Speakers for August

  Our Sunday services at 11:00 a.m. feature a different guest speaker each week, either a member of our congregation or someone from the surrounding community. We address a variety of topics, from literature and history to politics, religious thought and social issues. We welcome suggestions for speakers, please contact Donna Orchard donnaforchard@gmail.com

August 5

Speakers: KATE REALI
Title: Seniors Living With HIV/AIDS
Summary: Many people believe that only young people need to worry about HIV/AIDS. The truth is, seniors are also at risk. At present, over one-quarter of all HIV/AIDS patients are over fifty. Yale Medical School experts have predicted as much as 50% is possible. Inspired by nearly two decades covering the news, award winning photojournalist Kate Reali, continues to be compelled to tell the stories of those she encountered. A freelance commercial photographer and social media influencer, she started her career working as an intern with the Miami Herald, then later worked as a staff photographer with the Mobile Press Register for thirteen years. Kate is raising four wonderful children—and, as one of their teachers on Sunday morning, helping raise our own FUF children and teens.
Introduction: Lucy Mercer

August 19

Speaker: GIORGI DI LEMIS
Title: SCORE is America’s Small Business Resource
Summary: Since its founding in 1964, SCORE (then called the Service Corps of Retired Executives) has provided expert, free and confidential mentoring to entrepreneurs, business start-ups, expanding businesses or businesses experiencing difficulties. Giorgi Di Lemis, a consultant for several international hotel companies and partner to seven restaurants
around the county is one of the many successful entrepreneurs, business owners and executives interested in giving back to their communities who serve as SCORE volunteers. A native of Venice, Italy, Giorgi earned an MBA from Rollins College. His career with the international hotel companies brought him to America to live and raise a family.
Introduction: Ray Ables

August 12 

Speaker: KEN BALME
Title: No One Likes Empty Envelopes
Summary: Ken Balme will share some of the little known stories about this area that he has come across as president of the Old Methodist Church Museum of Daphne. Inquiring about a volunteer role at the museum led to his becoming the president. He created and published a handbook for docents, which is now a Kindle book. Those who know Ken note his whimsical turn of mind and metaphorical turn of phrase; his poetry succinct, allusive, even cryptic. A little known fact is that Ken had a brief career as a stand-up comic, under the stage name “Kenny B.” and “kept his amateur status by never getting paid.” After thirty-seven years, Ken retired from working for Carrier Air Conditioner Company, and has been an assistant librarian in St. Augustine and studied environmental anthropology at the University of Wales Lampeter.
Introduction: Jule Moon


​August 26

Speaker: ANNE ARMSTRONG
Title: The Rich Life of Ric Masten
Summary: Singer-songwriter, painter, actor, quick-draw artist, and carpenter are just some of the roles that make up the rich life experiences reflected in the work of Ric Masten. His song/poem “Let It Be a Dance,” became part of the hymn book in the Unitarian Universalist Church, in which Masten was ordained a minister in 1971. “Ric Masten’s poems take us
to the heart of the human experience because they come from the heart of a good and wise man,” said commentator Bill Moyers. FUF member Anne Armstrong was born into a British military family in the days when the sun never set on the British Empire. She grew up in several East African and Arab countries and currently lives in Daphne with her husband Del and their dog, Fritz.
Introduction: Pat Smith