The E-S U meets at the Country Club of North Carolina. Cocktails start at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7. Guest speaker Jack Perkins’ topic will be “Insights into America.”
Perkins’ illustrious career covers 40 years as a television journalist being everything from a feature reporter to a political commentator, a war correspondent to an anchorman.
Once labeled “America’s most literate correspondent” by the Associated Press, Perkins has won seven Emmys and numerous other awards and distinctions.
For 25 years, Perkins served as correspondent, commentator and anchorman at NBC News. Perkins was seen on NBC Nightly News, The Huntley-Brinkley Report and The Today Show, where he appeared occasionally as host.
His essays were heard regularly on NBC Radio. Nominated for an Emmy Award for his coverage of the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan, Perkins has covered stories as diverse as the elections in South Vietnam, an exclusive on-camera interview with assassin Sirhan Sirhan, and the youth culture of the 1970s.
Jack Perkins began his association with A and E in 1990. He has served as host and narrator for many of the network’s most acclaimed programs, including “A and E Premieres,” “A and E Revue,” and “Time Machine with Jack Perkins.”
From 1994 to 1999, Perkins served as host of A and E’s flagship series, “Biography.” Perkins has also hosted and narrated several A and E special presentations, including “America’s Castles,” a two-hour tour of the nation’s greatest mansions; “Dogs,” a comprehensive look at man’s best friend; “The Face of Tutankhamun,” the story of Egypt’s boy king; and “Cats,” an A and E special on the felines in our lives. He is also host of the annual “Pop Goes The Fourth” concert broadcasts by the Boston Pops and the Pops’ Christmas Concert.
In 1986, Perkins chose to leave the daily labors of television journalism and move from Los Angeles to a small island off the coast of Maine where he and his wife are the only residents. He is the author of two books, the most recent being “Acadia: Vision and Verse.” The book combines Perkins’ poetry with his Ansel Adams-inspired photography and is a tribute to Acadia National Park.
Formally organized in 1920, The English-Speaking Union of the United States is committed to promoting scholarship and the advancement of knowledge through the effective use of English in an expanding global community. The English-Speaking Union is open to membership locally. The Sandhills Branch sponsors scholarships for study in England and for scholars and teachers in England to visit here. Other sponsorships include International Public Speaking Competition, UK Page Scholar visit to the Sandhills and the Walter Hines Page Scholarship Program.
The Sandhills Branch of the English-Speaking Union welcomes new members.
For reservations, questions and membership information, please contact Jane Galan at 215-5645 or Jean Webster at 692-3965.
