REACH Speakers Bureau

This class will give you tidbits of gossip, as well as facts, about the First Ladies of our lifetime. Love them or hate them, they changed our history. Find out how.

Get a closer look at some interesting women that history has basically forgotten. Many had poor health or led tragic lives. Some never even made it to the White House. These are the stories about those who time has passed over

Are the rumors true? Meet our longest-serving First Lady who was perhaps one of the most controversial. Was her marriage real? Was she the acting President? Let's turn the rumors into facts.

This story was shared by a grandmother who was 14 years old and living in Dresden, Germany when the city was bombed by the Americans and British. Learn about her family's experiences and the effects of the bombing which extends�to the present day.

Georgeo Petribone, an Italian history teacher, found parts of an American bomber which was shot down during WWII, while he was on a hike and researched it history. In the story you will hear how he learned how the local villagers used the parts of the plane and how he was able to contact the families of the crew.

Do you know how the Monopoly game helped prisoners of war escape? Come hear this amazing story.

Bev can tell stories that are Hysterical, Historical, Tall Tales, and fun personal stories that will keep your attention. With her stories you never know what the surprise ending will be!

English has many phrases that second language learners don't understand. (Sometimes native speakers don't get them as well.) Translating idioms word-by-word doesn't work, either. How do we use them, and where did they come from? Quite a few are from the 17th century. Here are some examples:�ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE--Milton's 1667�Paradise Lost; THE MIND IS ITS OWN PLACE--Milton's 1667�Paradise Lost; BREAK THE ICE--Shakespeare's�The Taming of the Shrew; WILD-GOOSE CHASE--Shakespeare's�Romeo and Juliet�; GREEN-EYED MONSTER:�Shakespeare's Othello

English has one of the largest lexicons (vocabularies) in the world. We've borrowed words from Old Norse, Latin, French, Spanish, Arabic, and others. This presentation will answer the question posed above

Northeast Ohioans call that refreshing fizzy drink "pop." On the East Coast, it's "soda," and in the South, "a Coke." In this presentation, we'll "translate" words and phrases from all over the United States

A short history of the English language will explain why our spelling doesn't match up with our pronunciations, why we sometimes say PRO-duce and other times "pro-DUCE," and why our sentences are built the way they are.

Richard Wilbur. Langston Hughes. ee Cummings. T.S. Eliot. Robert Frost. These poets of the 20th Century influenced our poets of the 21st. We'll explore how poetry reflects our time

Robert F. Kennedy, in his relatively short political life, provided a voice that was both inspiring and pragmatic. During his run for the presidency in 1968, before his tragic assassination, he calmed many in the wake of the MLK assassination, demonstrated compassion to those living in poverty in Appalachia, and bestowed hope to any and all who were experiencing disadvantage and/or injustice. This presentation will examine the words and actions of Robert F. Kennedy to help define his legacy for our country.

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our republic, this presentation will provide insight into the writings and decisions of our Founding Fathers. They were intelligent and dedicated, but as mortal men and not demigods, they were shaped by their own life experiences. We will look at the documents they created, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in an effort to examine how our lives have been impacted by their decisions. A closer look at the creation of the Electoral College, the Supreme Court, and the Second Amendment, among others will help us to appreciate the prescient words of Ben Franklin when asked what they had created: "A republic, if you can keep it."