Programs for Dec 1-31

December 3, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

Speaker is Phil Goldsmith, all-around productive citizen. His topic—A Philadelphia Education: Tales, Trials and Tribulations of a Serial Careerist, based on his recently published memoirs of a life in which he held senior positions in some of Philadelphia’s leading private, public, and nonprofit institutions.

He promises stories of insight, humor, and sometimes tragedy about his myriad experiences in high-level roles in government, the media, law, and banking; insights into Philadelphia politics; and the highs and lows of his different careers, from fighting snowstorms to working for a mayor who was under federal investigation, to coping with a school system that was near bankruptcy, educationally challenged, and involved in a bitter fight with the state over privatization.

Phil Goldsmith has served as a deputy to the mayor of Philadelphia; chief operating officer of the city; interim director of Fairmount Park, and chief executive officer of the School District of Philadelphia. Educated as a lawyer, he subsequently moved into journalism as a reporter for the Allentown Morning Call. At The Philadelphia Inquirer he was a 1979 Pulitzer Prize finalist for a series of editorials on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, “The Supreme Disgrace.” He later became a banker and was a senior executive at PNC Bank in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for twelve years. He has also held senior positions in the executive search and career management sectors. In retirement, he has been active in civic affairs, most notably serving for several years as president of CeaseFirePA. For the past three years he has been president of the Haverford Township Free Library’s board of trustees.

New Capability: To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation. Put your computer into full screen mode to get the best image.

December 7, Zoom Quarterback Roundtable 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

Dick Goldberg is our Quarterback.

December 10, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

Speaker is Innmate Robert J. Fleming III, landscape architect.  His topic—The Olmsted Legacy in Philadelphia.

Rob grew up on a farm in central Iowa and “came east” to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and the University of Pennsylvania. With his M.S. in education, he became a tenured teacher in the Philadelphia public schools, and later studied landscape architecture and land-use planning, also at Penn, earning the Master of Landscape Architecture degree in 1977. He joined the urban design and landscape architecture practice of Hanna/Olin, Ltd. (now OLIN) at its founding in 1977 and then formed his own practice in 1984. During his years of active practice, ending in 2009, he was a registered landscape architect and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

As a designer and planner, Rob specialized in advising professionals, institutions, and individuals on the care, preservation, and restoration of endangered or valued historic and natural landscapes. At Penn, he was a faculty member for nine years in the Department of Architecture, lecturing in the Graduate Group in Historic Preservation, and he served on the Board of Overseers for the Graduate School of Fine Arts (now the Weitzman School of Design). Rob and his wife Susan divide their time between their Philadelphia home and the Iowa family farm, which he manages as a demonstration of sustainable practices in food production and native grassland and woodland restoration.

New Capability: To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation. Put your computer into full screen mode to get the best image.

December 14, Zoom Quarterback Roundtable 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

Gresham Riley is our Quarterback.

December 17, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

The club’s annual Holiday Luncheon, in a nontraditional virtual format via Zoom, but with traditional Innmate entertainment and commentary.

December 21, Zoom Quarterback Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

Matthew McGovern is our Quarterback.

December 24, Christmas Eve (no program)

December 28, Zoom Quarterback Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

Alina Macneal is our Quarterback.

December 31, New Year’s Eve (no program)