Thanks, Cd'A friends of the humanities

On Sept. 8, the Idaho Humanities Council hosted a sold-out dinner and lecture at The Coeur d’Alene Resort by Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. The IHC’s 13th Annual Distinguished Humanities Lecture drew a record 650 guests, and the next morning Dr. Goodwin met in assembly for an hour with 300 Lake City High School students before flying home to Massachusetts. It was a big night for the IHC and a memorable couple of days for the Coeur d’Alene community, and it would not have been possible without local support of longtime friends, educational institutions and corporate leaders — including the generous support of this newspaper.

For the nonprofit IHC, the annual lecture in Coeur d’Alene is a “friend raiser,” an opportunity to bring attention to and enlist support for the IHC’s statewide mission to promote lifelong learning in history, literature, civics education, and other humanities disciplines. Past speakers have included historians Douglas Brinkley, James McPherson and Robert Dallek, novelists Anthony Doerr, Sara Paretsky and Jess Walter, journalists Timothy Egan, Susan Orlean, Isabel Wilkerson, and others. Every year, in addition to hearing from one of our nation’s prominent writers, it is the council’s opportunity to remind our audience of how their financial support for the IHC helps small libraries, historical museums, schools, and other organizations statewide.

Our local sponsors and our many volunteers are our partners in this work.

Many thanks to the University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College, Coeur d’Alene, for their financial support in making this annual distinguished lecture happen for the people of North Idaho. Thanks to our media sponsors Idaho Public Television and Coeur d’Alene Press, who have been partners with the IHC since the annual lecture began in the community.

The Hagadone Corporation deliciously supported our pre-dinner reception in the beautiful home of Denny and Kathy Canfield Davis, true friends of the IHC, and good people in Coeur d’Alene.

Most of all, Marc and Vicki Brinkmeyer and Idaho Forest Group, a partner with the IHC for the past 13 years, have made a tremendous investment in the cultural life of the community. Thanks to support from Idaho Forest Group, the IHC has been able to bring to Coeur d’Alene an impressive line-up of some of the finest writers in the country. And due to Marc Brinkmeyer’s encouragement, all of the speakers have met with high school students as part of their visits to the community. Although he was unable to attend our event with Doris Kearns Goodwin, Marc wrote me the next day to ask how the Lake City High School assembly went. When I assured him it went very well — a great way for students to begin a new academic year — he said simply, “Let’s make it better next year!”

In his opening remarks last week, Mike Kennedy, our emcee, said Coeur d’Alene’s evening with Doris Kearns Goodwin was like “a Bruce Springsteen concert for history nerds.” That it was. Our nation’s “Historian-in-Chief” immersed us in stories about Lincoln, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and other presidents who demonstrated true character, grace and strength in the face of adversity, and led the nation through trials of fire.

It is the IHC’s hope that shining a light on the humanities, particularly the lessons of history, inspires renewed passion for reading and learning. Doris Kearns Goodwin talked on “Leadership Lessons from the White House,” but we came away with some important leadership lessons for everyday life, thanks to our good partners.

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Rick Ardinger is the Executive Director of the Idaho Humanities Council.