Sunday, February 22, 2009. Opening Dinner.

MS. FORD: We have a few more items from our afternoon schedule. We ran out of time, so we're saving them until dessert. In the meantime, we want you to enjoy your dinner.

However, there's one exception, and this is something that will come as a surprise to some in the room, particularly those who are most familiar with the schedule. We'll start off with just one statement. Today, with the Council meeting plus the meetings this afternoon, we heard about and from three different poets. There's a fourth poet that you're going to hear from tonight in just a couple of minutes and I want you to guess which one out of these four -- you have all had these sort of multiple-choice things -- does not fit. Wallace Stevens, Naomi Shahib Nye, Steve Nelson, Walt Whitman. Stephanie?

DR. HULL: Would that be Steve Nelson?

MS. FORD: Oh, oh. I think you're on to something.

(The following was read by Council Members Burch Ford, Lisa Darling, Brad Lyman, Charlotte Rea, Bill Clarkson, Betsy Griffith, Janet Durgin, and Steve Nelson.)

Dear Bruce has been leading us now for five years,

And we honor his service with great joy, not with tears,

For we fully expect that this man we adore

Will remain at the helm for many years more.

As a tribute we offer this doggerel ditty,

It comes from the heart, 'though we know it's not pretty.

He first came to NAPSG in the ice age, I think,

When his body could still hold its own in the rink.

Yes, our Bruce, so mild-mannered, was quite fierce on the ice.

If you wanted to check him, you'd better think twice.

When he finally turned 50, he said, "What the -- luck,"

And to preserve his old body, retired his puck.

This competitive streak started decades before.

As a kid, he played music and sports, and much more.

Competitive yo-yo (the device, not our Bruce)

Around his small finger, he'd slip Duncan's noose.

A champion yo-yo lad, most often winning,

Good prep for heads' job! Pulling strings, lots of spinning.

He cares about young folks with great love, expectations,

So rather than indulge in long summer vacations,

He traveled the globe with the finest youth choirs,

For the sound of young singers most surely inspires.

The best of humanity, peace, justice, and duty.

To spread love with music, a Bruce summer duty.

One might have predicted the work he does now,

For his life has been far more a curtsy than bow.

For it's women and girls who consume Bruce's life,

And it's not only Karen, life partner and wife,

A couple of daughters and then granddaughters, three,

Each one he inspires to be all she can be.

Persistence could very well be his first name,

For in every endeavor, in each task or each game,

He believes in hard work, in an effort unflagging,

Always cheering, encouraging, but not ever nagging.

When a hurdle arises, some folks alter course.

Not Bruce. He moves forward, a formidable force.

Now we have to admit he's not perfect; who is?

And perhaps the main flaw that he has, yes, it's his,

Is a vigorous, dare we say, slightly neurotic

Attention to detail? No, it's not quite psychotic.

In his NAPSG work, this trait, not at all disadvantage,

For only himself can now Bruce micromanage.

It is said, yes, it's sexist, that behind every great man

Stands a woman of substance who enables the plan.

But the saying is usually wrong, for of course,

It's the man who's the carriage and the woman the horse.

And believe me, in this case of Karen and Bruce,

It is she, locomotive, and Bruce the caboose.

And so now we must close off these rhymes with a flourish

As we all drank too much, and we now better nourish.

We're honoring Bruce, but we also toast Karen,

And thank her for lending us Bruce and for sharing

Her own wit and wisdom, her kindness and grace,

To make NAPSG and our world a more genial place.

A toast to Bruce and Karen Galbraith!