Sh*t Richard Says, AND: what does Liz Cheney have in common with Maya Angelou, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Megan Rapinoe?

...they've all been featured speakers as a part of the Bucksbaum Lecture Series

Our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative team covered Former Representative Liz Cheney’s appearance at Drake University. The Bucksbaum Lecture Series enabled her visit.

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative colleagues Pat Kinney: Cheney calls for renewed civility at Drake talk; and Kyle Munson: Laughter, groans, and ‘amen’: Liz Cheney leads a cathartic bipartisan revival in Des Moines.

Even MSNBC did a segment on the woman who led the congressional committee investigation into the January 6th insurrection attempt.

Nicole Wallace, MSNBC, Liz Cheney in Iowa

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Sh*t Richard Says

By: Richard Gilbert

It’s not what you know; it’s who you know…not! I have to meet Liz Cheney.

Standing ovations when a speaker is first introduced are usually reserved for major political figures or persons who have become revered for heroics or great public service.

I wasn’t about to predict what the audience of an estimated 5,000 who filled the Knapp Center on Drake University campus last Wednesday night would do when Liz Cheney was introduced, but I knew I would stand up and applaud even if I was the only one.  I shouldn’t have been concerned about that, as the place just erupted with a standing ovation fit for Mike Ditka at Soldier Field.

As a former reporter and governor’s staffer, I prioritized access. So, when I was offered a chance to meet the evening’s speaker, I jumped at the chance.

Standing in line to get a picture with a celebrity is usually not my thing but I really wanted to make an exception with Liz Cheney.  I’d read her book, Oath and Honor, and would have taken the book signing route, only I’d bought it on Kindle and didn’t want to lug my iPad and request she scratch on it

I thought in advance what I might say as an icebreaker when I stood by her for a grip and grin. I had an inspiration.

I  actually know someone from Wyoming!

The population is so small in that vast state that the former Congresswoman would more than likely know Bill Sniffin, a native of Northeast Iowa (and a subscriber to this column) whom I mentored as my successor when I was editor at Harlan Newspapers back in the day. Bill later migrated to Wyoming and has had a high-profile career in journalism there. I thought mentioning someone I know that she would probably know was my opener.

But just to be sure, I  Googled Bill Sniffin and Liz Cheney.  Results confirmed she likely knew him or of him but probably was not a big fan.  As one of the founders of a statewide digital daily, Sniffin wrote several opinion pieces that were less than friendly.  Liz Cheney would not call them “fair and balanced.”  

Let’s say Bill seems to be in tune with his market.  Trump carried the state by 70% in 2016. In Bill’s defense, a most recent column contained some complimentary language acknowledging her as presidential timber.  Knowing enough politicians with long memories of the source of negative press,  I decided to stay with the Sniffin mention but change the opener just a bit.  Shamefully, I threw my old friend and mentee under the bus.

I opened my brief conversation with Liz Cheney.

Me:  “I owe you an apology.”

Cheney:  “Oh really, what for?”

Me: “Bill Sniffin is originally from Iowa and I helped get him started in the newspaper business.

Cheney: You sure do.”

Me:  ( Needing to tack asap and seeing no need to risk her ire or throw Sniffin further under bus.). ‘’May I thank you and shake  hands with someone who may someday be president of the United States.”

Cheney:  “Thank you.”

Me:  ‘Thank you.”

Richard Gilbert

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Bucksbaum Lecture Series

The family of Martin and Melva Bucksbaum created a legacy gift of ‘over seven figures’ for an endowment to Drake University that generates an annual yield in the low six figures, enough investment income to hire top speakers in their field. A requirement for the engagement usually includes time with students and a lecture available to the community.

It is one of those events in Des Moines that makes the community and Drake a special place. For example, over 5,000 came out Wednesday evening to hear former Representative Cheney.

It was an evening when State Auditor and presumptive Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand was front and center, and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Gross was also in the audience.

Although I suspect a large percentage of voters in attendance would not support Cheney's presidential bid because of a difference in approach to policy, almost all stood cheering in appreciation of her gutsy commitment to the United States Constitution.

The committee charged with selecting speakers has been chaired by Neal Hamilton, an Emeritus law professor and past director of the Ag Law Center for over twenty years. Neither he nor others associated with Drake will disclose the fees paid to speakers, but a Google search of previous speakers indicates a range of $100k-$250,000 can be commanded. That, plus administrative and promotional costs, indicates the health of this legacy Bucksbaum endowment.

Before the talks, former Drake President David Maxwell and his wife Maddie would host a dinner in their home on 37th Street, south of Grand, and guests were invited to sign their names on a wall in the kitchen. Current Bucksbaum Lecture pre-event gatherings for donors are held in a reception room near the talk.

Also serving on the speaker selection committee, according to the Drake website:

Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan

James Autry

Pamela Bass-Bookey

Michael Gartner

Janis Ruan

Marcia Wanamaker

Eleanor Zeff

A revision to the Bucksbaum Lecture series is underway, including an annual business speaker. The selections will be made using a different group and criteria and administered through the Zimpleman College of Business.

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Speaking of policy and a powerful lecture series, the Harkin Institute will host Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Director of CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health Dr. Kathleen Ethier on Wednesday, April 3, in the Olmsted Center at Drake.

Learn more: https://harkininstitute.drake.edu/events/harkin-on-wellness-symposium/

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We’ll discuss the upcoming Poetry Palooza during our Monday Zoom call starting at noon central time. Subscribers will receive a link early Monday morning. This is open to all subscribers.

We will have a panel assembled to discuss this outstanding event:

Diane Glass:

Diane Glass’s diverse career spans teaching, politics, corporate marketing, radio talk show hosting, spiritual direction, writing, and teaching. She served as Vice President of Marketing for the Des Moines Register from 1983 to 2000. Retired, she devotes her time to writing poetry, community volunteering, and teaching storytelling and spiritual growth.

Her book of poetry, The Heart Hungers for Wildness, explores themes related to growing up in small-town Iowa, the loss of Iowa farmland, and the aging experience. In 2002-2003, she and Pat Boddy laid the groundwork for Poetry Palooza, an effort that quickly attracted a group of 11 dedicated volunteers. The Poetry Palooza remained a largely volunteer-driven program with financial support from Humanities Iowa, Polk County Conservation, and numerous individual contributors. 

Dawn Terpstra:

Dawn Terpstra is a poet, writer, and beekeeper in Iowa. Her work has been published in 2River, Grist, Midwest Quarterly, Verse Daily, Quartet, Ekphrastic Review, and SWWIM. She is the author of a chapbook, Songs from the Summer Kitchen. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She is an MFA student at Pacific Lutheran University’s Rainier Writing Workshop. She is the Poetry Editor of River Heron Review. Dawn is currently the president of the Iowa Poetry Association. 

Kelsey Bigelow:

Kelsey Bigelow is a poet and speaker based in Des Moines. She spends her time working as a mental health poet, sharing this therapeutic tool with audiences of all ages worldwide. She is the author of "Far From Broken" (2024), "The Coffee Cherry" (2023), "Depression Holders and Secret Keepers" (2021), and "Sprig of Lilac" (2018). Her work is published with Central Avenue Publishing, Pile Press, Lyrical Iowa, Backchannels Journal, Spirit Lake Review, and elsewhere. Kelsey is a 2024 Pushcart Prize nominee, a 2023 Button Poetry Video Contest Finalist, and a 2023 Central Avenue Poetry Prize shortlist finalist.

She's the founder and leader of the Des Moines Poetry Workshop, the Iowa Poetry Association Poetry Slam chair, the co-tournament director for the BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam, and more.

Get to know Kelsey at kelkaybpoetry.com

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The Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat's Early Bird rates end in July. Learn more:

https://okobojiwritersretreat.com