Wednesday, 07/28/2010 Print Version |
Good morning. I would like to extend a special welcome from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library to our many friends here this morning, especially members of the California State legislature and our local elected officials from Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Ventura County and Santa Barbara. My name is Stewart McLaurin and I'm the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration.On behalf of the board of trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, welcome to this morning's event where Governor Schwarzenegger will join Mrs. Reagan and sign two California state bills, which together create an annual Ronald Reagan Day on February the 6th every year and also establishes a state commission charged with honoring President Reagan on his 100th birthday throughout 2011. Authored by Senator George Runner, Senate Bill 944 officially designates February 6th of each year as Ronald Reagan Day. Assembly Bill 1911, authored by Assemblyman Martin Garrick, establishes the Ronald Reagan California Centennial Commission. You will also be interested to know that today in Washington D.C. the federal commission held its very first meetings.This morning we are honored to have as our special guest Mr. Theodore F. Craver Jr., chairman and CEO of Edison International, a leading national electric power company headquartered in Rosemead, California and today we will announce that Edison International has been named cosponsor of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration with a $1.5 million charitable gift to the Reagan Foundation. (Applause)This significant financial support from Edison will be used for two very important aspects of President Reagan's centennial:First, Edison will sponsor the Governor of California Gallery in the newly renovated Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum. The museum is scheduled to unveil a major renovation on President Reagan's 100th birthday, which is February 6th, 2011. It will be a centerpiece of the year's Centennial Celebration. The renovations, which are currently underway, will transform the Reagan Museum into an exciting hands-on, immersive experience maqui berry does it work for the millions of visitors that we will welcome in the next few years and who will enjoy a terrific educational experience dedicated to the 40th president of the United States.The second important aspect of the Edison gift will be a part of the Centennial Legacy Campaign. Two hundred Edison Bus Transportation Scholarships will allow over 12,000 low-income, at-risk students, over the next five years to experience the Air Force One Discovery Center and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The Discovery Center, located just behind us, is a presidential decision-making simulation that allows students in grades 5 through 8 to play historic figures from the Reagan Administration and engage in high-level decision making, debate and problem solving.This February 6th will mark President Reagan's 100th birthday and a wide array of plans are underway here at the library in Simi Valley, across the nation and in fact around the world. These plans are continually updated and information is available on the foundation's Centennial website, which is http://dl5.activatedirect.com/fs/d:l/yvcee9xanplikz/z0p53b2uas0j9z/2. I encourage you to check there for opportunities to become involved here and across the country in this historic celebration.We're also pleased to have with us here today several leaders who share our respect and our enthusiasm for President Reagan. We are joined by members of the California State legislature. From the Senate we welcome Dennis Hollingsworth and Tony Strickland and from the Assembly with us today are Martin Garrick, Jean Fuller, Dan Gilmore, Curt Hagman, Cameron Smyth, Chris Norby and Audra Strickland.Also here today is Paul Miner, representing our centennial presenting sponsor, GE. And we are honored to have accompanying Mr. Craver senior executives from Edison International Polly Gault, Barbara Parsky, Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez, John Finneran and Steven Eisenberg.And now it is indeed my great privilege and pleasure to welcome Mrs. Nancy Reagan, escorted by the governor of California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Assemblyman Martin Garrick, Senator Dennis Hollingsworth and Edison Chairman and CEO Ted Craven. (Applause)All right, we did it. (Applause)Ladies and gentlemen, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause)Well, thank you very much for this long introduction. It's really terrific. (Laughter) Unbelievable. What a buildup. Thank you. I'm going to hire you as my publicist. (Laughter)But anyway, it's nice to be here today. First of all, I want to say thank you to Nancy Reagan for being here today with us and Senator Hollingsworth, Assemblyman Garrick, then Duke Blackwood, the director of the Reagan Library, Ted Craver, the CEO of Edison and then Stewart McLaurin, the executive director of the Reagan Centennial Celebration and all the leaders, legislators and city officials that are here today with us. So thank you very much, all of you, for being here today.It is an honor to be here. And Nancy, I just want to say thank you very much for your great friendship always and what a privilege it is to call you my friend. And you remain a great, great example to all of us, of course, because when you walk around the library here I think it is very clear, the love and affection and the respect that you have for President Reagan.It's incredible when you see the kind of displays in here. As a matter of fact, I was just sitting on my Terminator motorcycle. We have a huge display here at the Reagan Library of motorcycles. I don't know if most people know but it was President Reagan that really helped Harley-Davidson to get back on its feet. But he didn't do it the way that some always do it, which is through a bailout. But he was a big believer -- he was a big believer in teaching people how to fish rather than give them a fish and that's exactly what he has done. He has created better trade relationships with Japan, more fair trade relationships and gave Harley-Davidson a great, great chance to be on an equal level. And Harley-Davidson came back like gangbusters and became now one of the top motorcycle companies in the world, all because of Ronald Reagan. And that's why we are celebrating here at the Reagan Library motorcycles and his great work in that area alone.But I also want to just say to Duke Blackwood, thank you for your great leadership here, because unlike any other library this changes all the time so people can come out here many times a year and always see new displays. And the repeat customers, as I said to you, is the important thing. So I think it is great and this is what makes this the top library in the country and in the world, so it's great to be here.But today, of course, we are celebrating also legislation, two pieces of legislation that we have just signed here. These are:Senate Bill 944 by Senator Runner and it is designating February 6th of each year as Ronald Reagan Day. This will be a day on which our schools can teach our kids about Ronald Reagan's extraordinary work for this state and for this country that he loved so much. It will be a day also on which all Californians can reflect on and remember with great affection his quick wit and, of course, his charm and his unwavering optimism. And it will also be a day on which generations to come can pause and honor the life and the legacy of California's favorite son, Ronald Reagan.Now, the other piece of legislation is Assembly Bill 1911 by Assemblyman Garrick. This bill creates the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission. As we all know, February 6th of next year is Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday and, of course, for something like that you've got to celebrate. We've got to celebrate really big. So this is why we created the commission, which will help plan events and determine the best and most appropriate ways to celebrate this special day. Maybe we'll throw a huge parade or name a college after him or a mountain range after him, or maybe a lake we will name after him. I don't know.But the least thing we can do is we can start building a great statue of Ronald Reagan up there at the State Capitol, because he has done such extraordinary work for the state of California -- and I know that Assemblyman Garrick agrees with me on that one. Yeah, absolutely.Of course, for me personally, I do not need a special day to honor President Reagan because I honor President Reagan every day in the way I lead my life and in the way I govern the great state of California. Few if any figures have had such a profound influence on me as Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan is my hero. I have a bust of him in my office; I have pictures of him in my office. As a matter of fact, the Cabinet Room is named after him, the Ronald Reagan Cabinet Room. And, of course, when we make decisions we always think first about what would Ronnie have done with this problem.I remember that he was the first president that I voted for as a citizen. I was motivated to become a citizen of the United States so I can vote for him, so in 1983 I became an American citizen and in 1984 then I could vote for Ronald Reagan when he ran for his second term.The power of his ideas and the strength of his leadership inspire me. President Reagan spoke a language that everyone understood; the language of freedom. When America was down he replaced fear with hope, uncertainty with resolve and doubt with confidence. As California's governor he renewed the promise of our Golden State and as the nation's president he revived the American Dream.And his leadership affected not just our nation but nations around the world. Because of President Reagan the world is safer, more free and more prosperous today. He once said, "In this springtime of hope some lights seem eternal; America's is." So with this legislation we will help ensure that Ronald Reagan's light too shines eternal.Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause) And now I would like to bring out a great leader in the Assembly -- we're talking here about Assemblyman Garrick. Thank you very much. (Applause)Thank you, Governor. And Mrs. Reagan, it's almost surreal for me to be here standing so close to you on this special day to honor one of my heroes. It's truly an honor to share this stage with you. And thank you to the people from the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library for all that you do. This is a magnificent place. And to all of my friends and fellow Reaganites, I want to say it's been too long and we need to do this more often.I spoke at a graduation ceremony last month for the Army-Navy Academy in my district. As I prepared to address the group of cadets and their families I thought about the first time I heard Ronald Reagan speak in person. It was at the Marlborough High School graduation in Los Angeles in 1974, the last year he was governor.In the speech "the great communicator" spoke of the price of freedom in America. He spoke of the golden hope of mankind and he spoke of American exceptionalism in the face of socialism and communism. He reminded the graduating students that his generation had gone from a horse and buggy all the way to the moon. He also noted that he, then at the age of 63, had already lived 10 years longer than his life expectancy and that this was a source of great aggravation in certain circles.Governor Reagan's speech left quite a mark on me as a young man, then only 21 years old and on the rest of the audience that day. Little did we know at that time just how much the great leader would achieve both for our state, our nation and in his lifetime. Six years after that speech I was fortunate enough to join with some of the faces I see today here in the crowd to work on the president's 1980 election in his White House Transition Team and in his administration.Today I am deeply honored to be able to play a role in honoring Ronald Reagan's legacy as a Californian and an American. As you know, President Reagan was California's first movie start governor. He starred in 53 films during his career. Now, how many have you starred in, Governor? (Laughter) I think it's 30, isn't it? You've got some catching up to do, I think.But he did more than just conquer Hollywood. He was the first and only person to serve as governor of California and president of the United States. He handed over the Horseshoe to Jerry Brown and the Oval Office he took back from Jimmy Carter. Even though his political opponents set a low bar he far exceeded any and all expectations.President Reagan inherited a country stuck in stagnation and unleashed the greatest peacetime economic expansion in America's history. He dared to dream not only of a peaceful end to the Cold War but also of the destruction of the evil empire and he accomplished both.Within a year of leaving office the Berlin Wall fell and Soviet communism crumbled. President Reagan restored pride and power to our military and he once again made our nation a beacon of hope, freedom and optimism for all of the world.February 6th, 2011 will mark the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth. Assembly Bill 1911, with the Governor's signature, creates California's Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission. It will celebrate and honor one of the most influential Californians and Americans in history. And in keeping with President Reagan's distrust of big government we made sure that his bill won't use any taxpayers' dollars and won't grow the bureaucracy.Just as Ronald Reagan taught the next generation about the greatness of America, I look forward to helping to teach future generations about Ronald Reagan's character, his optimism, his ideals and his enduring legacy. This commission and the celebration of his 100th birthday will help us ensure President Reagan's proper role in history.Thank you very much. (Applause) Now it's my pleasure to introduce Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth. (Applause)Thank you, Martin. Good morning, everyone. Martin, it's a pleasure being here with you. It is indeed an honor to be on this stage with all of our panelists, most especially the First Lady Mrs. Reagan, Governor, our panelists Mr. Craver and Mr. McLaurin. It is also an honor to be here to represent the Senate Republicans, representing many of you in Sacramento. And they are like so many others who were inspired, either in whole or in part, by Ronald Reagan to engage in the political process. And it's also an honor to be here on behalf of Senator Runner, the author of SB 944, which was signed today.We, as Californians, are fortunate that he looked west to that place where opportunity presents itself more boldly than anywhere else in the union, in the country that presents opportunity more boldly than anywhere else in the world. As Americans we were fortunate that when he became president he took those ideals of rugged individualism and self-reliance and implemented them, leading the greatest economic expansion in peacetime in history.The world is grateful that he took that audacity to say that the moral virtue of the ideals of America were superior to what he found around the world under a system that was keeping millions under tyranny and with a clear sense of purpose and that push towards moral superiority of American values, American virtues and the American ideal, led to the unshackling of millions of people around the world today so that they could enjoy the blessings of liberty.That is a fascinating -- that is a legacy to be celebrated and to be passed on. And I thank the Governor for signing these measures and the authors for bringing them forward so that future generations of Californians, Americans and indeed people all over the world, can come to California, not just to this place next year but all throughout the future and learn about the legacy of President Ronald Reagan.Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce our next panelist, Mr. Ted Craver, chairman and CEO of Edison International. (Applause)Thank you very much, Senator Hollingsworth. And welcome to all of you. Mrs. Reagan, Governor Schwarzenegger, Assemblyman Garrick and Senator Hollingsworth, it's really a pleasure for me to be here this morning and to be with you as part of this historic event. Edison International is proud to be a participant in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation's Centennial Celebration.President Reagan is one of our country's most beloved and iconic figures. He was a renowned international leader, a superb president, an innovative champion of California and he sealed his incomparable legacy.One of his most admirable qualities, I feel, though, is one that's instructive for us today and that was his skill, his ability to bridge differences, to craft compromises and to generate bipartisan support for important programs and legislation.I'm delighted to announce today that Edison International is making a $1.5 million charitable gift to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. (Applause) Thank you. This is something we were very excited about. It will support two important initiatives:The first is we will sponsor the Governor of California Gallery here at the Library and this will be highlighting the innovative solutions and then-Governor Reagan brought to California. The newly renovated museum will be unveiled on Ronald Reagan Day, February 6th, which will then be the 100th birthday of the late president.Secondly, a portion of the $1.5 million gift will be to support transportation scholarships and field trips allowing thousands of schoolchildren, grades 5 through 8, to come to this Library, to come to the Discovery Center and to learn about leadership and this pivotal point in history that Governor and President Ronald Reagan brought to our country.Today Ronald Reagan's spirit of innovation and foresight live on. His support helped pioneer innovative energy technologies. Some of you may know this, some of you may not but Ronald Reagan was very much a supporter of nuclear power and responsible for creating a number of the nuclear programs that we have in the state of California.We see that same spirit of innovation, actually, with Governor Schwarzenegger. For instance, his Million Solar Rooftop Initiative was a similar innovative approach.So, on behalf of Edison International, I want to extend our appreciation to everyone whose tireless efforts contributed to this noteworthy tribute to one of the most revered national figures in our country, President Ronald Reagan. Thank you. (Applause)Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our program for this morning. We would like to thank our special guests Mrs. Reagan, Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Hollingsworth, Assemblyman Garrick and Mr. Craver for being with us today for this very important and exciting announcement. We'd like to invite all of you to stay and enjoy our wonderful museum while you're here for this event.And I'd like to ask you to please remain seated while Mrs. Reagan and Governor Schwarzenegger exit. Thank you so much. (Applause)
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