From the President

Greetings, Lyceum Directors, Alumni and Advisors!

We are honored and privileged to have you join us as we celebrate our 30th year of leadership in Texas. As you know, the Texas Lyceum has a history that is rich in tradition. Each year, we produce at least four quarterly meetings whose strong and compelling content give us the information we need to fully engage in discussion on issues that affect the citizenry of our great state.

But the Texas Lyceum also has a rich history of creativity and innovation: the Lyceum Journal, a compendium of articles and white papers; the Stewardship of Texas Values Award, a celebration of men and women who truly embody Texas and those values we hold; the Lyceum Poll, one of the most highly regarded polls gauging the feelings of Texans across the state.

In 2010, we will blaze a new trail: the Great Debate Series. The Lyceum will incorporate issue debates into all four Lyceum quarterly meetings. These debates will be re-broadcast by Texas public broadcasting stations all around the state reaching 95% of Texans. The debates will focus on some of the most pressing and timely issues facing our state including cyber security in San Antonio, February 4-7; health care in Houston, April 22-25; and energy in Midland, August 5-8. The “Great Debates” will culminate in October with a 30th Anniversary celebration and a debate centered around the November election.

Our goals for 2010 and the mission of the Texas Lyceum cannot be achieved without you! Below are a few ways that you can get involved this year to begin your Lyceum journey:

* Recruiting a potential new Director to the organization
* Achieving perfect attendance at the meetings
* Helping our development team with fundraising
* Hosting periodic gatherings in your hometown to create more networking opportunities for your local Directors
* Attending and supporting the Stewardship of Texas Values Award celebration

The Texas Lyceum inspires us to make good friends, work harder, be more thoughtful, and appreciate the great diversity in our state. I hope you will have an eye-opening and fun year in 2010 as a Director of The Texas Lyceum. I’d like to leave you with the following message: What distinguishes the Lyceum from other organizations is in part what we do and how we do it. But more importantly it is why we do what we do. We believe in a set of shared values, Texas Values, and in service to our community. This is the core of our existence and why our years in the Lyceum are so dear to us.

With great faith in Texas and its future,

John
John H. James