Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - U.S. Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes will speak at Rodeheaver Auditorium, Winona Lake, at 8 p.m. Oct. 20.
The event is free to the public, and the doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Keyes' speaking engagement, co-sponsored by Grace College and The Village At Winona, is part of the American Lyceum Lecture Series.
"We're thrilled to get someone like Keyes to come," said Dr. Steve Grill, Grace College dean of community education.
Keyes is expected to speak on American values, the economy and the upcoming election. "He is the program," said Grill.
He said Keyes is the most articulate and important speaker in the United States. "First of all," Grill said, "he's just a brilliant speaker. We think he explains the value system of Grace College and Kosciusko County as well as any spokesman."
Keyes began his diplomatic career as a foreign service officer in the U.S. Department of State, was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan as an U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council and subsequently as the assistant secretary of state for international organizations.
He was a Republican nominee for senate from Maryland and a candidate for U.S. president in 1996 and this year.
In addition, Keyes was the host of a syndicated radio talk show for five years and is the author of "Masters of the Dream: The Strength and Betrayal of Black America."
He holds a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.
Keyes will join a long and distinguished list of speakers who have spoken in Winona Lake over the past 100 years. Many of the nation's most influential speakers - including William Jennings Bryan, Booker T. Washington, Billy Sunday, Jane Addams, Billy Graham, Helen Keller, Will Rogers and Admiral Richard Byrd - used Winona Lake's Bible conferences and chautauqua programs as forums to communicate both ideas and ideals to their respective generations.
The American Lyceum Lecture Series provides a setting for nationally recognized speakers, such as Keyes, to share their views with the community and college.
Grill said, "In many ways there are more famous people than Dr. Keyes in America, but there is no better spokesman for Grace College's belief system."
