AMERICAN MOONSHOT: HOUSTON AND THE GREAT SPACE RACE
THE HOUSTON HERITAGE LUNCHEON - 2024
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”—President John F. Kennedy at Rice Stadium on September 12, 1962
A Space History “Launcheon” for Space City!
Click HERE to see larger version of the invitation.
Join us and Chairs Lainie Gordon and David Mincberg on May 1, for award-winning historian and perennial New York Times bestselling author Dr. Douglas Brinkley to take a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon. Special NASA Alumni guests Estella and Pete Gillette, Tom Moser, and Spencer Gardner will also be landing at the luncheon.
In his engrossing, fast-paced epic, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
It is also the 55th Anniversary of the Moon Landing on July 20, 1969! Brinkley will also share how in 1964, the manned spacecraft center, now known as the Johnson Space Center, opened a place where some of the most famous conversations took place. Discover how all Apollo missions were run out of Houston, and as the program ended, the space industry never left Houston.
We have an exclusive opportunity for Table Buyers and those purchasing tickets that are $500 and greater. Enjoy a VIP Champagne Reception at 11:00 a.m. with Dr. Brinkley.
Reservations for Tickets & Tables
All table and ticket purchases will be assigned a Fair Market Value of $75 per seat.
A traditional auction for your shopping and bidding pleasure will be at the event.
You may also contact lwoods@heritagesociety.org for a form to process your purchase.
Are you unable to attend but wish to make a donation for a worthy cause? Please click HERE. We thank you in advance.
SILENT AUCTION AND Book SIGNING AT HOUSTON HERITAGE LUNCHEON!
About the Author and Speaker: Dr. Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He works in many capacities in the world of public history, including on boards, museums, colleges and historical societies. The Chicago Tribune dubbed him “America’s New Past Master”. The New-York Historical Society has chosen Brinkley as their official U.S. Presidential Historian. His recent book Cronkite won the Sperber Prize while The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. He has received a Grammy Award for Presidential Suite and seven honorary doctorates in American Studies. His two-volume annotated “The Nixon Tapes” recently won the Arthur S. Link – Warren F. Kuehl Prize. He is a member of the Century Association, Council of Foreign Relations and the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and three children.
Press Release
“American Moonshot: Houston and the Great Space Race”
A Space History ‘Launcheon’ for Space City on May 1
Houston, April 4: The Heritage Society’s annual Houston Heritage Luncheon will relive the famous phrase “That’s one small step for man…” with keynote speaker and author Dr. Douglas Brinkley as he presents “American Moonshot: Houston and the Great Space Race”. Attendees, including NASA alumni, will also be celebrating the 55th anniversary of the moon landing and recognizing the 70th anniversary of The Heritage Society on Wednesday, May 1, at The Briar Club, on 2603 Timmons Ln.
“Dr. Brinkley, who is also a CNN historian and Grammy Award winner, will be highlighting how Houston became known as Space City,” The Heritage Society’s executive director, Alison Bell said. “We will learn how Houston’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Clear Lake City, later named in honor of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson (a native Texan), prepared and developed for one of the longest journeys ever made.”
“It is an honor that President John F. Kennedy selected Rice Stadium to make his famous speech, ‘We choose to go to the moon…’, in September 1962,” The Heritage Society’s board president, Minnette Boesel said. “We will hear how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Manned Spacecraft Center would become the heart of the scientific and engineering community as they ramped up space exploration efforts leading up to the landing on the moon.”
“The 2024 total solar eclipse is making media and tourism history across our country, especially in Texas,” said Bell. “Compare that excitement to when the world was fixated in front of TVs in 1969 watching the mission control room in Houston as astronaut Neil Armstrong took his first weightless, bouncing step.”
The Houston Heritage Luncheon is chaired by civic leaders Lainie Gordon and David Mincberg. A long-time public servant, Mincberg most recently served as Board Chairman of Houston First Corporation. Gordon has been involved with many local non-profit organizations.
Dr. Brinkley, the author of American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race will be signing his book following the luncheon. A silent auction will also benefit Houston’s history museum, so The Heritage Society can continue spotlighting Houston’s history in compelling and relevant ways.
For tickets and more information, please see https://www.heritagesociety.org/houston-heritage-luncheon-2024 or contact info@heritagesociety.org.
About the Speaker:
Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He works in many capacities in the world of public history, including on boards, museums, colleges, and historical societies. The Chicago Tribune dubbed him “America’s New Past Master”. The New-York Historical Society has chosen Brinkley as their official U.S. Presidential Historian. His recent book Cronkite won the Sperber Prize while The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. He has received a Grammy Award for Presidential Suite and seven honorary doctorates in American Studies. His two-volume annotated “The Nixon Tapes” recently won the Arthur S. Link – Warren F. Kuehl Prize. He is a member of the Century Association, Council of Foreign Relations, and the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and three children.
More about The Heritage Society: The Heritage Society, a 501 (c)(3) organization, tells the stories of the diverse history of Houston and Texas through collections, exhibits, the arts, educational programs, film, video, and other content. Founded in 1954 by a number of public-spirited Houstonians to rescue the 1847 Kellum-Noble House from demolition, The Heritage Society has since saved an additional nine historic buildings, moved them from various locations to join the Kellum-Noble House in Sam Houston Park, and restored them to reflect their respective eras. These ten buildings, along with the museum gallery, serve as historic reference points and exhibition spaces for more than 23,000 artifacts that document life in Houston from the early 1800s to the mid-1900s. For more information, please contact info@heritagesociety.org or see www.heritagesociety.org.
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