Alexandria, VA. - November 29 - Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, newsman and author Jim Lehrer, Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier, and radio host Garrison Keillor are scheduled to address more than 10,000 school board members at the National School Boards Association's Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., March 29-April 1, 2008. The school board conference is the largest gathering of public officials in the nation and showcases world and national leaders who offer encouragement and insights to school leaders.
Sandra Day O'Connor, a Stanford University graduate, became the 102nd justice and the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she served for nearly 25 years, until her retirement in 2006. Once named one of the most powerful women by Forbes magazine, O’Connor provided a decisive swing vote on many of the important issues of our time.
Jim Lehrer is the host of Newshour with Jim Lehrer and the author of 16 novels, two memoirs, and three plays. He has been awarded numerous awards, including the 1999 National Humanities Medal presented by former President and First Lady Clinton. Also in 1999, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
Sidney Poitier, whose career has spanned more than half a century and included both acting and directing, is one of America's most respected and honored entertainers. His recent memoir, The Measure of a Man, was a national best-seller and an Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection. In 1964, Poitier won the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field.
Garrison Keillor began his radio career as a freshman at the University of Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1976 he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. More than 3 million listeners on more than 450 public radio stations hear the show each week.
In addition to these powerful speakers, the conference will also host Lee Woodruff during the popular Fellowship session. Woodruff and her husband Bob are the authors of In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, the best-selling book about their family's difficult journey during Bob's critical injury in Iraq while anchoring for ABC News.
The conference will also feature current national topics affecting education leaders in their local districts and one of the largest expositions of education products and services in the country. For more information or to register, visit the online registration at http://www.nsba.org/conference/register/index.cfm. Housing registration for the conference is now open.
Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association is a not-for-profit federation of state associations of school boards representing 95,000 local school board members throughout the United States. Its mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education through local school board leadership. NSBA represents the school board perspective in working with federal government agencies and national organizations that impact education, and provides vital information and services to state associations of school boards throughout the nation.
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