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 Erskine
Bowles
Life in the West Wing
By: Henry Bostic
“Life in the West Wing” might not be exactly as it is portrayed in
the hit television series West Wing starring Martin Sheen, a former occupant
and chief player told Charlotte Rotary on Tuesday, but it’s not like
anything he’s every encountered in his very busy career in the private
sector.
Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles said the weeks were
“seven-seven, night and day from dawn to 10 p.m. . . faster than a dot.com.”
And, he said, it was not unusual to handle several calls after 10, “and
decide if to wake the President.” The range of issues dealt with in a day
“is unbelievable.” “When I left Washington in November 1998” he said of his
experience both as Chief of Staff in the White House and as head of the
Small Business Administration, “I thought I’d given all the blood in the
turnip,” and he was not interested in going to Washington again. But on
reflection, he told Rotarians, “I clearly got more than I gave. It was an
enormously gratifying experience, even with the highs and lows, and I’ve
very grateful to President Clinton for giving me the opportunity of a
lifetime.”
Describing his first assignment inside the Beltway as head of the SBA,
Bowles said he was lucky that it was a backwater agency, “way off Broadway”
in a town “where no single deed goes unpunished and unpublished” and not
everything he did was recorded in the Wall Street Journal and the New York
Times. The agency, he said, was in turmoil. It had had “no leadership” in
years. There was “no morale.” Employees would not even put the agency’s name
on their business cards. “They’d rather just say they worked for the Federal
Government. I just hoped to get the agency to join the 20th century before
it ended,” he said.
When he went to the White House as assistant Chief of Staff in September
1994, the West Wing was in turmoil too. “It seemed the left hand didn’t know
what the far left hand was doing,” he joked. The president was always late
and he seemed to flip-flop on issues. He was unorganized and lacked focus.
First steps were to centralize all decisions and all access to the President
through the Chief of Staff’s office, as former presidents had done. Instead
of scheduling the president every 15 minutes, six days a week, they gave him
time for study and reflection and limited special events. They also went
after the leaks (a problem endemic inside The Beltway). “We fired a leaker
and it stopped . . . for a while,” he smiled. “We did a time and motion
study on the president. Clearly we didn’t catch everything,” said the
Greensboro native clearly referring the Monica affair.
A founding partner in the merchant banking firm of Bowles Hollowell Conner &
Co, the UNC graduate said he thought the result of his first tenure at the
White House was good. President Clinton became the first Democrat president
reelected since FDR, but he said, “I had enjoyed all of Washington I can
stand.” He returned a short while later as Chief of Staff during the Monica
affair and several other investigations. Bowles said he “isolated” all of
the investigation- related issues in the office of the White House counsel
so that “the remaining 95 percent of the staff could focus on the people’s
business. He said that even with all the investigations, much was
accomplished including the first balanced budget in years. But, he said,
“the gotcha” atmosphere in Washington is very disruptive and enormously
wasteful. He said that as a result there were many missed opportunities;
including doing something about major entitlement programs that are “a
massive problem” we still must tackle.
In other business Tony Zeiss, Vocational Service Avenue Chair, and Cynthia
Marshall, head of Communities and Schools, made a pitch to recruit “job
shadowing” opportunities for high school student. Their pitch: “In only
three hours, your company can make a difference in the lives of our
students.” Cynthia said 197 high school graduates who had participated in
Communities in Schools had received more than a half million dollars in
scholarships, many because “the light bulb came on” during a shadowing
experience in a local business.
Head Table:
Tom Robertson, Martin Welton, Charlie Greer, Bob Culbertson,
Rex Welton, Myra Johnston; Invocation: Floyd Davis
Visitors and Guests:
Chuck Lew; Health & Happiness: Worth Williamson; Song: David
Erdman
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ROTARY E CLUB ONE |
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www.rotaryeclubone.org
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for meeting make-ups. Click
on “first time makeup” for instructions on completing the make up card.
Close this window to get back to the home page then select the program
of your choice. Make up cards can be emailed to the Rotary office,
faxed, or brought to the next meeting.
PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT
NEW ADDRESS FOR THE ROTARY CLUB:
841 BAXTER STREET, SUITE 118, CHARLOTTE 28202
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2003-04 RI
Theme
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z Easter
Seals of North Carolina has named
Billy Wireman, president emeritus of
Queens University of Charlotte, Charlottean of the Year. He received
the award for his long-term impact on Charlotte as president of Queens
and through his volunteer work.
z Tim Newman,
president of Charlotte Center City Partners, got a surprise for his
birthday when staffers painted his office wall Carolina blue with an
insignia for his beloved Tar Heels.
z Club members
are reminded to begin gathering items for the Fall clothing drive
benefiting Crisis Assistance
Ministry.
z
Those wishing to attend the November 6th
Rotary Foundation Banquet
should contact the Rotary office no later than October
24th. Tickets are available for $35. Fred Grandy, past CEO of Goodwill
Industries and “Gopher” on the TV show Love Boat, will be the speaker.
Those attending are eligible for a drawing to win a cruise for 2 to
Nassau.
z
Joe Becker experienced
quite a scare at Tuesday’s meeting. He arrived to handle his set-up
duties in a full leg cast and on crutches from a knee injury; however,
he became quite ill very quickly due to a high fever. Joe was assisted
by several members, fire and medic personnel and transported to
Presbyterian Hospital. He has been released and is feeling much
better. |
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NEW MEMBER PROFILE |
 Robert
W. Elliott (Bob)
Elliott Seminars
Classification:
Consultant, Professional Development
8 Fairway Ridge
Lake Wylie, SC 29710
704-953-7335
bob@elliottseminars.com |
Bob is the President and Founder of
Elliott Seminars which is headquartered in Lake Wylie, South Carolina.
Elliott Seminars offers consulting, customized educational programs, and
keynote speakers – all focused on personal and professional development.
Bob’s firm is built on the same philosophy he advises his customers
which brings success in their occupations – hard work, common sense,
fairness, commitment, and integrity.
His consulting programs are fast-paced, informative, and enjoyable.
Thousands of companies have provided positive feedback which is proof of
Bob’s talent for customizing programs. Using a combination of
information, humor, personal insights, and practical concepts, Bob
presents a series of great ideas and tested strategies. Bob’s talent,
along with his genuine enjoyment of his work, makes him a highly
recruited speaker for trade and professional groups, as well as
community and leadership associations. Bob’s knowledge comes from 18
years of professional sales experience located in the Southeast. He
worked and trained with Fortune 100 companies in the technology sector.
Most of his education in sales and Corporate leadership was with
successful companies such as AT&T, GE, and IBM.
Bob is an active member of the River Hills Community Church and a member
of Lions Club International and regularly participates in club and
community activities. He was born and reared in Chester, South Carolina
and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from Presbyterian
College in Clinton, South Carolina. He is a sales professional and
speaker who enjoys offering the benefit of his knowledge and experience
to you.
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Attendance Record |
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10/7/03 |
10/8/02 |
| visitors
& guests |
27 |
12 |
| club
members |
206 |
165 |
| total
attendance |
233 |
177 |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
14 Mev and Rufus Allison
14 Pam and George Wilson
15 Lalla and Bob Reid
20 Shelley and Chris Kemper |
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Resignations |
| Larry Sagehorn |
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New Members -
September |
Bob Elliott
Steve Montgomery
Sharon O’Morrow
Dave Adams
Chuck Panoff |
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Birthdays and Birthplaces |
14 Gib Smith, Charlotte, NC
15 Sharon O’Morrow, Indianapolis, IN
16 Tom Barnhardt, Charlotte, NC
18 Henry Cantrell, Morganton, NC
19 Chuck Hoch, Beaver Dam, WI
19 John Luby, Lexington, KY
19 George Page, Greenwood, SC
20 Mark Leggett, Goldsboro, NC |
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