I roll into work this Monday and all I can think about is black coffee. Walking down to the break room, past the festive looking mini Christmas tree, four large mysterious boxes from Denver, the small smörgåsbord of mini cookies and the popcorn that I bet no one eats, I arrive at the break room. Then it hits me. I don't even like coffee. Then it hits me again. Four. Large. Boxes. From Denver. The SCA photo archive from the Denver Public Library is here! Whoever said all Mondays are lame obviously never got anything from the Denver Library. As we begin to tear through the piles of slides, negatives, and prints, I come across a group of photos of celebrities/politicians holding SCA memorabilia. Among them are Bill Clinton, Nancey Reagan, and a happy looking man named Eli Segal.
The photo is dated 1992 and I do not know who this is. Seeing as I was 9 in 1992, who won the kickball game and what is on tap for snack were much higher priorities than national politics. My interest sparked, I begin my search. Who is Eli Segal?
Eli Segal came to prominence as the maestro of Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign. After orchestrating such a successful campaign, one is usually first inline to reap the benefits offered from the new leader of the free world. Mr. Segal could have taken money and/or power in almost any form imaginable. What he did next would be unthinkable to some, but perfect to others. He took a small office and no money and chose to help the Clinton administration follow through on its campaign promise to jump start the national conservation programs. After becoming the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service he successfully merged several existing conservation programs into Americorps. He also created the Welfare-to-Work Partnership and saw it through its initial opposition from businesses to currently include over 22,000 employers. To learn more about this champion of service see:
- Newsweek Article [1]
- Americorps [2]
- Tribute to Eli Segal [3]
- Welfare-to-Work Partnership [4]