Naples, Florida 2011

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Anderson Cooper included in Naples speaker series

news-press.com • June 1, 2010

4:44 P.M. — Anderson Cooper, host of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” is scheduled to speak Feb. 13 as the second of four featured speakers to be announced for the 2011 Town Hall Distinguished Speaker Series.

The first was Sarah Palin, who is scheduled to appear on March 23 at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples.

“We are especially pleased to be the first to present Anderson Cooper to the Naples community. He will bring an exciting mixed bag of experiences while covering some of the most important events of our current era,” Rick Borman, president and producer of the Town Hall Series said in a news release. “His recent coverage of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and boots-on-the-ground reporting of its effects on the working people of Louisiana and Gulf ecosystems is a perfect example of how he has matured into a fearless investigative reporter. Anderson epitomizes the role of the television journalist and its importance to society, reminiscent of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. This will be a fascinating night at Town Hall. There is no substitute for hearing a cultural icon like Anderson in an unfiltered environment.”

Subscriptions to the four-speaker series are $600 per person; or $1,350 per person for the dinner series, which includes a private cocktail reception, dinner and 45 minute Q&A. For those looking to support this nonprofit by participating as a Town Hall Benefactor, $5,000 provides exclusive access for two with priority seating, a private cocktail reception, dinner and 45 minute Q&A, plus entry to special events and an invitation to dine with one guest speaker. Ticket information is available at www.naplestownhall.org.

Since the launch of “Anderson Cooper 360,” Cooper has covered nearly all of the major news events around the world. Often reporting from the scene, he spent more than a month along the U.S. Gulf Coast covering the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has returned more than 20 times to follow the reconstruction progress. Cooper has reported multiple times from Afghanistan and Iraq, including several anniversaries of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraqi elections. Cooper has also covered the ongoing violence in Mexico, the bombings in London and the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. He also anchored much of CNN's live coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City in 2005 and traveled to Sri Lanka to cover the tsunami in 2004.

In addition to reporting for CNN, Cooper also provides reports for CBS’ “60 Minutes.” His memoirs, “Dispatches from the Edge,” covering the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and other news events, recently topped the New York Times best-seller list and other best-seller charts.

Cooper and “Anderson Cooper 360: have won several major journalism awards, including multiple Emmy awards. Cooper graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He also studied Vietnamese at the University of Hanoi.

Naples Town Hall Distinguished Speaker Series is entering its 28th year of presenting the world’s most influential leaders and speakers. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to present ideas and issues that stimulate thought, promote dialogue and enhance understanding. As a 501(c)3 organization, Naples Town Hall is continually working to create opportunities for teachers and administrators and their students, from grade school through college, to participate in this forum of ideas.

“The key to a free and open society is education. We believe that can and should be fun too!” said Borman, who added the remaining two speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.