VERO BEACH — Subscriptions to the 2013 Celebrated Speakers Series at The Emerson Center in Vero Beach are now available.
Tickets for the four-speaker series, sponsored by Wilmington Trust, are $220. Single tickets are $65.
The presentations are at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Interested ticket buyers are encouraged to select the 7 p.m. performance for better seating. The 2013 series is certain to be a sellout.
The series launches with Jeb Bush on January 12. Son of former President George H.W. Bush, he served as Florida’s secretary of commerce under Bob Martinez, Florida’s 40th governor. He was elected the 43rd governor of Florida in November 1998 and ended his second term in January 2007.
During his tenure, Bush cut taxes every year, and Florida led the nation in job growth. With Bush’s focus on reforming education, Florida students achieved the greatest gains in the country.
Additionally, Bush put Florida at the forefront of consumer healthcare advances by signing Medicaid reform legislation. He is currently the head of his own consulting business, Jeb Bush and Associates, whose clients range from small technology start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.
He is also the chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national foundation focused on education reform. Bush co-wrote Profiles in Character, which profiles 14 Florida civic heroes making a difference without claiming a single news headline.
Alice M. Rivlin follows on February 2. She is considered one of the country’s leading economists and is a member of the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange.
Rivlin was the founding director of the Congressional Budget Office (1975-83) and the director of the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. She has also served as vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board and as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton.
Rivlin is a frequent contributor to newspapers, television, and radio, and has written numerous books, including “Systematic Thinking for Social Action” and “Reviving the American Dream.”
She recently completed her service on the Simpson-Bowles National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, to which she was appointed by President Obama to give her trusted views on solving the nation’s budget problems.
Rivlin has taught at Harvard, George Mason, and The New School universities and is a visiting professor at the Public Policy Institute of Georgetown University.
Appearing on February 23 is Mary Matalin, one of the most celebrated and popular conservative voices in America, a former presidential advisor, and contributor to CNN.
She is a best-selling author, television and radio host, and widely sought-after political contributor, pundit, and public speaker noted for her straightforward manner and insightful political repartee.
She served under President Reagan, made her mark as George H.W. Bush’s campaign director, and most recently was an assistant to President George W. Bush. Since then, Matalin has co-hosted the political talk show “Equal Time” on CNBC, made numerous appearances on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” hosted CNN’s debate show “Crossfire,” and been named one of “The Most Important Talk Show Hosts in America” by Talkers magazine for her CBS Talk Radio show “The Mary Matalin Show.”
Today, along with Arianna Huffington, she co-hosts the nationally syndicated radio program “Both Sides Now.” Matalin also co-wrote the best-selling political campaign book “All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President” with her husband, James Carville.
Matalin’s pull-no-punches discussion is informed by a career spent in the trenches as a political strategist and a trusted advisor to America’s most powerful conservative leaders.
Ending on a high note on March 16, the final celebrated speaker is James A. Baker, III. Baker served in senior government positions from 1975 to 1992 under three U.S. presidents and led campaigns for Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush in five consecutive presidential elections.
Baker’s record of public service began in 1975 as undersecretary of commerce to President Ford. From 1981 to 1985, he was President Reagan’s White House chief of staff, and subsequently became the 67th secretary of the treasury, as well as chairman of the President’s Economic Policy Council.
Finally, Baker served as secretary of state from January 1989 through August 1992 under President George H.W. Bush. A native Houstonian, Baker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and has received many other awards for distinguished public service.
He published his memoir, “Work Hard, Study…and Keep Out of Politics! Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life,” in 2006.
Tickets for Emerson Center performances may be purchased either online at www.TheEmersonCenter.org or by calling the Box Office at (772) 778-5249.
The Emerson Center, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach, is conveniently located at 1590 27th Ave., on the SE corner of 16th St. and 27th Ave.
It has more than 300 parking spaces, an auditorium that seats over 800 people in comfortable padded seating, a raised stage that offers everyone unrestricted views, and professional state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. Ask about seating for the physically challenged.