Media Release

The first speaker is Mike Mullen on Saturday, January 18, 2014. Admiral Mullen was chief of Naval Operations,  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the U.S. Armed Forces and the president’s principal military advisor from 2007-2011.  During his career, he commanded the USS Noxubee, USS Goldsborough, USS Yorktown, the George Washington Battle Group and the U.S. Second Fleet.

Mullen’s last operational assignment, in 2005, was as commander, NATO’s Joint Force Command Naples/commander U.S. Naval Forces Europe, leading the Alliance’s peacekeeping operations in the Balkans and its training mission in Iraq. He guided the U.S. Armed Forces through difficult phases in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and oversaw humanitarian operations from Haiti to Japan. The first chairman of the Joint Chiefs to have attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School, Mullen has a unique perspective on America’s global position and how the U.S. economic health affects national security. His dedication to the diversity and integrity of the U.S. Armed Forces informed his decision to support repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Passionate about the welfare of our troops, Mullen continues to work on support initiatives, including suicide prevention and veteran employment.

The remaining speakers included Robert Ballard on Saturday, February 8, 2014. Deep-sea Archaeologist, Ballard, is best known for his discovery of the Titanic, the Bismarck, the USS Yorktown and John F. Kennedy’s PT-109; Jon Meacham on Saturday, March 1, 2014; Pulitzer Prize winning author Meacham is an accomplished historian with a deep knowledge of politics, religion and current affairs and on Saturday, March 22, 2014, Jon Huntsman, Jr. Former Utah Governor Huntsman has lived a remarkable life in business and in public service including a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.TheEmersonCenter.org or by calling the Box Office at 772-778-5249.

The Emerson Center, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach, is conveniently located at 1590 27^th Avenue, on the SE corner of 16^th Street and 27^th Avenue and has more than 300 parking spaces, an auditorium that seats over 800 people in comfortable padded seating, a raised stage that offers everyone unrestricted views, and professional state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. Ask about the new elevator to the 2^nd floor balcony and the seating for the physically challenged.