Five Questions

It's a business with a mission to deliver enlightenment on educational, political, economic and societal issues. The series' guests from 1984 to the present reads like a who's who among world leaders, historians, writers, journalists, economists, politicians and performers. Former Presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford, Madeleine Albright, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Rudolph Giuliani, Dr. Carl Sagan, F.W. de Klerk of South Africa, Pierre Salinger, Barbara Walters, Tom Wolfe and Beverly Sills have all spoken. This year's series offers Ken Burns, the documentary film maker; Mary Matalin and James Carville, political consultants; retired Gen. Tommy R. Franks, former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command; and Stuart Varney, economist and journalist.

Borman tells fans they can expect more of the same, top-notch programming.

What's the history of the Town Hall series?

Jeanne Jones and a partner started it at the Naples Tennis Club 21 years ago. She'd started one in Cleveland before that and also was associated with one in Palm Springs. Eventually she bought out her partner and it grew. They had very good speakers and it moved to the Crystal Ballroom at the Registry Resort and Club many years ago. Several years ago, she had a series of strokes and her husband, Ted Jones, a lawyer in Cleveland, took over and has run the business for her. It is such a unique thing for the community, that when he decided to sell he didn't want to put it on the open market. He quietly discussed the possibility of buying it with a few people. Barbara and I had been benefactors for the last six or seven years. We bid on it and closed in October last year.

What's the purpose of Town Hall?

The vision of the Naples-Fort Myers Town Hall is a nonpartisan, public forum; it is a business that offers four lectures a year, drawing more than 1,000 people. After the lectures, about 400 benefactors and sponsors attend cocktails and dinner in the Crystal Ballroom, followed by a question- and-answer session with the speaker. Many times, that's the most interesting part of the event.

What kind of speakers do you try to book?

Ted Jones is acting as a consultant. In November, we were in New York visiting the three leading speakers bureaus and early in December, we traveled to Washington, D.C., to see two more, so we're talking with five of the leading companies, planning who we might want and be able to get next year. We don't get the dates from the Registry until August or September, but we're already planning 2005. For example, Lord Robinson is retiring from NATO in January so we're working on whether he might be available.

What kinds of challenges are there in booking high-profile individuals?

The challenges vary by the speaker. Two years ago, when we had Ehud Barak of Israel, and seven or eight years ago, when we had the Hon. Shimon Peres, the security was very, very tight. The Registry does a good job of handling that.

What sort of changes do you expect to make?

Don't look for a great deal of change. The way I have tried to present myself is we're trying to make this a seamless change.