Fort Hays State University

e-Leadership.net Banner

__________________________________________________

Webcast Speaker Series

Throughout the semester, the Department of Leadership Studies and the Office of Civic Engagement, through the American Democracy Project (ADP), present forums and speakers to discuss leadership and different aspects of leadership. Be sure to tune in to this page for a list of available digital recordings of these events.

Topics:

Leadership Studies Speaker Series
Times Talk (ADP)
What's Wrong With Kansas (ADP)

__________________________________________________

Leadership Studies Speaker Series (top)

Maisie DeVoure

Maisie DeVore grew up on a farm near Maple Hill, KS and currently resides in Eskridge, KS. She has four children, Willard, Marilyn, Warren, and Linda. Maisie has 7 grandchildren, 2 stepgrandchildren, and 10 greatgrandchildren.

Growing up on a farm, Maisie would walk around the section (4 miles) and pick up cans. She saw that her children had only one option for socializing in the summer and that was softball and baseball so she decided to start saving for a community swimming pool. She knitted and crocheted afghans and sold them. She had rummage sales, bake sales, made LOTS of jelly and jam, and also sold them. This was all in addition to picking up cans.

In late 1978 Maisie and her family moved into town. She would ask people to save their cans and they would drop them off at the house. Maisie would also drive a route in the country to pick up cans, scrap metals, car batteries and junk from around Wabaunsee County. Maisie raised more than $73,000 on her own from these efforts.

Governor Bill Graves, State of Kansas, presented to Maisie, a matching check of $73,000 from the Local Government Outdoor Recreational Grant program; and, private donations have since been given of $1,000, $5,000, $11,500 and $12,000. (Included among the money Maisie raised was $2,000 from actress Glenn Close, who starred in made-for-television movies based on the “Sarah, Plain and Tall” books).

After the money was raised, the community formed the “DeVore Community Swimming Pool Association”. The pool was completed July 14, 2001 across the street from Maisie’s home.

Now there is hardly a day that goes by that someone doesn't leave cans at Maisie's house. She has a helper, Earl, who lives at the "nursing home". He walks to Maisie's house everyday to see if there are cans and then helps her smash them.

Some words that come to mind when others think of Maisie include:
Big hearted
A Woman of faith
Trustworthy
Dedicated
Stubborn
Outspoken
Open minded

Maisie's a faithful churchgoer, loves to play cards, work in her flower garden, and read. Through her involvement in the pool Maisie has won the local, state, and one of five National Jefferson Awards. Recently the legislature renamed Highway 4 through Wabaunsee County, the Maisie DeVore Highway.

See Maisie's Video or View Maisie's Website

What's Wrong With Kansas(ADP) (top)

What's wrong with Kansas? A lot, according to native Kansan Thomas Frank, whose book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" has fired the interest of television news shows and the nation.

In his book, and in countless TV interviews that have followed, Frank advances the theory that the state of Kansas is rapidly declining into poverty and joblessness, and that right-wing leaders in the state Republican Party are to blame.

" This derangement is the signature expression of the Great Backlash, a style of conservatism that first came snarling onto the national stage in response to the partying and protests of the late sixties," Frank writes. "While earlier forms of conservatism emphasized fiscal sobriety, the backlash mobilizes voters with explosive social issues -- summoning public outrage over everything from busing to un-Christian art -- which it then marries to pro-business economic policies."

Frank argues that voters are duped into voting for conservative Republicans, who never deliver on their promises to right social wrongs and instead put economic policies into place that exploit the very people who put them into office.

On the theory that Kansans should have a voice in this national debate, the university and The Hays Daily News will co-sponsor a public forum beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, April 18, in the Fort Hays Ballroom on the second floor of FHSU's Memorial Union.

The public is not only invited to attend, but also encouraged to participate in the discussion.

" The university has assembled a dynamic panel that should spark a fascinating dialogue about who we are in Kansas -- our politics, our values, our priorities -- and whether or not there's anything wrong with us," said John Montgomery, editor and publisher of The Hays Daily News.

Dr. Chapman Rackaway, assistant professor of political science, will serve as moderator for the forum. "Today's political scene is obsessed with the apparent growing divide between 'red states' and 'blue states,' and Thomas Frank tells us that we've been hoodwinked into being a red state," Rackaway said. "Frank's book is a shot across the bows of us here in western Kansas particularly and a command for us to exercise our political will. Whether the conservative right has simply done a better job at presenting itself to the people of Kansas or is duping the public is for the public to discuss. I hope that lots of people in Hays and all of western Kansas will come out to speak their minds on what, if anything, is really wrong with the politics of Kansas. With an active and engaged citizenry, there is no party that can fool the people."

View the discussion



	Copyright © 2002-2008 Fort Hays State University - 600 Park Street, Hays, Kansas 67601-4099 - 785-628-FHSU (3478) Site Map - Contact Webmaster with any questions or comments concerning this Web site.