i'm mark hamrick, broadcast and online journalist with the "associated press" and i'm the 104th president of the national press club. good to have you here today. we are the lead's leading world professional organization for journalists committed to our profession's future for programming, events such as this, while working for a free press worldwide. you can visit www.press.org. and to donate to programs offered through the public through our national press club journalism institute, you can check the website there as well. on behalf of our members worldwide, i'd like to welcome our speaker today as well as those of you attending today's event. our head table includes guests of the speaker as well as working journalists who are all club members. and if you hear applause in our audence, and this is something i'm reminding people throughout thisit event, if you hear applause in the audience, we note that members of the general public are atengding, so it's not necessarily evidence of a lack of journalistic objectivity. [ laughter ] laughter is encouraged. i'd also like to welcome our c-spa