,,. as i was thinking of this title, i realized, this is a potential problem, because i was really talking about the presidents and jokes and humor, and i know enough about the history of the presidency, and some of you psrhaps will have caught on, there is a potential problem there. there were two presidents who served before the white house was the official residence of the president. and so if i wanted to say the presidency and humor, humor in the white house didn t quite do it. but then i thought about it s more, and actually, it does work. neither of the first two presidents had a sense of humor. [laughs] [laughs] so it gets me out of that problem. but i m going to follow the lead of perhaps the most successful humourist in the white house. it might not be the person you are thinking of, by doing what he always did, or in most cases, what he did at the beginning of a talk, he started with a joke. some of you will have heard this joke. please pretend you haven t heard it
hear how presidents and first ladies developed and used the white house gardens during their administrations. this program is from the white house historical society association. our final panel, the white house gardens today, features speakers with lived experiences working in and around the gardens of the white house. we will hear from dr. susan pell, deputy director of science and public programs manager for the u.s. botanical gardens. jim adams, horticulture manager from the united states botanical gardens. and jim mcdaniel, secretary for the white house historical association board of directors and a former liaison for the white house and national park service. like our previous panel, we will hear three short presentations and then our panelists will return to the stage for a conversation moderated by dr. pell. we will leave time at the end for open questions with the audience. so please join me in welcoming our speakers. [applause] thanks so much. it s an honor t
the engaged program that is both informative and highly entertaining. it is a rare treat to have the curtain pull back from those who are on the front lines of protecting the president and the first family. we are honored to be joined tonight by three secret service agents whose combined years of service almost approach 82 years. privilege to have larry buendorf with us. he was honored with the u.s. secret service award for those who stopped the assassination attempt against gerald ford in sacramento. later he served 25 years with the security chief with the united states olympic committee. joe clancy is with us tonight, joe served on the productive details of four presidents, including president bush. trail blazer as he would have called him by his secret service code name. mrs. bush was tempo, president bush was trail blazer. the 30 year when fresno bomber named him the 24th director of the u.s. secret service. he was in charge. today joe is the chief security officer at
worst global financial crisis since the great depression of the 1930s. and i certainly would not have predicted 45 years of higher education and government service nor the president of the united states asking me to be the united states ambassador to saudi arabia, responsible for our relations with a country that s a great strategic and economic importance and at the center of one of the most complex, embattled regions in the world. i also would not have predicted i would set out from new york to work on a master s degree at oklahoma state university. back in those days, most of us in new york thought the rocky mountains were in pennsylvania, didn t know what to expect here. guess who was my commencement speaker in 1974 when i finished that master s degree? richard nixon, president richard nixon. we held that ceremony here at osu and lewis field, and it was a warm day. the president did a good job. he really talked about the generational change that was about to happen. his l
american history tv, with programs that tell our nation s story. the civil war anniversary visiting battle fields and key events. american artifacts, during historic sites to see what they reveal about our past. bookshelf, the presidency looking at policies and legacies of our nation s commanders in chief. lectures with top college professors delving into the past. and real america government and educational films from the 1930s through the 1970s. cspan3 created by the cable tv industry and provided by your local provider. former president george w. bush addressed the graduating class at southern methodist university. 2015 is the university s anniversary. it opened 100 years ago. [ applause ] thank you all. thank you. [ applause ] thank you very much. president turner, thanks. members of board of trustees provost, faculty staff, distinguished guests, parents, most importantly the class of 2015. i thank you for your warm welcome. i appreciate the invitation to be with you.