(clicking on item takes you to that section of the newsletter):
Oct 4 Scott Thomas Breakfast Briefing
Oct 21 Third Thursday: Big Hunt
Oct 23 Rigoletto at Washington Opera
Other Items of Note
Adopt-a-School
New Zealand Embassy Event
New Website
Mentors Needed
Event for Recent Grads
Sports Enthusiasts
Elections: The “Oldest Game” in (This) Town
The Washington D.C. Stanford Association invites you to a
“breakfast briefing” with:
Scott Thomas B.A. ’74
Chairman, Federal Election Commission
Scott Thomas, current Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and a
Commissioner since 1986, along with his five colleague commissioners
oversee and regulate all campaigns for and elections to federal office.
With the Year 2000 Presidential and Congressional election cycles gearing
up, Chairman Thomas should provide us with an expert and seasoned view
regarding many aspects of these campaigns as well as valuable insight as to
just what campaign and election “reform” is all about. Why does George W.
Bush forego presidential campaign funds? Why does a Reform Party (Ross
Perot’s creation) candidate get them?
The FEC administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,
which requires disclosure of sources and uses of funds in campaigns for
federal office, limits the size of individual contributions, and provides
for partial public financing of presidential elections. Campaign
committees, PACs and political parties are required to file periodic
financial reports. Contributions from certain specified sources, such as
government contractors, labor organizations and nonresident foreign
nationals are restricted or prohibited. Any candidate for federal office
and any political group or committee formed to support a candidate must
register with the FEC, with periodic reporting required thereafter. All
FEC reports are public. The FEC has investigative authority as to possible
violations of federal election law as well as the ability to seek civil
penalties in U.S. District Court.
Scott followed his Stanford 1974 B.A. in political science with a J.D. from
Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. He started with the FEC in its
Office of General Counsel that year, becoming a Commissioner in 1986
following nomination to that office by then President Reagan. He currently
is serving in his third term at the FEC.
Please join us for this timely briefing.
Place: Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th Street, N.W.
Metro: Metro Center (13th and G Streets, N.W.)
Date: Monday, October 4, 1999
Time: 7:45 to 9:00 A. M.
Menu: Continental breakfast
Cost: $13.00 per person
Make checks payable to Washington DC Stanford Association and send them by
October 1 to: Terry Adlhock c/o Florida Power Corporation, Suite 250, 801
Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington D.C. 20004, tel. (202) 783-5560,
e-mail: tadlhock@aol.com
Adopt-a-School Program
This year, the WDCSA will again co-sponsor a tutoring program, held each
Saturday morning during the academic year, at the Meyer Elementary School
in the Shaw neighborhood of northwest Washington. With volunteers from
Princeton and Harvard, Stanford alums provide basic instruction in core
subjects such as reading and arithmetic. We also teach the fundamentals of
computers in a modest computer lab funded through the program.
The kids are kindergartners through fourth graders, and eagerly work with
the tutors to improve their academic skills. Volunteers are always
needed-it’s not necessary to attend every Saturday-but we warn you it’s
easy to get hooked on the enthusiasm of this group of kids.
We will be restructuring the program somewhat to ensure that the kids-and
tutors-enjoy and benefit as much as possible. The program will start in
mid-late October, so look out for details.
Contact Shanna Connor at (202) 401-0325 or shanna_connor@ed.gov for further
details.
An Evening at the Embassy
This fall, the WDCSA and the local Harvard and Princeton alumni chapters
will host a fundraising reception at the New Zealand Embassy to benefit the
Adopt-a-School program co-sponsored by the three universities. The
reception will include light hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and a presentation
by one of the cultural attaches. The reception will be in late October or
early November, so keep your eye on this space for the exact date.
Contact Jennifer Ballen, the WDCSA Adopt-a-School Program Coordinator, at jennifer_ballen@stanfordalumni.org or (202) 362-2017 for more information
or to volunteer at the event.
Third Thursdays (Floyd or no Floyd)
Thursday, October 21, 1999
6:30 – 8:30 P.M.
This year we’re having happy hour events on the third Thursday of every
month to allow us to coordinate our events with some of the evening gallery
openings around the city. Although Hurricane Floyd rained us out last
month, we’re going meet at the Big Hunt at 1345 Connecticut Avenue, NW.
Take the Red Line Metro to Dupont Circle. Exit at 19th and N, and walk
south on Connecticut for half a block. The bar will be on your left. From
4 to 7:30 P.M., all drinks are $1 off. Meet us at the front of the left
side. For more information, or to offer suggestions on locations, contact
Callista Chen at (202) 319-1841 or
callista@stanfordalumni.org.
The WDCSA Goes to the Washington Opera
Rigoletto
Saturday, October 23
7:00 PM
Orchestra, $110
The Kennedy Center Opera House
Le Cid
Tuesday, November 16
8:00 PM
Prime Orchestra, $113
The Kennedy Center Opera House
Opera lovers and newcomers, both: The WDCSA will kick off an outstanding
opera season this fall with 20 tickets for Verdi’s beloved Rigoletto in
October, and for Le Cid, with Placido Domingo in the title role, in
November. Enjoy the performances, which are bound to be sold out, in the
company of fellow Stanford alums. We have orchestra seats for Rigoletto,
starring Haijin Fu, and prime orchestra seats for this first U.S. staging
of Le Cid in nearly 100 years. To reserve tickets, please send a check
made out to WDCSA to Julie Campbell, 2601 Klingle Road NW, Washington, DC
20008. Tickets will be distributed on a first come-first serve basis upon
receipt of payment. Questions? Call Julie at 202-244-0206 or email her at
juliecampbell@aol.com.
Visit the WDCSA (and download a membership form) on the Web!
This month is the debut of the new WDCSA website at http://www.stanfordclub.org/dc. The website contains general
information about the club, membership options, current and past newsletters and event
updates, a list of our Board members and officers, a membership form, links
to our job and housing board, and a variety of useful Stanford links. In
addition to the home page, you may want to bookmark the current newsletter page.
To cover administrative costs, we have raised dues for next year for
email-only members from $5 to $10. The mail membership dues will remain
$15 and both memberships will include a copy of the membership directory.
This represents the first increase in dues in quite a number of years. In
recent years, we have reduced dues in two ways. First, several years ago,
we charged $4 extra for the directory–now it is included with membership.
Second, in 1996, we introduced the email-only membership as a low-cost
membership option.
Although the membership year does not end till December, we invite you to
renew now, either through the membership form on the web page or the
membership mailer you will soon receive, if you haven’t already, from the
Alumni Association. Getting renewals at this time spreads out the workload
for our membership chair and will enable us to get the new membership
directory published and to you as early as possible next year.
Looking ahead to November…
Big Game this year is on Saturday, November 20th. Check the November 1999
newsletter for details on the party we’ll co-host this year with local Cal
alumni.
Career Mentors Needed to Assist Recent Alumni Seeking D.C. Employment
The Stanford Exchange for Public Service (STEPS), a network of D.C.-based
alumni providing career advice and job search assistance to graduating
Stanford students and recent alumni, is seeking career mentors. Mentors
receive on average several calls a year from students or alumni interested
in the mentors’ career field. Mentors are not expected to identify job
openings but instead offer advice based on their broad knowledge of the
D.C. job market and specific expertise in their career field to assist
students and alumni seeking to research job possibilities in their area(s)
of interest, develop an effective job search strategy, and build a network
of contacts that will ultimately lead to employment.
STEPS mentors work in a variety of fields: education, law, environmental
policy, issue advocacy, health policy, non-profit management and
philanthropy, international affairs and the foreign service, public relations
and the media, telecommunications, etc. Some work for the
government or public interest organizations, and others work in the private
sector. STEPS seeks to expand its list of mentors in all career fields.
If you are interested in offering career advice as a mentor, please check
the box on the membership renewal form when you renew your membership this
fall. The membership renewal form is available on the new WDCSA website: http://www.stanfordclub.org/dc. If you have questions, contact one of the
STEPS Co-chairs:
Jennifer Ballen, jennifer_ballen@stanfordalumni.org, (202) 362-2017 (h)
Charles Hokanson,
charles_hokanson@stanfordalumni.org, (703) 351-1091 (h).
Event Preview: Reception for Recent Alumni
The Stanford Exchange for Public Service (STEPS) will be sponsoring a
reception in November for all D.C. area “recent” alumni (“recent” will be
very loosely defined) at the Stanford in Washington campus. It will be a
great time to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and find out what
other alumni are working in your career field. Look for details in the
next newsletter!
Sports Enthusiasts…
Interested in playing touch football, softball, or ultimate frisbee with
other Stanford alums? Join the semi-organized DC Stanford alum sports
league. A touch football challenge match against Princeton alumni will
take place soon.
Contact Ari Mervis at (202) 986-2910 or ari.mervis@stanfordalumni.org for
more information.