CAPE MAY – Join the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) for the latest lecture in the annual Lessons of History series on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. at Cape May Convention Hall, Beach Avenue at Stockton Place, Cape May. Admiral Thad Allen USCG (retired), 23rd Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, will present “Always Ready: Stories of Leadership and Unity During Crisis.”
Admiral Allen’s illustrious Coast Guard career was punctuated by two extraordinary assignments, which are exemplary of the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus (“Always Ready”) and which each demanded extraordinary leadership ability. In 2005, President Bush placed Admiral Allen in charge of Hurricane Katrina onsite search-and-rescue and recovery efforts, due to Allen’s demonstrated leadership capabilities. Given his reputation for successfully dealing with a national crisis, in 2010, President Obama assigned Admiral Allen as National Incident Commander to take charge of the total federal government response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Over the arc of its history, the Coast Guard has been called upon by the nation’s leaders to address a range of emergent national priorities and crises. Manmade and natural disasters, coupled with the constant need for enforcement of laws and regulations, has challenged the Coast Guard. The spectrum of the Coast Guard’s mission is wide and little understood. It straddles both the military and law enforcement worlds. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in both U.S. waters and on the high seas. The Coast Guard enforces U.S. laws and treaties focused on conducting multi-agency counter-drug operations, interdicting illegal migrants and contraband, protecting living marine resources, ensuring maritime homeland security and helping to stem weapons proliferation, among other critical tasks.
This lecture is co-sponsored by MAC and Martel & Associates (Myles & Leslie Martel). A Meet the Lecturer reception will follow at 5:30 p.m. at The Mainstay Inn. Tickets are limited for this event. Lecture tickets may be purchased for $40; lecture and reception tickets are $70. To purchase tickets or for more information, please call (609) 884-5404 or visit www.capemaymac.org.
The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) is a multifaceted not-for-profit organization committed to promoting the preservation, interpretation and cultural enrichment of the Cape May region for its residents and visitors. MAC membership is open to all. For information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals and special events, call (609) 884-5404 or (800) 275-4278, or visit MAC’s website at www.capemaymac.org.