Will the mystery guest please stand...

Guess Who’s Coming to   Dinner...

In 2009, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was a huge success!  The speakers were varied and very entertaining.  It’s amazing how much talent resides at the lake!


The 2010 season is here and tickets are selling fast (last year all three events were sold out by mid-January).  Join us for dinner and see if you can guess who the evenings mystery guest is, there just might be a clue around somewhere!  Tickets are $25 per person (includes dinner) and can be purchased at  Mary Sherwood Lake Living, or you can contact us via e-mail.  




2010 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner dates:

    Thursday, 21 January

    Thursday, 18 February

    Thursday, 18 March

  

        

Email Me
2010 Speakers  Tom Myrick Roanoke Rapids, NC Stories of building the Lake Gaston dam Tom Myrick is a native of Roanoke Rapids, NC having graduated from Roanoke Rapids High School. His father was a plumber and his mother worked in the cotton mill. Tom worked for Virginia Power from 1951 through 1990. He worked at the Lake Gaston Dam from 1962, the year the dam was completed. He and his wife have two sons who currently work for Dominion in Petersburg, VA and Richmond, VA. Tom is familiar with much of the history of the Lake Gaston Dam and Lake Gaston. He is a member of the Roanoke River Basin Association (RRBA). RRBA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization whose mission is establish and carry out a strategy for the development, use, preservation and enhancement of the resources of the Roanoke River basin in the best interest of present and future generations of Basin residents. RRBA believes that basin resource conservation can co-exist with managed economic growth. The Lake Gaston Dam was under construction from 1960 to 1962. It began commercial operation as a hydroelectric power station in February 1963. The dam generates an average of 336,000 megawatt-hours of electric power annually. It occupies 252 acres of federal land, is 3600 feet in length and has a maximum height of 105 feet. It was designed to generate 225 megawatts and handle a water flow of 44,000 cubic feet per second. The 20,000 acres covered by Lake Gaston and the Roanoke River basin had evidence of human occupation as early as 9500 B.C. Euroamerican occupation began as early as 1715. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Barbara A. Purdy Professor of Anthropology (Emerita) University of Florida Curator in Archaeology (joint appointment) Florida Museum of Natural History (Emerita) The artistic achievements of prehistoric people furnish archaeologists with excellent opportunities to understand the past in ways not possible through other means. A major problem, however, is the scarcity of ancient works of art created in perishable media. In this presentation, Dr. Purdy will show objects of wood, fiber, and bone that have survived, and discuss the unfortunate consequences resulting from the loss of information when most of the organic component is missing from the inventory of early cultures. Barbara Purdy’s research interests include: applications of physical science techniques to archaeological problems, lithic technology, early humans in the Western Hemisphere, archaeology of wetlands, and Florida archaeology. She holds a B.S. in Zoology from San Diego State University, a M.A. in Anthropology from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in Anthropology & Geology from the University of Florida. Since 1970 she has taught courses in Economics and Politics, Minorities, International Affairs, Energy and Society; World Prehistory, New World Prehistory, North American Archaeology, North American Indians, Florida Archaeology, Principles of Archaeology, Field Sessions in Archaeology, Lithic Technology, Conservation and Archaeometry. Her field and laboratory research projects since 1965 have included Washington, Idaho, Arizona, and Florida. She has been a crew member at the famous Ozette Village site on the Olympic Peninsula, conducted by Richard D. Daugherty; attended the first flintknapping session funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted by Don Crabtree; served as a crew member at Murray Springs Clovis site conducted by C. Vance Haynes and Larry Agenbroad; been principal investigator of >20 projects in the state of Florida and served as President of the Archaeological Research Team. Dr. Purdy has presented papers at national and international meetings throughout the United States and in Mexico, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany and has organized international conferences about wetlands archaeology in 1986 and 1999. Her awards have included: Teacher of the Year in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, UF (1985); the 1982 American Association of University Presses Book Award and the Southern Book Award for Florida’s Prehistoric Stone Technology; nomination for the 1989 Teacher of the Year; one of four finalists nominated for Distinguished Professor Alumni Award in 1989 and 1991; election into the Achievement Hall of Fame at Herbert Hoover High School, San Diego, California; named the foremost wetlands archaeologist in the Western Hemisphere at the 2003 International Conference of Wetlands Archaeology, held in Olympia, Washington; a Paleoindian Archaeology award at the Clovis in the Southeast Conference in 2005; Keynote Speaker at the 2007 Florida Anthropological Society annual meeting and Keynote Speaker at a Florida Maritime Heritage conference in Cortez. Dr. Purdy has been the recipient of nearly $500,000 in grant awards from the American Philosophical Society, National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Geographic Society, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, American Association of State and Local History, Florida Humanities Council, St. Johns River Water Management District, state of Florida, private industry and individuals, and from internal competition at the University of Florida. She has published more than seventy-five articles, books, and book reviews in or by Science, American Antiquity, American Anthropologist, Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Research, Southeastern Archaeology, Florida Anthropologist, University Press of Florida, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier Press, Oxford University, The Telford Press, CRC Press, Oxbow Books, and has been interviewed in three movies about Florida archaeology. Dr. Purdy is a member or past member of the American Anthropological Association, the Society for American Archaeology, Archaeometry, the Society of Professional Archaeologists, the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, the Florida Anthropological Society, the International Congress of Museums (ICOM), and the Wet Archaeological Research Projects (WARP). Barbara has been married since 1948 to Dr. Laurence H. Purdy and has four children, five grandchildren, one great grandchild. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hermie Sadler Hermie Sadler Racing, NASCAR TV Analyst The Hermie and Elliott Sadler Foundation United Wrestling Federation Hermie Sadler has been going to the racetrack on the weekends since before he could walk. Born in Emporia, VA, Hermie accompanied father Herman Sadler, Jr. and grandfather Herman Sadler, Sr. to the races as a toddler to watch dirt cars owned by his dad and driven by his uncle, Bud Elliott. Sadler began his racing career at the age of ten, when he began racing go-karts on dirt tracks throughout the Southeast. By the age of 14, Hermie, along with younger brother Elliott, were both winning races across the state and across the country. Both of the Sadler brothers realized great success in karting, with Hermie winning the World Karting Association National Championship in 1988, and brother Elliott winning multiple state championships. In 1990, while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hermie began racing late model stock cars under the guidance of his Uncle, Bud Elliott. In 1992, Hermie finished second in the Late Model Stock Car Championship point standings at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. While winning seven races that year and finishing second in points was a great season, it was a conversation that Hermie had the following night when he won two 100-lap feature races in the same night. That conversation was with Don Beverly, a former drag racer and owner of a trucking company in Chester, VA. It was that night that Beverly, who also fielded a NASCAR Bush Series team, offered Hermie a chance to drive his car in the NASCAR Bush Series in 1993. Sadler won a race and NASCAR Bush Series Rookie of the Year honors in 1993 driving for Beverly, then followed that up with a solid sophomore season that saw Sadler again visit Victory Land and earn an Top 5 finish in the NASCAR Bush Series standings in 1994. 1995 saw Sadler break out on his own and form his own Bush Series team with sponsorship from DeWalt. Hermie also brought on veteran crew chief Bobby King, with whom he enjoyed a great deal of success when driving for Beverly. 1995 and 1996 brought two more successful seasons for Sadler and two more Top 10 point finishes. In 1997, in an effort to become more competitive with larger teams in the sport, Hermie and DeWalt agreed to join Diamond Ridge Motorsports as a teammate to brother Elliott, driving the #29 Chevrolet. Sadler started the 1998 season driving for Ron Parker in the #72 MGM Brakes Chevrolet. After resigning mid season, Hermie spent the next couple of seasons with part time rides with Innovative Motorsports and BACE Motorsports. in 2001, Sadler’s life and driving career took a major turn. Halie Dru Sadler, the second of three daughters born to Hermie and Angie, was diagnosed with autism in early 2001. The day the diagnosis came in, Hermie knew his focus needed to be on his family and operating his three car dealerships. Hermie stayed away from the sport for the majority of 2001 as he and Angie worked to learn about autism and to get Halie started in the school program they felt gave her the best chance to succeed. The Sadler’s also started a personal crusade to educate others on autism. Since 2001, the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Foundation has donated over $200,000 to different charitable organizations for the advancement of autism research. Hermie returned to the track on a part time basis in 2002, running a limited NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule with sponsorship from the Virginia Lottery. Hermie competed in selected Cup races until 2006. Also in 2006, Hermie began working for Fox as an analyst for some of their Bush Series telecasts. In 2007, Hermie began working full time in front of the camera as a full time analyst when the popular “Hot Pass” was launched on DirecTV. He also currently serves as an analyst and pit reporter for SPEED on its NASCAR coverage throughout the season. Hermie did return to the track once in 2007, running the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville. Currently, in addition to a full time broadcasting career in NASCAR, Hermie also owns the United Wrestling Federation which promotes live professional wrestling events in the Southeast. Hermie also makes occasional appearances as a guest commentator on TNA Wrestling’s iMPACT! which airs on Thursday nights on Spike TV. (Information obtained from the Official Sadler Fan Club.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lizzie Smith Lizzie Smith Motorsports Lizzy’s Dad, Steve, was a fearless kid, riding dirt bikes, building fast cars and later racing pro-trucks, legend cars and late model cars. He held multiple track championships. When Lizzie was born in 1994, her Dad was watching the NASCAR race in the hospital room so her first sounds were that of a NASCAR announcer andthe zoom of the cars as they barreled down the straight-away. Lizzy is one of four children born into the Smith racing family. She was always the fearless one. Standing on the seat of her bicycle instead of sitting, trying to drive the golf cat with a stick on the gas pedal because she couldn’t reach it and see over the steering wheel at the same time. She helped her Dad in the race shop daily, rolling tires, turning wrenches and asking endless questions about mechanics. When she was 7, Lizzie asked her Dad if she could drive. Steve, ever pleasing to his sidekick, purchased a used go-kart from a friend that was in the weeds behind his race shop. They freshened-up the chassis and motor and went racing at a local dirt track. Lizzy was a natural and has never looked back. She began winning after her 3rd race and swept her class championship the first year. She never ceases to amaze. She won multiple karting championships and asked for more at the age of 11. Again, her Dad purchased a used 4 cylinder stock car and at 12 she entered the world of round track asphalt racing. She placed 3rd in points her first year at Wake County Speedway, deemed “The Bullring” for its rough racing. Lizzy, always happy to go fast, won the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Speedway in her late mode stock car at the age of 14, the youngest driver and only female to ever win this prestigious honor at this track. Early the next season she landed a ride with a pro modified team at Wake County Speedway. She quickly took to the car and its increased horsepower and speed. She is the only female to set fast time and sit on the pole for such an event and to win a regular season race in any division at this track. She finished the season with 1 win, 4 top 3’s and 5 top 5’s in total for the events she ran there that year. Lizzy has recently acquired a Legends car, in the true Smith family tradition. She will be running this at most of the local tracks and some of the national events throughout the Southeast. Lizzy has been featured on ABC’s 20/20 and has been featured in magazines, newspapers and the sports feature story on all of the local TV news stations in the area around Raleigh, NC. In almost every race, she would certainly be one of the youngest and almost always the only female; however, this has never bothered her or seemed odd. It was all she knew. Now, at the age of 15, Lizzy is a great example of determination and dedication. She plays hard and enjoys life’s fast turns and sudden surprises. She is an amazing and beautiful young person inside and out. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2009 Speakers Samuel Harvey Moseley, Jr Senior Astrophysicist Laboratory for Observational Cosmology Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Member of COBE Science Team; 2006 Nobel Prize awarded to COBE Team Leader, John Mather Harvey grew up in Ebony, Va. His father had a general store and a farm where he spent many hours working. After attending Brunswick High School through 9th grade and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., he majored in math and physics at Connecticut College. Graduate studies took Harvey to the University of Chicago where he moved into experimental work in the new field of far infrared astronomy. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. there. Harvey’s seven years at the U. of Chicago were spent developing the needed research tools and studying a wide range of astronomical phenomena. From the U. of Chicago an opportunity beckoned for Harvey to move to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. to join a group forming to build a satellite, the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). The scientific objectives of the COBE were to make precision measurements of the “color” of the light left over from the birth of the universe, the Big Bang. This leftover light is called the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The instruments to do the measuring were developed in the 1980’s, the satellite was launched on November 17, 1989, and the mission was spectacularly successful. The results moved the study of cosmology from speculative and philosophical to a precision science. The COBE project accomplishments led by John Mather and George Smoot were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2006. Harvey was among the elite few team members invited to attend the award ceremonies in Stockholm. Harvey received the Gruber Prize for Cosmology in recognition of the scientific achievements of the COBE team. Since the completion of the COBE mission, Harvey has been working on the development of the next generation of missions to probe the early universe. These missions include: the James Webb Space Telescope (successor to the Hubble Space Telescope), the Dark Energy Mission, and future studies of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. “The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5 meter primary mirror. Launch is planned for 2013. The JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System” (retrieved from http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/about.html). Harvey is the principal investigator for the JWST’s microshutter array, tiny doorways that bring stars and galaxies very far away into better focus. The microshutters measure 100 by 200 microns each, about the width of 3-6 human hairs, and are arranged in a grid containing over 62,000 shutters. They are designed to work at the incredibly cold temperatures in space of minus 388 degrees F. These microshutters will allow scientists to look at 100 things in space at the same time and see deeper into space in less time. In 2007 Harvey received the American Astronomical Society’s Joseph Weber Award for his extraordinary contributions for over two decades to the development of astronomical detectors. Harvey is the inventor of the X-ray microcalorimeter, a sensitive detector used in X-ray astronomy. Over his career, Dr. Moseley has been widely recognized in the fields of far infrared astronomy, observational cosmology, and detector and instrument development with the following awards: NASA Exceptional Service Medal, 1982 John C. Lindsay Memorial Award for Science, 1989 (Goddard’s highest scientific award) NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Award, 1991; NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award, 1992; NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Award, 2002 (the only person to receive all three NASA awards) Goddard Senior Fellow, 1991 Connecticut College Medal, 1992 Fellow, American Physical Society, 1995 University of Chicago Professional Achievement Citation, 2002 Meritorious Presidential Citation, 2004 Gruber Cosmology Prize, 2006 Weber Prize of the American Astronomical Society, 2007 Harvey currently resides in University Park, Md. with his wife Sarah and their son, Samuel J. Moseley, a mechanical engineer also at Goddard Space Flight Center. They have a home and property on Lake Gaston and are restoring an 1820’s farmhouse on their property. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gene R. Nichol Professor of Law and Director of the Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity , UNC School of Law Gene Nichol is professor of law and Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina. He teaches courses in constitutional law, federal courts, civil rights and election law. From 2005-2008, Gene was the 26th president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia -- the second oldest university in the United States. Mr. Nichol was Burton Craige professor and dean of the law school at the University of North Carolina from 1999-2005.  He served as law dean at the University of Colorado from 1988-1995; and as James Gould Cutler Professor and Director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at William & Mary from 1985-1988. Gene has also been a faculty member at the University of Florida and West Virginia University. He founded the Byron White Center of Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado (1990) and the Center for Civil Rights at the University of North Carolina (2001). Gene is co-author of FEDERAL COURTS: Cases and Comments (West, 2000)(with Redish) and a contributing author of WHERE WE STAND: Voices of Southern Dissent (NewSouth Books, 2004).  He has published articles and essays in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the California Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the Virginia Law Review and an array of leading legal journals.  From 1998-1999, he was a political columnist for the Denver-Rocky Mountain News and the Colorado Daily. From 1999-2005, he was a regular op-ed writer for the Raleigh News & Observer. He has also written for the Washington Post, The Nation, the Chronicle of Higher Education and various periodicals. From 1994-1995, he was host of a public affairs television show, Culture Wars, for KBDI, Channel 12 in Denver, Colorado. Gene has been significantly involved in public affairs. He has testified before an array of committees of the United States Congress and various state legislatures. In 1991, he was appointed special master by a three-judge federal court in Colorado to mediate a redistricting dispute between the governor and the legislature. The accord was ratified by statute. A year later he helped head the Colorado Reapportionment Commission. In 2004, Gene chaired the North Carolina Bi-Partisan Commission on Lobbying Reform. Legislation was passed enacting commission recommendations. He ran unsuccessfully for national political office while in Colorado. He has been elected to membership in the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation Fellows. In 2003, Nichol won the American Bar Association's Edward R. Finch Award for delivering the nation's best Law Day Address. Two years later, Governor Easley inducted Nichol into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine - North Carolina's highest civilian honor; and Equal Justice Works named him pro bono law school dean of the year. In 2007, he received Oklahoma State University's Distinguished Alumnus Award. This year he received the "Courage To Do Justice Award" from the National Employment Lawyers Association (New England, 2008) and the Thomas Jefferson Award -- for courage in the defense of religious liberty -- from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (Albuquerque, 2008). Gene attended Oklahoma State University, where he received a degree in philosophy (1973) and played varsity football. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Texas, graduating Order of the Coif, in 1976.  He is married to Glenn George. They have three daughters: Jesse (21), Jennifer (19), and Soren (15). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - David L. Beemer Father of Todd Beamer, 9/11 Hero The events of September 11, 2001 will forever be engraved in the history books of the United States as a day that changed the nation and altered American’s personal sense of security in a fearful world. David Beamer is the father of Todd Beamer, a passenger on United Flight 93, which was hijacked on September 11, 2001 and crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Todd and the other passengers on that flight realized the terrorists who had commandeered their plane were heading the craft toward a strategic target to do greater damage than simply to harm the passengers on board. After conferring with the other passengers, it was Todd’s rallying words, “Are you ready? Let’s roll!” that set in motion a counterattack from the passengers and crew. This successful counterattack ended when Flight 93 crashed in a quiet field in Pennsylvania, far short of its suspected target in Washington D.C. Many believe the terrorists had plotted to crash the plane into the White House or even into the United States capitol building. All of the passengers and crew died in the battle, including Todd Beamer. David Beamer is deeply committed to educating the public about the story of Flight 93 and 9/11. He has spoken on numerous national news programs and has appeared at universities and religious institutions around the country to tell the story of Flight 93. From 2002, Mr. Beamer was Chief Operations Officer of Legato Software, a California-based provider of open software solutions and services for information management with more than 31,000 clients worldwide. He then served as Vice President of parent company, EMC Corp. until he retired in 2004.
 Mr. Beamer has been an IT professional for more than 30 years. Prior to joining Legato, Beamer was the President of FileTek Corporation of Rockville, Maryland, a privately held software and systems integration company. Prior to FileTek, Mr. Beamer was with Amdahl Corporation for sixteen years, where he was a corporate officer for seven years and served in various sales, marketing, and senior management roles. Before joining Amdahl, he was with IBM Corporation for eight years. Mr. Beamer holds a B.S. in electrical engineering and a M.B.A. in Marketing and Finance from The Ohio State University. He and his wife, Peggy (his high school sweetheart), reside in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. David is father of Melissa, Todd and Michele and grandfather of Megan, Abby, Katie, David, Andrew and Morgan. David Beamer is currently Special Assistant to the President at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee. 
 http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/about.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0