The Future Forum serves as a nexus for Austin's leaders. Our members are actively engaged in many organizations. We encourage you to find out more about these Doers and Builders Organizations on our Website.

Leadership Austin connects people to the community in a way that nothing else can. Now fulfilling its mission as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, LA convenes leaders to provide leadership development and collaborative opportunities to strengthen and transform our communities. Leadership Austin was founded to seek out and prepare leaders for positions of public and private decision-making to foster community involvement and the exercise of civic responsibility. The Leadership Austin Class, youth and open-enrollment programs are managed and administered by a Board of Directors composed of LA alumni. Additionally, countless Leadership Austin alumni and community leaders contribute their time and expertise to ensure the success of our programs.

To learn more about Leadership Austin, and about how you can get involved, check out their website.

Come find out more about our Four Future Forum Clusters: The Cultural Cluster, The Film Cluster, The Book Club, and the Public Policy Cluster.

The Film Cluster will meet next on February 6th at 7:20 to watch and discuss Brokeback Mountain. If you would like to be added to the Film Cluster email list, or have a suggestion for a film, please email Taline Manassian at taline@austin.rr.com.
The Film Cluster meets on the first Monday of the month to watch and discuss a film.

The Book Club will read the short story on which the movie Brokeback Mountain is based, and do a discusion with the film cluster. If you would like to be added to the Book Club list, please email Rob Crosnoe at crosnoe@mail.la.utexas.edu.
The Book Club will soon start picking its next book. If you have any suggestions, email Rob.

Come join us on February 27th for an event on Hip Hop. Snoop Daniel of The Beat 104.3 will moderate what we are sure will be an interesting discussion on the history and background of Hip Hop and its prevalence - and influence - in society today.

Then, in March, we will be hosting two evening events on energy. We will send more information soon, but save March 23rd and March 30th for discussions on alternate/renewable energy sources.

If you would like to help plan the energy event, please let us know. We'd love your help.

Senator Joe Biden of Delaware will be speaking to the Friends of the LBJ Library on February 22nd at 4PM in the LBJ Auditorium. Future Forum members are invited to attend. We know that the time (4PM) may make it hard for many of you to attend. But, if you would like to attend, please email Catherine at catheriner@lbjlib.utexas.edu by February 17th. We will send you the tickets for the event.

On January 26th, we held our annual Re-Gift Party. If you don't currently own a cow and bear kitchen spoon set or a blue jean purse, you must not have been at the party. We had a variety of gifts - from the much sought after First Edition Vince Young trading card and Rose Bowl progam to the picture frame making its second Future Forum Re-Gift Party appearance in as many years.

And, don't forget: we taped the December event, The Future of Iraq, so if you missed it and are interested in viewing it, let us know. Future Forum members may check out a DVD of the program from our "Library."

If you haven't yet renewed for the 2005-2006 season, the time is now (or actually a few months ago, but we are patiently waiting for you!) Benefits of Membership Include: Invitation and entrance to all Future Forum events; Notice of public programs and special members’ events at the LBJ Library; Admission to select Friends of the LBJ Library events; Free admission to all other Presidential Libraries; Official membership card; Discount at the museum shop; and, this newsletter (now that alone is worth the membership fee). You can give the gift of a Future Forum Membership.

If you have any ideas about how we can improve the Future Forum, events you'd like to see, or other thoughts, please let us know.

Other LBJ Family sites - LBJ Library: www.lbjlib.utexas.edu, LBJ Now: www.lbjnow.org, LBJ School: www.utexas.edu/lbj/

More about the Future Forum: The purpose of the Future Forum is to expand the involvement of young Texans with the LBJ Library and its programs by initiating dialogue about current issues and by providing educational and cultural information to its members. It is the ultimate goal of the Future Forum to foster greater civic involvement within our community. Future Forum Seeks to Inspire!

Come check out the current exhibit at the LBJ Library - The Vietnam Experience. Visitors to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum can experience the Vietnam War through the eyes of U.S. Navy combat artists. The Vietnam Experience is strongly interpreted in this selection of 22 paintings, watercolors, and drawings by six combat artists.

The UT Global Challenges Initiative is please to announce the schedule for the Spring 2006 International Security Speaker Series. Please mark your calendars for the following events.
Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held from 4:00-5:30 on the 10th Floor Atrium of the LBJ Library and Museum. The International Security Speaker Series is free and open to the public, and tickets are not required.
February 21 John Mueller Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies, Mershon Center for International Security Studies; Professor of Political Science, Ohio State University "Devils and Duct Tape: Terrorism and the Dynamics of Threat Exaggeration"

Also, don't forget, the LBJ Library and Museum is open from 9-5 every day of the year except Christmas day. And, admission is free (we are the only Presidential Library that is free). By the way, another bonus of the LBJ Library and Museum - the view! The great picture of Texas Tower and the Fountain looking out from the LBJ Library and Museum is courtesy of Charles Bogel, who always takes the great pictures at our events.

There are lots of great events happening around Austin. On February 28, Brian Greene will speak as part of KLRU's Engaging Speakers Series. Educated at Harvard and Oxford, Brian Greene is currently a Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia and is one of the world's foremost string theorists. All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Avenue. His best-selling book The Elegant Universe, a popularization of superstring and M-theories, was the basis for an Emmy Award-winning NOVA special on PBS. His second book, The Fabric of the Cosmos, is an insightful examination into the nature of the universe. With artful metaphors and humorous analogies, Greene explores space-time and cosmology, origins and unifications, along with reality and the imagination. For more information email spark@klru.org or call 512-475-9021.

Leadership Austin presents Experience Austin Friday, March 31, 8:00 a.m-6:00 p.m Thursdays, April 6, 13, 20, 4:30-8:30 p.m. Explore Austin’s Icons and Institutions Meet the People Who Make a Difference Are you a new executive? Are you new to town? Are you looking for new ways to get involved in the community? Experience Austin is for you! It’s an intensive orientation to the things that matter in Austin, now and in the future. You’ll learn about the history, trends, issues, institutions, and social and cultural fabric that make Austin special, with behind-the-scenes insights from elected and appointed officials, regional leaders, and other community experts. You’ll enjoy a guided bus tour to take in unique Austin sites, with several stops for further exploration. And, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to connect with your fellow participants and rub elbows with the folks who make things happen in Austin. Experience Austin can’t be missed! Cost: $685 Fun, Focus, Connections and Insight Price includes course materials, meals and refreshments, and bus tour For more info call Kirsti Krejs at 499-0435 x10 Register online today at www.leadershipaustin.org Or by phone at 499-0435 x11

Become a Komen volunteer and fight breast cancer! The Austin Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation invites you to become a Komen volunteer and attend volunteer orientation on Tuesday, February 7th at 5:30 PM at the St. David’s Health Resource Center. The orientation will cover the Komen Foundation, mission and volunteer opportunities. There are several opportunities to choose from such as the Race for the Cure®, special events, education, public relations, fundraising, finance and MUCH more! Visit www.komenaustin.org to learn more about volunteering and upcoming events or call 512.473.0900.