Bluey Blog - Official Blog of Robert B. Bluey

Ithaca College Picks Its Next President

The Ithacan reports that Tom Rochon will succeed Peggy Williams as the next president of Ithaca College, my alma mater in New York. Here’s the college’s press release:

The Ithaca College Board of Trustees has announced the unanimous selection of Thomas R. Rochon as the eighth president in the institution’s 116-year history. Rochon, who has served since 2003 as executive vice president and chief academic officer for the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, will officially begin his duties in Ithaca on July 1, 2008. He succeeds Peggy R. Williams, who will be retiring after 11 years as Ithaca’s president.

Based on the coverage of his visit in The Ithacan and the reaction on campus when I was there last month, he seemed to be the consensus choice. I look forward to meeting him, hopefully in June but more likely in September when I’m on campus.

A Little Volunteer Work Goes a Long Way

The last thing I wanted to do yesterday morning was get up early and head into the city. I’m just getting over a cold, and could’ve really used the rest. But instead I found myself at Harriet Tubman Elementary in Columbia Heights, a D.C. neighborhood that’s undergone a radical transformation in recent years.

Harriet Tubman Elementary was chosen by my wife’s company as a community service project with the City Year volunteer program. We were tasked with cleaning up the school’s courtyard — a big project that seemed impossible given the three-hour window we had to get the job done. I spent the morning repairing a brick patio while others painted, weeded and did various tasks inside the school.

On our way home, a few thoughts occurred to me about the project. First of all, it was really great to volunteer, even if it was just three hours. As we were leaving, a group of students saw the new and improved courtyard — the purple-painted concrete wall, a patio without weeds and a new garden. Seeing their excitement made the whole experience worthwhile.

Then I wondered why it took a group of people with no ties to the school to do a job that parents and others living in Columbia Heights should have done long ago. The fact that the school had been neglected was just sad — the students deserve better. My lone regret was that parents and students weren’t involved in the work. Without taking ownership over their community’s school, I wonder if today’s improvements will last.

It gave me a real appreciation for my own school and the support I received throughout my years at New York Mills.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose

As much as I enjoy writing about politics, I don’t very much enjoy politicking myself. Yet this weekend in Ithaca, N.Y., I found myself in a race against the incumbent president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors at my alma mater, Ithaca College.

Just a year ago I was elected vice president of the Alumni Board, the first time I can ever remember running in a contested race for any kind of office. I managed to topple a true Ithaca College titan, Arlene Wolff ‘57, who began serving on the board 10 years before I was born.

Choosing to run for president so soon after being elected vice president wasn’t an easy decision. But as someone who cares deeply about my alma mater, I felt it was my responsibility to put myself in a position to help bring about some much-needed changes.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out so well for me this time. Our current president, Mike Kaplan ‘85, won re-election, meaning I’ll go back to my service as a regular member of the board. I was obviously disappointed with the outcome of the vote but not necessarily surprised. The board is very much controlled by alumni who favor to the status quo; change comes slowly to organizations like this one.

The long drive home with my wife, also a board member, gave me time to reflect on today’s events. I believe God chooses the path we take in life, and for that reason, I’m looking forward to what lies ahead. My role will change, but I’m already excited about the opportunities it will offer, allowing me to be more open and honest — perhaps even a maverick.

Beer Madness Is Back; Vote for Saranac Pale Ale

Last year I watched as my hometown beer nearly made it all the way in the Washington Post’s Beer Madness tournament. While a repeat performance would be tough, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Saranac Pale Ale to take home the title. Click here to vote in the first round (32 beers) of the Post’s second annual contest.

Ithaca College Surpasses Campaign Goal

Congratulations are in order for my many friends at Ithaca College for surpassing by $30 the goal for the capital campaign that ended yesterday. Just a few weeks ago, it appeared Ithaca would finish at or around the $115 goal, but two large gifts in the closing days put the college well over the top. As donors to the campaign, Missy and I couldn’t be happier about this tremendous news.

Special thanks are in order for two gifts that will offer a big boost for the soon-to-be-constructed Athletics & Events Center: a $2 million gift from Edward Glazer ’92, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a $25 million grant from Atlantic Philanthropies, thanks in part to Caroleen Feeney ’86.

Shelley Semmler, vice president for institutional advancement, and President Peggy Williams (pictured above) were overjoyed by the news. Carl Sgrecci, vice president for administration, told The Ithacan the campaign was the second-most important moment in the college’s history — trailed only be the move to South Hill in Ithaca.

So many people at Ithaca deserve praise for this achievement that it would be impossible to name all of them, but I’d like to congratulate in particular Marsha Eger, executive director of alumni programs, as well as Lynne Pierce and Mike McGreevey, both of whom served as liaisons for the Washington, D.C., committee. Fellow Washingtonian Larry Alleva ‘71, chair of the campaign, should be extremely proud of his alma mater and the 37,000 alumni, parents and friends who made it possible.

All Dressed Up for the Press Party

Missy and I attended the 25th annual National Press Foundation awards last night at the Hilton Washington Hotel. It was our second year at the dinner; Heritage regularly buys a table at the black-tie event.

With us were my Heritage colleagues Conn Carroll (with wife Wendi), Paul Gallagher (with wife Cindi), Izzy Ortega (with girlfriend Josie Rote), Audrey Jones and Eric Heis. Photos of the group are on Flickr.

This year turned out to be much more enjoyable. I ran into friends Shira Toeplitz of Roll Call, Jackie Kucinich of The Hill, Mike Steel of Minority Leader John Boehner’s office, Tory Mazzola of Sen. John Ensign’s office, J.P. Freire of the American Spectator, Amos Snead of FD Dittus Communications, and Carrie Sheffield of the Washington Times.

Senator and Colonel: Lindsey Graham’s Other Duty

My brother-in-law and some of his fellow JAG officers got to meet Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, this week during his 10-day stint in Iraq. Graham has donned a military uniform three times in the past year, becoming the only member of Congress to serve in Iraq. Stars and Stripes has the story.

Flickr Just Got a Whole Lot Better

My favorite photo site, Flickr, got a big boost today from the Library of Congress. In a move all Americans should applaud, the Library of Congress uploaded photos dating back to the turn the century for everyone to see and use. The pictures have no copyright limitations.

I did a quick search for my hometown and came up with three photos of New York Mills, including the one above that shows Polish workers on strike. I don’t believe any relatives are pictured, but I think the photo falls within the time (1910-1915) my great-grandparents settled in New York Mills. There’s another similar shot and a third picture of one of our famous mills (No. 2, I think).

As someone who loves photos, I’m going to have fun looking at these shots. So far, Flickr has 1,500 photos from the 1910s and another 1,650 color shots from the 1930s and 1940s.

(Hat tip to John Wonderlich and Katherine Mangu-Ward.)

Wishing I Was in Sea Island

I finally got around to posting pictures from our trip to Sea Island, Ga., for Awakening. The Cloister is quite a place. If you ever have an opportunity to visit, I’d highly recommend it.

My Top 10 Most Memorable Moments of 2007

Over dinner tonight at home, my wife and I recounted the highs and lows of 2007. Even though there were definitely some low points, overall we had a tremendous year. We both made strides at work (I started a new job at Heritage) and we were once again fortunate to spend many memorable moments with our family and friends (including a wonderful traditional-Polish dinner on Christmas Eve with both sets of parents one week ago).

Because I love taking pictures — perhaps even more than I enjoy writing — I thought I’d recount my 10 most memorable moments of the past year. While I probably excluded a few because I didn’t capture them on film, this just about sums it up for 2007.

10. CPAC: I’ve been attending the Conservative Political Action Conference ever since I came to Washington, so when I was asked to moderate a panel this year, it was an honor to be listed among so many people I admire in the movement. To make matters even better, I debuted my new blog at CPAC, an event that transformed my life perhaps more than anything else in 2007. The best part of the conference was meeting Mitt Romney, who chatted with bloggers, and Rudy Giuliani (pictured at right), who just happened to be in the green time at the very same time I was there. Next year’s conference should be even better. I’ll be moderating another panel and presenting the Blogger of the Year award on stage.

9. Washington Nationals: This year marked my third as a 20-game ticket holder at RFK Stadium, and while the Nats certainly didn’t do much on field, they did provide for a welcome distraction during the hot and humid summer months. My friend Ehren and I can’t wait for the new stadium to open in April; after enduring RFK for three seasons, we’re definitely ready for a new place and a winning team. To close out the final year of RFK, though, I treated Missy and my friend Dom to a Mets game a few rows from the field. It turned out to be a decisive game in the Mets collapse to close out the season.

8. Mackinac Island: I spent a summer working in Traverse City at the Record-Eagle back in 2000, but I never made the two-hour trip to Mackinac Island. In finally got there in September, and I need to figure out a way to repay Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis for inviting me to speak at the Mackinac Leadership Conference. The conference brought together everyone involved in Michigan politics, and attracted nearly every Republican presidential candidate. I got to see Rudy, Romney, McCain and Fred up close and also sat on two panels about technology and politics. But the best part of the weekend was hanging out at the Mackinac Island bars at night with several new friends.

7. Las Vegas: Missy and I have two very different views of Sin City. I loved it and she hated it. Well, maybe that’s too simplistic. It was our first trip to Vegas, and while I was busy at the Blog World and New Media Expo, she was shopping and checking out the Strip. Even though we didn’t gamble a single penny, we discovered other parts of Vegas far better than than a casino. Our favorite was the Hoover Dam, which was just an amazing structure to see. The drive back as the sun went down was one of those near-perfect settings. If I can get Missy to go again, I would stay at the Venetian. We saw “Phantom” there on our final night in Vegas and had dinner at a restaurant next to the Venetian’s canal, where a young couple got engaged in a gondola.

6. Clarence Thomas: Shortly after I started at Heritage, Thomas’ wife, who works in our government relations department, approached me about helping convene a meeting between the U.S. Supreme Court justice and bloggers when his book was released on Oct. 1. Rather than follow the traditional route of a teleconference or one-on-one interviews, I proposed a dinner with a small group of bloggers. The justice loved the idea, and despite having it on the first day of the court’s session, he was marvelous. The book, “My Grandfather’s Son,” went on to be the No. 1 New York Times’ best-seller and millions of Americans began to recognize the real Clarence Thomas rather than one misrepresented by the media.

5. Boilermaker Weekend: In addition to Cori and Ed’s wedding (see No. 3), the other highlights of this weekend included the famous 15K itself — my father’s 30th consecutive race — and a trip to good-ole Murnane Field to see a game between the Utica Brewmasters and Rome Coppers of the now-defunct New York State League. This was our first trip home for the Boilermaker since 2005 and we certainly made the most of it. The baseball game brought back many memories to my days working for the Utica Blue Sox and the post-Boilermaker party was full of fun memories of friends and family who had just finished the race.

4. Immigration Debate: I know it seems weird to rank work on the most memorable list, but I simply can’t leave off the brouhaha that developed around President Bush’s comprehensive immigration plan. This debate literally consumed my life for the better part of a month. I remember vividly when it started — the Drudge Report linked to my May 15 report breaking news of a deal. I ended up exchanging blog posts on RedState with staffers from the White House (a first for the Bush Administration, I believe) — all part of what seemed like a never-ending stream of blog posts, columns, photos and videos about amnesty.

3. Three Weddings: It’s hard to pick a favorite because all were special. The first one, which took place on Boilermaker Weekend, involved my friend Cori (pictured with husband Ed), whom I’ve known since high school. Another over Labor Day included another long-time friend, Ehren, whom Missy has known since kindergarten; he and wife Erin are two of our closest friends in the D.C. area. The third wedding, which was by far the wildest (complete with bridesmaids dancing on the table), took place at beautiful Look Park in Northampton, Mass., on a gorgeous fall day. It was so perfect, in fact, we used a photo of us on our Christmas card this year.

2. Mount Vernon: Missy and I became Friends of Mount Vernon this year, and we made good use of our membership throughout 2007. We often visited George Washington’s home on weekends for leisurely walks on the grounds. But we also headed to Mount Vernon when friends and family came to visit us; we took both sets of parents and our long-time friends Dom and Adrianne, all on separate occasions. We ventured to the distillery and gristmill near Fort Belvoir for the first time and made our maiden voyage on the boat trip up the Potomac. Of course, Christmastime wouldn’t have been complete without Mount Vernon by Candlelight.

1. Summer Vacation: Our trip through the South in August took us to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and then Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and Appomattox, Va. I’ll never forget this vacation because of all the driving; we made good use of our time in the car, though, listening to John Berendt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” It’s hard to identify a favorite moment from the trip, but there are few things that better than hanging out on the beach. Chasing crabs at night with my nephew J.P. was a close second.

And so that’s it for 2007. I can only hope 2008 will be just as fun.