private quarters of the first family. now, this is not the end. it's not even the beginning of the end. but it is perhaps after nearly a 50-year start the end of the beginning. at long last we now have the tools to do the job, and must look to the future. our plan said that one of those big ideas that churchill understood could completely captivate the names -- the minds of the market people and bring out their creative and energetic powers. here in washington we are surrounded by venerables and venerated institutions of study including for example, only the woodrow wilson international center for scholars of the brookings institution, the heritage foundation and the american enterprise institute. we are dedicated and passionate in our commitment that within

five years, the nclc will stand tall among these institutions and be globally recognized and respected as a facility that supports and encourages research, discussion and new thinking in methods of leadership, global citizenry, statesmanship and resolution of conflict. with the example of the last century's supreme statesmen as our guide, the fellows of nclc will have a growing and influential impact in these fields, policymakers will come to nclc for guidance and advice. and we will promote healthy exchange of ideas throughout our forums and even hosting within eight years presidential debates. as we've seen again and again in and the many crises that have beset are still young century, in times of trouble, people rightly look to the example of

winston churchill. now we have a strong country of leadership from a new generation of churchillians led by randolph churchill who i am delighted to announce finally today accepted the role of president of ics. it was not an easy task to get him to say yes, but he's the only one we want. this cadry of young leaders known simply as the other club are pushing us forward with fresh energy, dynamism and vitality. they make us financially, intellectually and generationally self-sustaining. and i stand in bewildered awe of all that they do, will do in will bring to our organization.

fund-raising, that dirty word, is a permanent fact of life and growth organizations such as ours. although we have raised millions thus far from many generous and supportive donors, we constantly need to be reaching further a field for more funds to support those specific and general programs. your help, connections, ideas, and yes, of course your donations are always much-needed and truly appreciated. now you may ask, what are our aims? they are of course victory. victory at all costs. and this is what our victory will look like. we will establish the nclc and ics as the authority on the life, lessons, legacy and relevancy of winston churchill. we will make the nclc and the

ics the place to go for research into leadership, statesmanship, strategy and resolution of conflict, national and international purpose, and the protection of democracy and freedom. and, finally, we will carry out the mandate given to us by churchill's daughter all those years ago, our late patron, and that the memory of sir winston churchill will be kept green and the record of his achieving factor. i know, i should and come with an appropriate churchill quote. however, i want to share with you the last lines from the robert frost poem that is always remind me not only of the importance of our task, but what still lies ahead in our grand adventure. the woods are lovely, dark and deep. but i have promises to keep. and miles to go before i sleep.

and miles to go before i sleep. thank you very much. [ applause ] if i am tearing up you will forgive me because i was just thinking of mary winston and martin just now, and i wish they would have been here. forgive me. before i relinquish the podium, i want to thank lee pollock, who's been my hard-working partner, has been nation's with my moods, my noise, my crises, and has never been overwhelmed. he's a partner in this crusade these last half-dozen years. and together we weathered the storms that threatens us all. he has the gratitude and

appreciated us all. he and his wonderful ever forbearing wife jill have decided it's time to retire from the daily toil of the churchill vendors and my outbursts. and they were saying a short as an active advisory member of the board more poorly he has developed -- speaker on church on hope he continues that. lee is passing the torch to another member of the other club. after a long and thorough search g. dubya address of selected in the widefield a wonderful candidates, a man who takes all the boxes and is taken on the dual challenge of serving both as the first director of the national church library and center and succeeding lee as executive director of ics. michael bishop is a longtime member of the churchill center

at ics and comes with some strategic investment group. it's an asset management company in arlington, virginia, where he ishas served or had served as chief of communications, a california native, michael was educated at university of california, berkeley, g. dubya itself and georgetown university university. he has extensive political experience. having served on capitol hill during the clinton years and later in the white house during the administration of gw bush. is also executive director of the abraham lincoln on centennial commission and served as a consultant to the steven spielberg film about the 16th president. his reviews and articles on churchill, the great wall, lincoln and other subjects regularly appear in "the wall street journal," the "washington post" and the national review, and elsewhere. michael, will you come up and introduce yourself to a truly magnificent and daunting audience of churchillians.

all of them i don't join in wishing every success as together we all continue our grand adventure into a bright and exciting future. [ applause ] >> thank you, laurence. thank you very much. thank you very much for the kind introduction. all of us owe you an enormous debt of gratitude for your leadership, and your efforts to keep the churchill flame alive. we have another round of applause for our distinguished chairman, please. thanks to lee pollock for helping to make this moment the reality. he has been churchill's legacy of great service, and a pleased to call him a friend. think you, lee.

it is a tremendous honor to be appointed the first director of the national church library and center at the george washington university, and executive director at the international churchill society. i'm grateful to the board of ics and the leadership of the gw libraries for selecting me. though i've only been in my post since monday, my new colleagues at the university have already made me feel at home. and as a 1994 recipient of a masters degree of history from gw, for me it is a sort of homecoming. soon you will see for yourselves the fruits of our efforts. after years of toil and struggle, the nclc is our reality. within the sleek, silvery space, students and visitors will have access to hundreds of volumes on churchill from classic works to much of the most recent

scholarship, and interactive touchscreen video exhibition will allow patrons to see the colorful and vivid detail, countless photographs and documents that bring the great man to life. and the incomparable holders of the churchill archive center, churchill college, cambridge, will be available to visitors online. thanks to a generous a gift from the ics, the nclc can also boast a remarkable collection of churchill's second world war engagement diary cards. never before available to the public or to scholars. in addition, and by the way, these cards form a fascinating contemporary record of the prime ministers meetings and movements during the second world war. in addition to the originals, high resolution digital scans are available online and a remarkably successful crowd sourcing project has yielded

detailed transcription. i'm pleased to announce you can read more about this historical treasure trove and the nclc in the "washington post" today. but the value of the nclc is not to be found in books, papers or pixels alone. the walls of the library will soon bring with the sounds of discussions and debates. as we host lectures by prominent historians, political figures, businesspeople and others, and explore the countless issues that touch upon the churchill's story. among them, questions of war and peace, the future of the european union, and the continuing challenges in the middle east. to study the life and career of winston churchill is in many

ways a welcome respite from a seemingly tawdry and a global presence. the churchill studies are now mere exercise in nostalgia but rather a blueprint for leadership. indeed, leadership will be chief among the themes we will explore at the nclc. as the great man's example provide inspiration and instruction two leaders and aspiring leaders in many different fields of endeavor. the chairman and the director, tim riley. we have met at the end of the ugliest, disparaging presidential campaign of modern times, of any time.

i would like to close with the words of sir winston as a preview of what you will see at the nclc tomorrow. in 1937 churchill said all the greatest things are simple and many can be expressed in a single word. freedom. justice. honor. duty. mercy. hope. thanks for all you have done to preserve the legacy of winston churchill. i trust we can trust in the future and together we can move forward into broad, sun lit up lands. thank you very much. >> thank you, michael, ladies and gentlemen, we will have a quick turnaround and go to our first panel.

i invite our panelists up and i will turn over the microphone to professor dane kennedy of george washington university wlo will be the moderator for churchill and the president. >> more of binston churchill wednesday evening here on c-span3. starting at 8:00 eastern, a kfrksen with the former british prime minister's relationship with friends and family and his time in washington, d.c., and also his mother who was an american. that starts at 8:00 p.m. here tomorrow on c-span3. and friday is veterans day a the 11:00 a.m. eastern, president obama lays a wreeth at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery.