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Impressionism in Connecticut: Artist Colonies in Old Lyme and Beyond

At the turn of the last century, Connecticut became home to several art colonies dedicated to Impressionism. Join Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, for an illustrated overview of artist colonies along the Connecticut coast. Painters such as Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf, and John Henry Twachtman visited from New York or Boston and often set down roots in Old Lyme, Cos Cob, and Mystic to form communities where they could thrive professionally and personally in a changing art world.

Amy Kurtz Lansing is Curator at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT. A specialist in nineteenth and twentieth-century art, she has organized or co-organized an array of exhibitions on American paintings, sculpture, and photography. She has been a speaker on many topics including talks on Connecticut Artist Colonies at The Bruce and The Darien Museum. Her current exhibition is about Pop artist Leo Jensen and she is preparing an exhibition of American Impressionism for summer 2024 in honor of the style’s 150^th anniversary. Kurtz Lansing has worked with contemporary artists such as Tina Barney, Patrick Dougherty, Dana Sherwood, and James Welling on exhibitions and site-specific commissions, and led interpretation for the Museum’s Robert F. Schumann Artists’ Trail. She graduated from Smith College and received a Master of Philosophy in the History of Art from Yale University. Prior to her arrival at the Florence Griswold Museum, Kurtz Lansing worked in the Department of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Yale University Art Gallery.

Speaker Summary

Florence Griswold Museum curator Amy Kurtz Lansing took us through a fast-paced and detailed history of the Impressionist colonies that sprung up in Connecticut in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. She began with a discussion of their roots in similar colonies in the Barbizon and Giverny communes in France where several American Impressionists were exposed to both the Impressionist style of art and the colony approach to living and working with their peers as they worked on their craft. This ultimately led to the development of several similar colonies in Connecticut when these American artists returned home. Amy spent most of her time talking about three of the largest and best-known colonies in Cos Cob, Old Lyme and Mystic/Noank while referencing that there were several others, including one in the Silvermine section of Norwalk.

She noted that the European colonies were typically in rural areas with easy access and exposure to the outdoors/nature which fit well with the focus on landscapes for most of the paintings both in the European and then the American/Connecticut colonies. Several American artists trained there and, upon returning home, Charles Davis began what became the first art colony in Mystic. While it did not begin as a colony, it became one when he invited others to join him for economic reasons. Connecticut appears to have been chosen as a home for these colonies due to its geographic location and easy access from New York and Boston, and the appeal of its natural subject matter with the many forests, harbors, rivers, coves, pastures, etc., which were reminiscent of the areas in France that had fed this artistic movement.

Amy talked extensively about two of the boarding houses that became mainstays of the colonies and Student Arts League summer sessions – The Bush Holley House in Cos Cob and the Florence Griswold House in Old Lyme. She then spent time talking about what drove specific aspects of the colonies – and the leading artists – in each of these colonies. She shared images of their artwork and photographs of the members of the colonies and noted that, while they were there primarily for the art, there was also a strong sense of community, friendship, comradery, and fun that existed in the colonies. She also mentioned that the colonies were very much focused on the traditional colonial look and feel of the communities with great respect for its history and tradition. This made the groups very welcomed by the towns they were in since their focus was more on celebrating the history than trying to change things.

Amy followed with a discussion of how the summer sessions became more permanent in the early 1900’s as artists began to settle in these areas and the colonies became more artist-run art societies versus transient boarding houses. She noted that this ultimately was the time period when art became a legitimate means to make a living. She closed with a brief discussion of the winding down of the movement as Impressionism gave way to more contemporary forms and approaches to art, but the work and history lives on today through the many museums that still feature the work of the colonies’ artists, including The Bruce in Greenwich and The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme.

Video Presentation

Birding Basics — The Where, What and How of Bird Watching

DMA member, Alec Wiggin, is going to talk to us about birds—what to see, where to see’em and what’s so darned special about them.  He will acquaint us with some of the basics regarding the more common species and their behavior, and then alert us to where and how to acquire not only these “usuals” but also some of the “semi-exotics” –those that require a bit more effort to find but are an absolute gas to observe!

Thankfully, Connecticut is favorably situated on the migration route or flyway, as it is known, for many species traveling between their respective breeding grounds and their winter habitats, making for a constant remixing of our species. So, much like our New England weather, if you don’t like what you’re looking at, just wait a bit. It’s about to change.

Alec Wiggin grew up in Darien and returned when he purchased the house he grew up in from his dad where he and his wife, Gail, subsequently raised their two children, Teke and Amary. Alec attended Hindley and Mather Junior High Schools before attending boarding school in New Jersey. He was admitted to Harvard College and a few years later enrolled in Columbia Business School. Armed with his MBA, he went off to Wall Street like many other classmates.

Five years later Alec went into business with his wife. Together they ran a small company specializing in brand strategy and marketing communications, with a client base tilted toward investment managers. After a stretch of twenty-eight years—which included two near-bankruptcy episodes—and with their kids well out of the house and the gargantuan mortgage fairly well paid down, he and Gail folded the company in 2016. Now retired, they are both at liberty to engage more deeply in their interests. For Alec, this emphatically includes today’s topic: Birds.

Speaker Summary

Bird-watching enthusiast Alec Wiggin gave an entertaining, educational and highly engaging talk about “birding” in our area. He was then joined by bird-watching expert Gina Nichol for an extended Q&A session. Alec’s knowledge and passion for his topic were obvious as was that of the DMA members in attendance as evidenced by the number and breadth of questions/comments during his talk and the Q&A.

Alec started with some bird basics – mating, life span, migration (including the fact that, to some birds who summer much farther north, Darien might be where they spend the winter or, as Alec stated, be their Miami Beach). He talked about bird calls versus songs and shared audio of both for several varieties of birds in our area while including some fun facts about several of the birds including that groups of each variety have different names (roost, gaggle, college, radiance, etc.) and that it is a serious birding transgression to confuse them!

Alec talked about why Connecticut is a great birding area thanks to its many forests, ponds, and large coastline. He then discussed several great locations to bird watch in Connecticut including Fourteen Acre Pond in Norwalk, Great Island in Darien, Sherwood Island in Westport and Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison – noting what varieties of birds you might find at each.

Alec pointed out that “Warbler Season” is just around the corner, talking about the 44 different species of warblers in the area (and that each warbler weighs only 1/3 to 1/2 ounce). He noted that Sellecks Woods in Darien is an especially good place to see and hear them. Alec then touched briefly on conservation issues as well as birding equipment before taking questions, along with Gina, in a session that lasted for over 30 minutes thanks to the enthusiastic response by the audience.

Alec provided a handout of bird watching information (if anyone wants this electronically, contact Alec or Frank DeLeo) and encouraged anyone who is interested in learning more to befriend a birder since “birders like birders” and would be happy to help you get started, learn more, or share experiences.

Video Presentation

“I Had Such a Good Time, I Should Be Doing time”.  How WPLR Became a Progressive Rock Radio Powerhouse in the 70’s.

Veteran radio marketer and innovator Dick Kalt will tell his story of moving from Detroit to Connecticut in 1970 and then joining the management team of WPLR-FM where he helped create one of the most listened-to radio stations on the east coast. He’ll talk about the numerous on-air and in-market promotional campaigns he developed as General Manager that contributed to WPLR’s success, culminating in being named Billboard’s Station of the Year in 1977 and building a reputation as a heritage Progressive Rock station throughout the Northeast that lives on today.

Dick will tell an entertaining story of how WPLR made rock & roll history in the 70’s using breakthrough promotional approaches including live events, high profile interviews and more to create awareness and a powerful brand image for the station.

Dick Kalt is a retired Executive Vice President at CRN International and Sounds Great, LLC. He is a veteran marketing strategist and innovator and was a partner in radio marketing organization CRN International, which holds the rare distinction of being named three separate times to INC. magazine’s list of Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies. An expert in breakthrough digital technologies and monitoring consumer behavior and trends, Dick stayed on the cutting edge of marketing techniques and tactics and has been able to identify new growth segments, and media consumption characteristics including multicultural and generational market segments. Dick was inducted as a Charter Member of the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame in 2007.

Dick also managed several sports radio networks (including the New York Giants during their first Super Bowl winning season) and has or still does lecture at several local universities including Columbia, Yale, Brown, Boston College and the University of New Haven.

Speaker suggested by Charles Salmans.

Speaker Summary

Westport/Weston Y’s Men Director of Communications Dick Kalt regaled us with the story of how his move from Detroit to Connecticut to improve his family’s life, together with some bad and good fortune, created the opportunity to be part of the creation and building of Connecticut’s first (and best) progressive rock radio station. He then shared insights into what drove the strategies behind the creation of the station’s programming and marketing, providing entertaining examples of the many innovative approaches and programs he and his team developed that resulted in the creation of a compelling product and brand with sustained excellence, success, and relevance 52 years later.

Dick focused a great deal on the go-to-market strategy that was built around differentiating WPLR from its competition including: programming that was scheduled to capitalize on when the competition was running ads; fewer ads to offer more music; selling FM converters for cars to broaden audience retention and availability; and programming that was driven less by the traditional “Top 40” and more by the creation of play lists by each DJ that reflected their approach to storytelling and connecting with the audience. He noted that the on-air talent “looked like the station sounded” – including a funny story about Stoneman, the 6-12 PM jock with a penchant for warning listeners about police activities to help them avoid/evade trouble.

The biggest thing Dick talked about and shared was how he helped pioneer BIG events and promotions to drive awareness and help create a distinct identity for the station. He talked about capitalizing on Jerry Lewis’ presence in New Haven in 1971 (WPLR’s first year) for a Muscular Dystrophy telethon to get him to perform/headline the first ever official radiothon that raised $20,000 for MD. And how this then became an annual event when Jerry Lewis asked him to repeat it the following year (with NY radio jock Don Imus also appearing). He also shared how DJ Bob Dark did his show naked (including being photographed) with the story appearing in Playgirl – and how this dramatically improved the “exposure” for the station.

Dick talked about how his philosophy of “if you don’t try it, it won’t happen” led to a phone call and one hour on-air discussion with John Lennon, and how activities ranging from a series of in-studio concerts for 100 listeners featuring top bands, to being billed as the presenter for concerts by the leading rock promoters in New Haven, to running BIG promotions that gave away big prizes (funded by the sponsors) all contributed to creating a large, successful station and brand.

One of Dick’s last examples also reflected his belief that there was more to this than just creating and growing the brand by talking about the creation of the U.S. National 20K Championship as a charitable event in 1977 and how it continues to this day.  All part of his story about creating the Best Rock station in Connecticut.

Here is the video f his talk: Dick Kalt’s Talk 

Planning for Darien’s Future 

Speaker Summary

The Sports Betting Market

Sports betting is a large and growing market, fueled by the legalization of betting in many states and the explosion of on-line betting. Industry expert Shaun Kelley will provide his perspectives on the industry, the drivers of growth, who are the key players, and what the future may hold.

Shaun Kelley is a Managing Director in Americas Equity Research covering Gaming, Lodging and Leisure, based in New York. He joined Bank of America in 2004 and has covered his current sectors since 2008. Kelley has been ranked in the Top 3 of Institutional Investor’s annual Americas research poll for 10 of the last 11 years, was Runner-Up in 2009 and received an Honorable Mention in 2008. He also ranked Top 3 in the Greenwich Research Associates Poll from 2009-2013. Prior to joining Bank of America, he was an investment banking analyst and associate in technology, media and telecom, primarily at JPMorgan. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Speaker Summary

Shaun gave an in-depth, fast-paced analysis of the history, explosive growth, current status and future projections for the on-line “gaming” (an industry euphemism for gambling) industry. He noted that this is a business that is in its infancy, having only begun in 2018 when a lower court ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court no longer making it illegal (versus legal) to place bets on line. New Jersey became the first state to allow the activity, rapidly followed by 37 others.

Shaun shared key industry terms that are used to define and explain the economics of the business followed by a brief (since its only 5 years old) timeline of the industry. He then shared the rapid growth from $0 in 2018 to $16B today with a projected CAGR of 27% between 2021 and 2026 and a 15% CAGR on an on-going basis. He distinguished between on-line casino betting (i-gaming) and on-line sports betting (OSB), where the latter drives the market’s size with the former currently allowed in only 5 states. He noted that OSB is seen as more acceptable and, in some ways, rationalized as “entertainment” versus “gambling”.

He explained how the industry has grown at double the initially projected rate due to 3 key factors: many more states have allowed betting sooner than expected; consumers have increased how much they bet (Betting Per Adult has tripled and is still growing); and, the Hold or Win Rate (how much casinos win per bet) has doubled and is still growing.  This last factor has been driven by shifting the kind of bets from single items to parlays of “layered” bets (e.g., the game + the score + highest scoring player) which have a much lower chance of being won. Shaun noted that knowledgeable bettors rarely bet parlays due to significantly lower odds of winning them (parlays represent 27% of dollars bet but 59% of casino winnings/hold rate).

Shaun spent a great deal of time talking about how the industry has evolved largely into a data/analytics-driven business where the betting companies use sophisticated algorithms and customer betting data/history to quickly identify (after as few as 5 bets by an individual) “sharps” (smart bettors) versus “whales” (bettors placing lower probability bets) to individualize and target their marketing efforts to drive their handle and hold rates. So, this industry seems to be as much about data and analytics as it is about providing a means of enabling consumers to place bets on sports events. Shaun noted that the two dominant players in the industry have the most resources and are best at this aspect of the business.

Shaun then spent time showing the breakdown of betting by sport (basketball being largest due to the number of games and the number of bets on individual players) as well as how seasonality impacts betting by sport.  Finally, he shared data on the number of players in the market (by business type/segment – front-end brands, license partners, tech players, media partners, etc).) and how the industry has rapidly consolidated behind two major players (Draft Kings and Fan Duel) and a third significant player when i-gaming is factored in (Bet MGM), and how the economics/cost-of-entry requires scale and share dominance to make the economics of the industry work for individual companies.

He closed with a brief discussion of the risks facing the industry with the greatest likely being efforts to regulate the industry as concerns about addiction and the negative outcomes of betting on the consumer emerge. But he also noted that, when compared to traditional casino gambling and lotteries, on-line betting is projected to be large but much smaller than these other betting outlets.

Presentation video: The Sports Betting Market

The Jewish State and the Palestinians: How They Came to be Neighbors and Can They Co-Exist

As seems always to be the case, to fully understand current events it helps to have a solid historical perspective. So it is with the ongoing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. Mark Albertson has been providing DMA with important history lessons for many years. To this end, Mark will discuss how the Jewish State and the Palestinians came to be neighbors and if they can co-exist. While this history lesson certainly goes back to post-war 1947-48, it also must go back even further. Mark will cover the region of “Palestine” going back to the early 20th century and even further back 100 years before that to help us understand the various claims the two sides have on this territory. As with any of Mark’s presentations, it promises to be lively and provocative.

Mark Albertson is the historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine in Monroe and the historian for the Army Aviation Association of America. Mark has taught history, current events and politics at Norwalk Community College for the Extended Studies Program and the Lifetime Learners Institute. He has published articles in newspapers and magazines and has authored six books. Mark presents in a wide variety of venues on a wide variety of topics, including several previous talks to the DMA. Not counting teaching requirements, he presents upwards of 250 times per year.

Speaker arranged by Tom Lom.

Speaker Summary

Mark took us through his perspective on how the recent struggles and violence in the Middle East is a topical but not new chapter in the Great Game where most battles for power revolve around an underlying fight for the resources in and around the embattled territories. He started with an overview of the evolution of the area that was previously all within the Ottoman Empire and started to come apart with the 1914 onset of WWI and the growth of nationalization. He then took us through a discussion of how this led to plans and agreements to split up the territory to access/control its resources (primarily oil as well as access via the Suez Canal) among the Italians, British, French and Russians. This ultimately fell apart as the local Arab states fought back and threw out all the groups except the British by the early 1920’s.

He quickly progressed to WWII, the end of British as a world power and the emergence of the US and USSR as the leading global powers and how our role in the Middle East was driven largely by its importance for its resources. He referenced and gave examples from historical speeches and papers that, in his view, demonstrated that US foreign policy was primarily economically driven to maintain the US’ role as the world’s dominant power and the dollar as the world’s dominant currency, especially following the fall of the USSR, rather than any ideological goals around spreading democracy, protecting human rights, and other Western values.

Mark then pivoted to a discussion of the emergence of China’s understated role in the Middle East and how they have become so critical thanks to their role as primary/principal purchasers of Iranian and Saudi oil which has enabled them to have a key role – and protected position – in the region.  He noted how, despite the on-going attacks in the area, China ships have been spared.

In discussing the Israeli/Palestinian struggles directly, he again linked this to the battle for resources and specifically referenced the offshore gas reserves that are so valuable to Israel and that will likely impact their willingness to compromise on control of the Palestinian territory.  In response to a specific question about the potential for a 2-state solution Mark believes it will not happen and/or it would be defined as Israeli control of Israel and Israeli military control of the Palestinian territory.

Mark closed with comments about how 10- or 20-year efforts to democratize this world against centuries of rule by autocratic empires and leaders have consistently ended in failure and he has little reason to believe this will demonstrably change.  A more constant reality will be the chess game played by countries looking to control and overtake others for their resources, which is the ultimate goal in the Great Game.

Video Presentation 

Distant Journeys Through South America

International documentary photographer and explorer Daryl Hawk will give a special photography presentation and lecture entitled “Distant Journeys Through South America”. This presentation is a culmination of many of Hawk’s favorite excursions throughout South America. He will be sharing work from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Patagonia, and Cuba. He’ll discuss his nonstop, day-to-day adventures, experiences and discoveries, and the valuable lessons he learned on these incredibly spiritual journeys. Hawk will share his style, philosophy, and the various techniques he uses when photographing subject matter. Equipment, lighting on location, environmental portraits, and travel tips on South America will all be covered.

For the past thirty years, Daryl Hawk has explored some of the most remote and isolated places in the world telling stories with his camera. His photographs often appear in numerous magazines and publications worldwide. He is a member of the Explorers Club, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and member of the Professional Photographers Association. He has been featured several times on NBC’s “Today Show” and Fox 5 television.

Hawk is the author of five published photography books. “Distant Journeys” consists of 250 color images from the Arctic, the Andes, Patagonia, Antarctica, Bhutan, New Zealand, India and much more. “Quiet Moments” is a compilation of 150 black and white images of nature, nautical scenes, New York City, and images from around New England. “White Pond” is a tribute to a small lake in New Hampshire. “Manhattan” is a color retrospective with 250 landscapes, architecture, and street scenes of New York City. His latest book “Into the Heart of Cuba” consists of 300 images from his recent solo circumnavigation around Cuba.

Daryl is the former host and producer of the television show “The Unconventional Traveler” which features some of the world’s leading explorers, travel photographers and filmmakers sharing their work from various expeditions and documentaries. He produced over 100 shows over a 10-year period and some of his guests included Jane Goodall, Buzz Aldrin, Reinhold Messner and George Schaller.

For more information on Daryl Hawk, please go to his websites: www.darylhawk.com.

Speaker Summary

“Unconventional Traveler” Daryl Hawk took us on a photo tour of South America and Cuba while sharing his philosophy, inspiration, approach, and goals when undertaking his photo trips.  He showed photos from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia before ending with a detailed presentation and discussion of his special passion for Cuba and, especially, the Cuban people. Throughout his talk, his dual focus on capturing the natural beauty of the countries and the spirit, soul and culture of the people was very transparent, reflecting his goal of telling stories of substance and beauty.

Hawk’s journey began years ago when his primary medium was slide photography. With a grandfather that was a photographer and parents that were travelers, Hawk knew early on that he wanted to be a travel photographer. He talked about being inspired by travel (versus nature) photographers and made several references to the style and material he found in National Geographic.

Daryl talked about having a loose but thoughtful plan for his 2-4 week trips that enable him to hit the ground running while offering enough flexibility to react to opportunities that presented themselves. He emphasized the importance of a driver that knew the area well to get the most out of his time spent seeing places in new ways, with his camera as his way of capturing his view of the world. He mentioned several times about making each trip an immersive experience.

Hawk shared many portraits of the typically happy, smiling, engaging faces of people he encountered, generally dressed in colorful garb and often engaging in the cultural activities of each country. Within his South American photo collection, he spent the most time sharing images of the natural beauty of Patagonia in southern Argentina with especially stunning photos of the Fitzroy range.

Daryl then transitioned to a detailed photo essay of Cuba, focusing primarily on Western Cuba where he shared engaging photos of a country and people in many ways still reflective of the Cuba of the 1950’s. There was a great focus on the colorful and beautifully restored (or so it seemed) classic cars of this era (he referred to this area of Cuba as “car heaven”).  He then spent a great deal of time talking about his connection to the Cuban people, his love and support for their resilience and warmth despite their challenging lives, and how it inspired him to return regularly with the explicit goal of finding ways to help these people and support local businesses and entrepreneurs. This has led him to create a private tour business making annual trips to Cuba which he has visited 8 times since 2014.

Helicopter Pilot in the “Helicopter War” — The War in Vietnam

In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s almost all Americans participated in some way in the Vietnam war. We were either fighting in Vietnam, worried parents, brothers, sisters or spouses of those fighting, watching it on TV every night or resisting American participation in the war. Jay’s plan is to let us know about one young man’s year as a helicopter pilot in the heat of the battle in the war that was often referred to as “the helicopter war” due to the key role these versatile aircraft played in the war.

In 1968 US Army 1^st Lieutenant Jay Dirnberger was assigned to the 1^st Cavalry Division’s 227^th Assault Helicopter Battalion. He served as a flight platoon leader and operations officer. Jay participated in the Tet Offensive in the city of Hue, the siege of Khe Sanh and the invasion of the Ashau Valley. He was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with 22 oak leaf clusters and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. Jay returned to the US as a captain and was assigned to the 18^th Airborne Corp at Ft. Bragg (renamed Fort Liberty) where he was an aide to the commanding general. Jay left the service in November 1970.

Speaker Summary

Jay shared the very personal and real story of how he came to serve in Viet Nam, what his service entailed, the dynamics and role of his Huey helicopter unit, and their missions. His down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-was approach resonated with the audience which included several DMA members who served in Viet Nam. It also provided insight and perspective for those who did not serve but to whom the Viet Nam War served as a key element in our lives given its role in the culture and politics of the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s. Jay shared how a reunion of Viet Nam helicopter crews at an event 5 years ago at which he was interviewed for a Library of Congress documentary led him to create his talk to share his experiences.

Jay offered a theme about ordinary people from all walks of life being called to duty to create a team to meet and take on the challenges of war. It mattered not where you were from or what your background was, but what you could contribute to the team. And he emphasized how everyone doing their job and making it work was the critical element of success. His statistics on the number of lost helicopters (6000) and that 10% of the 58,000 U.S. lives lost in the war were helicopter crews put the danger of the work done by the helicopter corps in perspective.

Jay shared an almost naïve journey about how being a draftee right out of college destined to serve as a military postal clerk evolved into putting in for Officer Candidate School and then flight training with an underlying belief that the war would soon be over. Instead, he was deployed to Viet Nam arriving on January 1, 1968, just in advance of the TET Offensive. He then took us through a detailed but matter-of-fact discussion of a series of missions and what his job and those of his helicopter units entailed including the challenges offered by the terrain/geography, enemy fire, and the role of “luck” that sometimes spelled the difference between life and death.

He noted that the reason he (and others) did what they did was less about some sense of duty to our country but out of duty to the men fighting on the front lines who depended on the helicopter units to bring them in and, generally more harrowingly, out from the battles they were fighting. He also shared his thoughts on how the rotational nature of the crews constantly coming and going negatively impacted the cohesion of the teamwork so critical to the success of the teams. Throughout, his focus on teamwork, cohesion, coming together and doing your job were common themes for success.

While Jay spent little time talking about the feelings of those serving as it pertained to the broader cultural and political perspectives in the country at the time, during the ensuing Q & A he shared some thoughts about this including how his arrival back home from his service felt somewhat hollow for the lack of appreciation and homecoming welcome experienced by those who served in other wars.

Video presentation to the DMA.  We apologize to our speaker for the technical issues

Video Presentation to Y’s Men of Westport and Weston in 2023 

How Jazz and Blues Became “America’s Music”

African American-derived music, in the form of jazz and blues, exploded into mainstream American culture one hundred years ago. Using original recordings as examples, author Tim Brooks will trace how and why, during a relatively short period of time, the relatively staid, Victorian sounds of the 19th and early 20th centuries era gave way to a multiplicity of musical currents that became truly “America’s music.”

Tim Brooks is the author of nine books on media history, including Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry: 1890-1919, which lays the groundwork for this era, and The Blackface Minstrel Show in Mass Media: 20th Century Performances on Radio, Records, Film and Television. His books have won many awards, including the American Book Award and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for best book on music. He has also produced a number of reissue CDs, is a three-time Grammy nominee and won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Reissue for the companion CD to Lost Sounds. He is the current president of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, a national organization of recording scholars and archivists.

Speaker Summary

Music historian Tim Brooks took us through the evolution of jazz and blues on the American music scene, how it impacted American culture, and the cultural and musical roles of blacks in America due to the jazz and blues movements. He began (and ended) with a perspective by Anton Dvorak regarding “Negro music” as core to the American musical identity and how, through jazz and blues, this grew and evolved to become “America’s music”. Using original recordings from as early as the 1910’s, Brooks traced the rapid evolution of both forms in the 1920’s and beyond.

Tim talked about the role of early musical recording technology and the dominance of 3 companies/labels (largely protected by patents) that largely created a middle class white recorded music industry. This was done purely from the perspective of economics since that’s who could afford to buy the equipment and recordings. He discussed how the emergence of the first jazz recording in 1917 – coincident with the expiration of these patents – created the opportunity for smaller labels to enter the jazz scene. This opened the door for the emergence of many performers, including many blacks, in this new musical genre. He talked about the splintering of jazz into multiple styles (he noted at least 6), each contributing stars and now “classic” songs that helped further the growth of jazz and its different styles. These included Louis Armstrong (Dixieland), George Gershwin (Symphonic) and Duke Ellington (Sophisticated Big Band), among others. It also fed the emergence of jazz “personalities” and many popular songs that are often identified with jazz even when they weren’t written for jazz.

Tim then pivoted to discuss how the blues evolved simultaneously with jazz as the other arm of black-inspired music that helped define America’s music identity. It’s turning point was the 1^st blues recording by a small label in 1920 that sold well among black consumers and helped drive the emergence of blues to attract/appeal to this new market opportunity. Other labels jumped into the market and many black, and female, singers emerged and dominated this space.  As with jazz, blues also began to splinter but less so than jazz with 3 primary styles emerging – Delta, Urban and Country Music.

Brooks noted that, by the 30’s and 40’s, both jazz and blues had become a core part of American music and how black musicians /performers had become core along with them. He showed how each genre further evolved into additional musical styles (including rock & roll from blues).

Tim ended by musing back on Dvorak’s comment about “Negro music”, how African-American derived music had become the folk music of America, and how the integration of black music into the mainstream contributed to the integration of black performers (and blacks, in general) further into the American cultural mainstream.

Video Presentation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   An Update on the War in Ukraine: What’s at Stake for the U.S.

As Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine nears the two-year mark, fears mount that there will be a disruption in crucial US aid to Ukraine. While Ukrainians continue to endure Russian bombardments, Russia’s determination to keep fighting is based on expectations of reduced Western support to continue the war effort. In her talk, Olena Lennon will take stock of the current battlefield dynamics, discuss future paths forward, and what’s at stake for the US.

Olena Lennon, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven, where she teaches such courses as the U.S. Foreign & Defense Policy and International Relations. Formerly a Fulbright scholar from Ukraine, and most recently a scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., she has dedicated her research to the study of conflict management and identity politics in eastern Europe, focused on domestic and foreign policy of Ukraine. An eastern Ukraine native, Dr. Lennon has been a regular participant in scholarly and media forums related to issues in Ukraine, facilitating a more informed and objective analysis of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. She also serves as an election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and has completed several election observation missions in the region. Her work appeared in Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, Demokratizatsiya, Eurasian Geography and Economics, and other outlets.

Speaker suggested by Jan Selkowitz

Speaker Summary

Dr. Lennon provided an in-depth, insightful, and often discouraging talk on the state of the War in Ukraine, the costs of the war, the dangers if Ukraine doesn’t emerge victorious and the likelihood of significant progress in the near-term based on her extensive knowledge of the region, the cultural and political realities of the countries involved, and what’s at stake for both sides. In the process, she lent valuable insights into misperceptions about how Russians likely view the war, why Ukrainians see no option other than continuing to fight, and why anything short of a Ukrainian victory creates risks to the US and the West. Her views were framed by her experience studying wars and foreign relations in the area as well as having lived in (and having on-going connections to) the southeastern region of Ukraine.

Olena began with an up-to-the-minute report on recent activities in Ukraine (literally from the night before her talk) and laid out the premise that there will be no military solution to the war but that there is currently no viable political solution, so the military battle will continue. And she doesn’t expect an end to the war anytime soon due to the intransigence on both sides.

She shared “statistics” from the war:  casualties, displaced populations, infrastructure destruction, impact on the Ukrainian economy, global food supply impact, and, especially, the “genocidal” impact of the Russians “repatriating” 6000 Ukrainian children to Russia. This served as evidence of the Russian “way of war” and why it makes it impossible for Ukrainians to do anything but commit to fight for as long as necessary to survive.

Olena spoke to how recent Russian escalations reflect the damage inflected by the Ukrainians, retaliation for Russian Navy humiliations, and Putin’s need to push harder to deliver on his promise to “liberate” Ukraine in advance of his upcoming election. She noted a stalemate in terms of territorial progress of the war, but rejected the notion there’s a true stalemate because both sides continue to believe they can win, and that defeat is unacceptable, so they will fight on.  As a result, her prognosis for the near term seemed discouraging and pessimistic as the fight drags on. And, while talking to Ukraine’s strategic gains, including a more consolidated identity and unity as a democratic nation, she made it clear that much of the motivation to continue fighting was about survival and avoiding future generations from fighting the same war as much as about fighting for democratic ideals.

Dr. Lennon also made it clear that hopes/expectations that Russians would rise up to overthrow Putin and the Russian government were inconsistent with the Russian cultural, political and military system. In fact, the long-term view of Russians is about maintaining and protecting their sovereignty and that they view the fight to regain their territory to be justified. Additionally, they also know that engaging in political insurgency is a formula for certain personal disaster, and the benefits of war (for those fighting and their survivors should they die), is great. So, the Russian people will not likely be the source of instability and threat to Putin and, in fact, she thinks the war would likely outlive Putin if he were to no longer be in power.

Olena closed with a discussion of risks to the US if Ukraine loses ranging from lost deterrence credibility to further challenges from hostile governments to the cost of needing to support insurgent warfare since Ukrainians will continue to fight regardless of any “formal” agreement that reflects Russian victory. In this context, she emphasized that the “deal” the US and West have had so far has been pretty good with no loss of life and largely providing resources from old stockpiles. The key to a better 2024 and future for the war is the willingness of the US to continue to invest and support these efforts. But she worries that foreign policy and wars have historically been used for political agendas, especially in election years.

A detailed and lively Q&A session that enabled Dr. Lennon to expand upon and reinforce many of her points and perspectives followed.

Video Presentation

The British East India Company – How a Corporation Conquered and Colonized India

 It is well known that India was once a colony of Britain. However, most people don’t know that India was colonized not by the British government but by a for-profit British corporation listed on the London Stock Exchange – The East India Company. This company became the most powerful corporation in history, controlling half the world’s trade and ruling an entire country. It had its own private army which, at its peak, numbered 200,000 soldiers, more than twice the size of the British army itself. Sunil will tell the amazing story of how this company, led by a band of opportunistic, greedy, and ruthless adventurers, managed to rule an entire subcontinent from a boardroom in the city of London.

Sunil was born in Lucknow, India in 1944. He graduated high school from La Martiniere College, Lucknow and received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

He worked at Union Carbide India before proceeding to University of California at Berkeley for graduate work. He received both a masters degree in engineering as well as an MBA from Berkeley. He worked as a Mechanical Engineer at American Can Company in San Francisco where his claim to fame is that he designed the machine that puts the can cover on the beer can making it safe for you beer drinkers to imbibe. For the majority of his career, Sunil was in finance: first, as an international banker with Bankers Trust Company serving in Mumbai, Singapore and New York and then, as an investment advisor with Fidelity Investments from which he retired in 2004.

Speaker Summary

Sunil told the fascinating story of the rise and fall of the East India Company based heavily on William Dalrymple’s book, “The Anarchy”. Sunil detailed how a publicly-traded British trading company with humble beginnings founded in 1599 with plans to primarily trade in spices in Indonesia and surrounding islands grew into the most powerful company in the world with control over the world’s richest country – India. He talked about how they were enabled by the British government through a royal charter awarding them a monopoly on all trade between England and Asia and furthered by the first example of corporate lobbying in Parliament to help maintain their power.

Sunil discussed the fall of the Mughal empire in India that facilitated the progressive growth of the EIC until they had established bases in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and ultimately controlled the entire Indian sub-continent. He talked about how modern war techniques used by the EIC’s private army facilitated the spread of the EIC’s power against antiquated Mughal fighting approaches. He noted how Robert Clive became the richest man in Europe based on his exploits in India. Throughout, Sunil referenced the often inhumane and barbaric policies of Clive and the EIC as well as how they “smartly” built their wealth at essentially no risk by using the taxes they levied on the Indians to purchase the goods they then sold abroad to drive risk-free profits and wealth.

Sunil noted how the EIC had a role in the American Revolution since the tea at the Boston Tea Party came from the EIC and how the failures of the colonization efforts in America created fears about similar things happening in India (leading to putting Lord Cornwallis in place as the Governor in India).  By 1803 the EIC had a 30-year charter to control India.   This was dissolved in 1830 due to fears of how the EIC was impacting activities back in Great Britain.  And the fall of the EIC eventually followed the growth of the impact of Evangelical Christians in India that led to the Indian Mutiny-Massacre in 1857.  While the EIC put down the revolt, the bloody battle led the British Government to take over control of India from the EIC and India remained a British Colony until it was freed in 1947.

Video PresentationS

Sports Marketing:  An Inside Look at the U.S. Open

 Harlan Stone, sports marketing pioneer and innovator, and former Chief Business Officer for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), will provide an inside look at the business of the  U.S. Open. He will provide an insider’s view of what this entails and how he redefined marketing for the Open at the USTA. He’ll also share some fun stories and trivia sure to entertain us all.

Harlan Stone has spent 40 years in the sports marketing industry and is widely recognized as one of the leading practitioners in the sponsorship discipline. Stone began his career as a promoter of “Legends” tennis events, and then became the Director of Sports Marketing for Golf Digest and Tennis (New York Times Magazines) in 1985 at the age of 27.

Following two years at the Magazines, Stone became the VP Marketing for Advantage International which later became known as Octagon. Stone became President and one of 5 partners when the firm was sold to IPG in 1997. In his 13 years at Octagon, he led the growth of its Marketing division to one of the largest sports marketing companies in the world.

Stone moved within the IPG family to become CEO of Momentum Worldwide in 2000 (part of McCann Erickson) and then in 2002 joined Velocity Sports and Entertainment. As one of five partners, Stone help drive the growth of Velocity across all sponsorship disciplines, and led a variety of client assignments including USTA, Cirque du Soleil, Little League Baseball, Visa, USA Track and Field among others.

After the sale of Velocity in 2007 to Aegis/Dentsu, Stone did a brief stint as President of Major League Gaming and then was recruited to become the Chief Business Officer for the USTA where he was responsible for all commercial aspects of the USTA’s business, most importantly the US Open. Stone set records in securing sponsorship during his tenure and doubled domestic television rights primarily through a landmark $825 million ESPN rights agreement. In 2011 Stone started SJX Partners, which quickly became one of the country’s leading sponsorship sales organizations. SJX was acquired by London based Chime Sports Marketing (CSM) in 2014 and Stone remained Chairman of Chime until the end of 2019. In 2021 Stone was named a recipient of the Sports Business Journal “CHAMPIONS OF SPORTS BUSINESS” award, annually given to “Pioneers and Innovators” who have made “a distinct and sustainable impact on the sports industry.” He was recently inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame.

Harlan is now partly retired spending time on local charity work and occasional consulting. Harlan has 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren, continues to play competitive age group tennis, and splits time between San Diego and Darien, Connecticut.

Speaker arranged by Frank Gallagher

Speaker Summary

Harlan gave a lively, entertaining, and informative talk on his tennis marketing career and especially, his success marketing the U.S Open tennis event. He explained how he “accidently” got into tennis marketing at the Tennis Hall of Fame which became the launching pad for a series of progressively larger positions with several sports marketing companies during which he became known as an innovator and leader in the industry.

Harlan talked about creating the Legends Tennis Event in New Canaan that attracted many of the world’s former leading players (some of whom flew coach from Australia to play for a modest money pool). And he told an entertaining story (at least in hindsight and to the DMA audience) of how the tournament’s run came to an end after 14 years due to the disruptive behavior of one newcomer to the tournament at an otherwise friendly and collegial event.

Harlan noted that the U.S Open is the largest annually attended sports event in the world and that 3 things drive its success: its timing at the end of the summer/the re-start to the “business year” in the fall; the extraordinary audience (average HH income of $253K); and its presence in the business capital of the world that drives sponsorship value. Together, this makes The Open more than a tennis tournament – it’s a “happening”. He talked to the longevity of the title sponsors (and how the sponsorships work for each of them), highlighted by stories about the resolution of a conflict between AmEx and JPMorgan Chase and an ultimately unnecessary trip to Dubai to finalize the Emirates Airline sponsorship.

Stone talked to the 6 elements that drive sponsorship programs and how they have contributed to revenue growth from $203M in 2003 to $472M in 2023 (generating a profit of $250M in 2023). He compared the U.S Open revenue to other major sports and how it exceeds the revenue of essentially all others and compares to that of the average NFL team. He explained the decision to open the bidding for the TV rights for The Open to fund the critical roof for the Flushing Meadows facility (at a cost of $200M), with ESPN paying $825M for the rights package. Harlan closed his comments by noting that the next big revenue opportunity for the USTA is to build a new stadium with up to 200 luxury boxes worth $1M apiece for the two-week event.

Harlan then ran a lively trivia contest focusing on fun facts about The Open where DMA members won U.S. Open merchandise. This was followed by an engaging Q&A session that demonstrated the degree of interest in the topic and Harlan’s insightful perspectives and entertaining style.

Video Presentation