Join us on September 10 as we kick off another season with an after-hours tour of the new exhibit Bills, Bills, Bills: Lyndon Johnson as Senate Majority Leader. We'll start with wine in the lobby at 6:15 p.m. and allow you a few moments to renew your Future Forum membership. Then we'll take a look at the new exhibit, which covers Johnson's entire Senate career. Members will have an opportunity to interact with "Lyndon Johnson," as interpreted by actor Michael Stuart, in a replica of the U.S. Senate Chamber. Following the tour, former Congressman Greg Laughlin will entertain with a behind-the-scenes look at the goings-on in the Capitol. Come learn about your Congress - past and present - and how it works (and doesn't, at times)!

We hope you will join us for another great year of the Future Forum. We will have information about upcoming events and other fun and entertainment.

Please visit us online for more information or to RSVP.

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.

This month, the Film Cluster will meet on Monday, September 17th to watch In the Shadow of the Moon, a documentary featuring the surviving crew members from NASA's Apollo missions telling their stories in their own words. For more information, please visit About the Film. This film is a perfect tie-in to an upcoming exhibit at the LBJ Library and Museum. If you're interested in the Film Cluster, please email Nina Hess. See you at the movies!

If you would like to be added to the Book Club list, please email Taline Manassian.

If you would like to help plan events for the Cultural or Public Policy Clusters, please email the Future Forum.

Future Forum Clusters

Doers & Builders

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.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1966 to encourage children to read by giving them the opportunity to build their own home library with books they had chosen themselves from a selection of new, high-quality books. The RIF program has been in Austin since 1974. The original RIF program, the Elementary School Program, operates in elementary schools in the Austin Independent School District in which 70% or more students live below the federal poverty line. In 1997, recognizing the need to reach children before elementary school, RIF of Austin implemented the Infant and Preschool Program. This program serves to teach parents of preschool children the importance of reading to their children from the earliest age by giving books to those families to encourage reading, and helping them learn how to incorporate reading into everyday life. To reach the families most needing these services, RIF has formed partnerships with other organizations, including Any Baby Can; Child, Inc.; Communities in Schools; Even Start; and Parents As Teachers.

For more information about Reading is Fundamental, please visit www.rifaustin.org.

Recent Events And Updates on Past Events/Speakers

On August 16 the Book Club met at Mozart's to discuss Waterloo, by Austin-based writer Karen Olsson.

The Film Cluster also met in August to view Talk to Me. The film is inspired by the true story of a Washington, D.C. radio personality, an ex-con turned community activist in the 1960s.

A Passel of Other Information You Need to Know . . .

Become a Member of Future Forum

Back to school, beginning of football season, Labor Day...time to renew your annual Future Forum membership! Renew or join now online, or you may mail a check made payable to the Future Forum to the Library's address: 2313 Red River Street, Austin, Texas 78705. General membership is $50 per person.

Renew or join now!

Now Showing at the LBJ Library and Museum

Bills, Bills, Bills: Lyndon Johnson as Senate Majority Leader
September 1, 2007 through May 26, 2008

The exhibit covers Johnson's entire Senate career from his election in 1948 to his election to the vice-presidency in 1961, chronicling his rapid rise to power from a slim margin of victory in 1948 (for which he was given the nickname "Landslide Lyndon") to his selection as Majority Leader in 1955.

The exhibit will feature photos, artifacts, and films about Johnson's historic helicopter campaign in 1948, his career in the Senate, with emphasis on his legendary powers of persuasion, and interactive displays detailing the major bills passed during the 1950s with explanations of how the legislation shaped and impacted modern America. Most notably, visitors will have an opportunity to interact with "Lyndon Johnson," as interpreted by actor Michael Stuart, in a replica of the U.S. Senate Chamber. Stuart will engage visitors in a lively presentation about important legislation such as the creation of NASA, Interstate Highway Bill, Labor Reform, Social Security Reform, Statehood for Alaska and Hawaii, and the first Civil Rights Bill passed since Reconstruction.

For more information on exhibits and Library hours, please visit www.lbjlib.utexas.edu.

Other Community Events

There are lots of great events happening in and around Austin.

Come support our past Future Forum speaker Gilbert Tuhabonye and join the EAS RunTex Run for the Water 10 Miler on November 11th. The Gazelle Foundation is the beneficiary for the race. As any of y'all that attended our event on Genocide will remember, Gilbert is living proof that good things can come out of difficult situations.

Gilbert formed The Gazelle Foundation to further charitable efforts to improve life for people in Burundi and offer educational assistance to children of our community. The Foundation's goals in Burundi are unifying and non-tribal specific - focused on projects such as potable water sources, timely access to medical care, housing for displaced residents, providing shoes, and building running tracks. In central Texas, the Foundation plans to provide scholarships to youths who demonstrate academic and athletic promise.

The race is part of the Distance Challenge and will be held on November 11, 2007. To encourage the whole family to participate, the event also includes a 5K and 1K. Register for the race here.

To learn more about the Gazelle Foundation, please visit www.gazellefoundation.com.

Thank you for your continued involvement in, and support of, the Future Forum.

Sincerely,

Catherine Robb