat.  He said, "My grandfather was a Democrat, my father was a Democrat and I am a Democrat."  Roosevelt  questioned the man's logic by saying, "What if your father and grandfather had been jack-asses, what would that make you?"  The man quickly responded, "A Republican."

     An old and loyal Republican from Pinellas knew that he did not have much more time to live.  He called his son and asked him to take him to the Supervisor of Elections office so that he could change his voter registration to a Democrat.  "Dad," his son asked, "you've been a loyal Republican all of your life.  Why in the world do you now what to register as a Democrat?"  His father replied, "Son, if someone has to die, it might as well be a Democrat."

     What about Independents?  About a third of Americans describe themselves as Independents.  They feel their views are more moderate and middle-of-the-road then partisans. 
However, as party activists point out, the only thing you find in the middle-of-the-road is yellow stripes and dead skunks.

     See you in September.

Darryl Paulson

President, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

July President's Message

     In his 1961 inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy urged Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country."  That request led to an explosion of civic activism in government in organizations such as the Peace Corps.  To paraphrase President Kennedy, "ask not what Tiger Bay can do for you, ask what you can do for Tiger Bay."

     Let me suggest six things that you can do to make Tiger Bay the best political club in Florida.  First, ask someone you know to join Tiger Bay.  As anyone in politics knows, you must ask people for their support.  We are always looking for new members and now the Club has provided incentives to you for signing up new members.  Get three people to join, and we will pick up your next luncheon bill.  Get six people to join and we will pay your 2010 annual dues.  Just make sure you put your membership number on the applications so we can award you these incentives.

     Second, sign up to receive this newsletter by email.  Each person who receives the newsletter by email will be saving the Club a substantial amount of money in printing and first-class postage expenses.  In addition, you will receive the email newsletter more quickly than getting it in the mail.

     Third, sign up for the luncheons early.  We have had too many people waiting until the last moment to make their reservations.  Chandra must let the venue know 48 to 72 hours in advance of the meeting how many people will be attending.  Also, if you waited until the last moment to sign up for the June mayoral forum you were out of luck because we had a sold out venue.

     Fourth, once you make a reservation you are responsible for paying for the luncheon.  So far in 2009 we have had 57 people make reservations who did not show up and did not pay for their guaranteed reservation.  This has cost the Club over $1,000 and we cannot afford to allow this to continue.  Club rules state that unless you cancel within 48 hours of the meeting you are responsible for paying for the luncheon.  We have to submit "guaranteed reservations" and we have to pay the venue whether you show up or not.

     Fifth, offer your services to Tiger Bay.  Are you interested in serving on the Board, let us know.  If you have suggestions for programs and speakers, let us know.

     Finally, check out Tiger Bay at our completely revised website at www.tigerbay.org or check us out on Facebook or on Twitter at sctigerbay.  We have recently added the Facebook and Twitter sites and have about a 100 members who have checked out the Facebook and Twitter sites.

     This is your Club.  Any organization is only as good as its members.  Please do your part to make the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club the best political organization in Florida.  Ask what you can do for Tiger Bay today.

Darryl Paulson

President, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

June President's Message

Political Humor and the Race for Mayor

  Last month's presidential message set a record, at least for me.  First, many members commented how much they enjoyed the focus on political humor.  Second, The Tampa Tribune liked the message so much they are going to publish a slightly altered version of it as a special feature.  I have decided to do a few more pieces on political humor.  This month's message will focus on humor and the race for mayor.  The July message will focus on what's funny about Republicans and Democrats, and August will be devoted to presidential political humor.

     This is actually true.  About fifteen years ago St. Petersburg received an award from the National Prune Council because its residents consumed far more prunes than the national average.  I've always said St. Petersburg was a community on the move.

     St. Pete's first strong mayor, David Fischer, was known as the Al Gore of local politics. Both Fischer and Gore are a little on the boring side.  I had a friend whose doctor told him to avoid any excitement, so he followed Mayor Fischer all over town.  Mayor Fischer fired the police chief and replaced him with Goliath Davis.  I always heard that David slayed Goliath, not promoted him.

     Mayor Rick Baker became the city's second strong mayor.  Baker quickly found that running a city is a lot like managing a cemetery.  You have a lot of people under you and nobody listens.  Mayor Baker is also very straight-laced.  Some of his friends decided to play a practical joke on him and sent a lady of the evening to his door.  When he answered, the woman said:  "Mayor Baker, you are in for a wonderful evening of super sex."  Mayor Baker responded, "I'll have the soup, please."

     With respect to the current crop of mayoral candidates, you can just fill in whatever names you think are appropriate for the following jokes.   Several of the candidates are just what St. Pete needs to get this city moving.  I know if they win, hundreds of residents will be moving.

     I asked one of the leading candidates for mayor whether he was for or against a new baseball stadium for the Rays.  Without hesitation, he said:  "Half of my friends are for it and half of my friends are against it, by gosh, I'm going to stand by my friends."

     With so many candidates for mayor, I feel sorry for the last one to speak at candidate forums.  They must feel like Liz Taylor's 7^th husband on his wedding night.  He knows what he is supposed to do, but he is just not sure he can make it interesting.

     As the election draws near, beware of what I call the "wonder bra" speeches.  They are very uplifting, but we all know there is not much there.

~ Darryl Paulson - President

May President's Message

The Lighter Side of Politics

     We in Tiger Bay take our politics seriously.  Perhaps, sometimes too seriously.  I've always said that politics comes from the ancient Greek word "poly" meaning "many," and "tics" meaning "ugly bloodsucking parasites."  I also believe that politicians and babies ought to be changed often, and for the same reason.  Nobel economist Milton Friedman's First Law of Government was "Thank God we don't get all of the government we pay for."

     Poking fun at politicians is as old as our political system.  Much of the humor of politics is provided by the politicians themselves by what they say and what they do.  Consider these actual statements made by members of Congress or various state legislatures.  A Congressman recently commented that "We're going to wrestle to the ground this gigantic orgasm that is out of control."  He was actually talking about controlling the Federal budget deficit.  Another member of Congress noted that "These numbers are not my own.  They come from someone who knows what he's talking about."  A member of the Florida legislature told colleagues that "I am for the death penalty, as long as it's not too severe." 

Another member of the Florida legislature described his predicament on an upcoming vote by saying he "was caught between the dog and the fire hydrant on this vote."  Two of my favorite legislative comments come from members of the Wisconsin legislature.  One told his fellow legislators that "As long as I am in the Senate, there will not be a nuclear suppository in Wisconsin."  Apparently those suppositories were going to be marketed under the You Light Up My Life label.  Finally, another member of the Wisconsin legislature noted that "If we don't pass this bill, we will force businesses all over the state to defecate to Illinois."  As Will Rodgers used to say, "I don't make this stuff up.  I just read the papers and report what they say."

     Not only do legislators say some strange things, they also pass some weird laws.  Some of the strange laws are attempts to regulate morality, like the Kentucky law that says "nudist colonies must build fences 20 feet high out of brick, stone or cement.  Also, members of the legislature shall inspect the fences on a regular basis."  Some laws are poorly worded, like the California law that says "no dog shall be in a public place without its master on a leash."  I'm sure the dogs loved that law.  My favorite poorly worded law is the Texas law that states when "two trains meet at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop and neither shall proceed until the other has gone."  There are also the just plain crazy laws like the one in Oklahoma that prohibits the catching of whales.   You don't want to overfish whales in Oklahoma.  Florida made it illegal for rats to leave ships docked in Tampa Bay and also made it illegal to have sex with a porcupine.  Ouch!  My favorite weird law is the one proposed in Britain to require dog food producers to make phosphorescent dog food so that people won't step in dog poop at night.

      Did you know that most plastic surgeons will not work on politicians because it is twice the work-you've got two faces to lift.  When Lincoln was accused of being two-faced, he denied the charge.  "If I had two faces," said Lincoln, "do you think I would be using this one?"

     We love to make fun of politicians and we love politicians who can laugh at themselves.  It is the great American pastime next to baseball.

Darryl Paulson - President
Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

April President's Message

Change is in the Wind at Tiger Bay

No organization can remain static if it wants to stay successful.  We at Tiger Bay are no more immune from changes in society than are the political parties, business and civil organizations.  Organizations that refuse to change and adapt to changing conditions are likely to whither and die.  At Suncoast Tiger Bay, we want to retain the best features of our Club while adjusting to changing conditions.  To be successful, change is the key.  Just ask Barack Obama.

One of those changes resulted in us loosing our outstanding Executive Director, Tami Simms.  Fortunately for us, Chandra Tracy, has stepped in as our new Executive Director and help provide for a seamless transition.

Like many other organizations today, Tiger Bay is fighting to retain and expend our membership.  Our Club is fortunate to have two Board members who have agreed to chair two of our most critical committees.  Robin Mitchell is chair of the Membership Committee and Mo Eppley is chair of the Marketing Committee.  These two committees recently met jointly to discuss and develop membership and marketing strategies, and I just want to share a few of the changes that are already in the works.

Under the leadership of Mo Eppley and Chandra Tracy, our organization has a completely updated and revised website.  It is truly outstanding.  Check it out at www.tigerbay.org. and let us hear what you think about it.  In addition, Mo has brought Twitter and Facebook to Tiger Bay.  If you feel like twittering, check us out at http://twitter.com/sctigerbay.  If you already have a Facebook account, you can find Suncoast Tiger Bay Club under the Public Profile listings.  If you have either a twitter or Facebook account, be sure to add the Tiger Bay listing.  We will use both accounts to promote programs and remind people about upcoming meetings.

The Membership and Marketing Committee submitted a proposal to expand membership that was adopted by the Board at its last meeting.  This plan will offer a free Tiger Bay luncheon to any member who recruits 3 new members to Tiger Bay by the end of the year.  Recruit 6 new members and we will pay you dues for the next membership year.  Get busy and take advantage of these great incentives and help the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club grow at the same time.

Special thanks go out to Tami Simms, Chandra Tracy, Jeri Evans, Bob Fisher and Michele Cavallo for helping secure Progress Energy as our first corporate sponsor.  We hope this is the first of many companies who will join Tiger Bay as corporate sponsors.  More information will be provided at our April 7^th meeting where Jeff Lyash of  Progress Energy will be our featured speaker.  Please make a special effort to attend this meeting and thank Progress Energy for their support of Tiger Bay.

We are blessed with great people on the Board of Tiger Bay who are working hard to make Suncoast Tiger Bay a bigger and better organization.  Do your part and start recruiting new members today.  Three new members gives you a free lunch and six members will mean that we will pick up your annual dues.  Get busy today!

Darryl Paulson

President, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

March President's Message

One statement that Board members com-monly hear from members is that the same people always seem to win the Fang & Claw Award. To begin with, this is not actually true. In 2008, there were 16 different people who won the coveted Fang & Claw Award. We also had one meeting where no one won the Award because the raters thought that no question merited the award.

It is true that over the years certain Tiger Bay members have won more Tigers than anyone else. Longtime members Jim Gillespie, Rob Eschenfelder and Gregory Wilson could launch their own business sell-ing stuffed tigers. I have also captured a fair number of the Tigers over the years, but as vice president and presi-dent the past two years, I don’t get to ask questions. This is one of the reasons I can’t wait to be an ex-President. I hear some of you also share that feeling.

Let me outline a few secrets for those of you who aspire to win the Fang and Claw:

1. Be prepared. You know who the speaker is and the topic they will be discussing. Do some research. Google the speaker and check out the St. Petersburg Times website for sto-ries. Those who are the most frequent winners have done their homework.

2. Don’t waste time. You only have 45 seconds to frame your question. How many times have you heard a questioner say: “Welcome to Tiger Bay. I am a big fan of yours and I don’t want to waste time so I will get right to my question.” You’ve already wasted 15 seconds. Just ask the question.

3. Be pointed, not personal. The speaker is a guest in the Tigers’ Den who has taken time to speak to us at no charge. Would you person-ally attack a guest you had invited into your home? Having said that, guests know that one of the traditions of Tiger Bay is to ask hard questions. Don’t be afraid of putting the speaker on the hot seat.

4. Framing the question: Ask a question in such a way that it creates a dilemma for the speaker no matter how they answer. This is a variation of the old “are you still beating your wife” question. No matter which way you an-swer, the speaker has a problem. I won a Tiger for asking Sami al Arian the following: “You have won several teaching awards based on your knowledge and ability to communicate, yet you have appeared before groups shouting “death to America” and you brought several scholars to USF who ended up as terrorists. Are you just not as smart as you thought you were or are you simply putting on an act?”

5. Be ready for every speaker. If you look at the individuals who have won the most Tigers, it is people who ask a question at almost every meeting. If you only ask a question once or twice a year, your chances of winning the Tiger are going to be diminished.

If you have not asked a question at one of our meetings, now is the time to start. We have the next five speakers for Tiger Bay already booked. Start doing your research and prepar-ing your questions. I look forward to awarding you your first Fang and Claw Award.

Darryl Paulson
President, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club

February President's Message

My fellow Tiger Bay member, I stand here today hum-bled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our predecessors. Except for my substituting “Tiger Bay member” for “citizens” and “predecessors” for “ancestors,” this was the opening sentence of President Barack Obama’s inaugural address on January 20th.

As President Obama laid out the challenges for the next four years, I think it only fair that I discuss the challenges and goals for Tiger Bay in 2009. My first goal is great program-ming. If we have good speakers, we will have good turnout. We must also try and give our members as much advance notice as possible concerning upcoming programs. I think we are off to a good start. We had two fine speakers in January and have two more coming up in February. We also have commitments for at least one speaker in March, April and May.

My second goal is to retain and expand membership. Quality programming will help, but we can only succeed with your support. Invite a guest to Tiger Bay! Make it your goal to sign up at least one new member for Tiger Bay. Every member must play a role for Tiger Bay to be truly successful.

Third, I want to get more members active and involved in Tiger Bay. If you have a program suggestion, contact Rob Eschenfelder, our Program Chair. We are always look-ing to add new members to our Board and Club officers. Make it your goal toplay a more active role in Tiger Bay in 2009.

My last goal may be the most difficult to achieve. I want more of our members to attend programs featuring speakers from the “other” political party and to attend programs where speakers are advocating positions that you may strongly disagree with. For example, last year only about 60 members attended a program with Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer. We should have had 60 Republi-cans there plus at least 60 Democrats willing to “grill” Greer. We had a great debate on the Fairness Doctrine and the “equal time” provi-sion, as well as an outstanding program on school vouchers. Attendance at these two programs was low, probably because mem-bers had firm opinions on these issues already. The purpose of Tiger Bay membership to me is to have your ideas challenged. If nothing else, come hear the enemy and ask them the question you always wanted them to answer.