Hi Bernie,
I am in Las Vegas for DOE presenting the Pollard case so only had the weekend home. I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your invite to the Spy Conference. I truly was humbled and considered it a great honor to be a part of your annual conference. It was the best spy conferences I ever had the pleasure to be a part of. Everything you did was perfect and the conference was set up to make everything easy for us. Also, please thank your staff once again for all their hard work. I also wanted to mention the car service you used with Larry. He was outstanding and always on time, very cordial and went out of his way to make sure everything went smooth. If I were you I would keep him in mind for any other special event you plan.
Best wishes,
Ron
Dear Mr. Reeves,
I was extremely impressed with the Raleigh Spy Conference at the Museum of History. I have spent the weekend recounting the topics of discussion to family members and friends. The featured guest speakers all had incredible presentations that were historically fascinating. Furthermore, I found their experiences and wealth of knowledge extremely important considering the current state of world affairs. Specifically, the topic of sexspionage almost sent me overboard! I loved hearing of the role of women in espionage. I have been researching the spies mentioned at the conference and have started reading one of the five books that I purchased. I strongly believe there are many in this area who would appreciate such a informative discussion on the topic of espionage and believe your conference will continue growing in attendance. I am looking forward to viewing the conference on C-Span. Do you know when the episode will air on TV?
Please remember me next year when preparing for the 2010 Raleigh Spy Conference. My husband, HH Hancock, and I would love to host a reception for the featured guest at our home, become a sponsor for the event, stuff folders for the welcome packets...ANYTHING!
Again, it was a great event and I am so fortunate to have stumbled on the Sunday News and Observer Article about Felix Bloch. This is how I learned of the Spy Conference.
Thank You,
Rebecca Hancock
Bernie:
I want you to know that I enjoyed the ’09 Spy Conference immensely. It was extremely well run, you and your staff did a great job, and the presenters were all superb. This event was well worth the time and money.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Simon
Dear Bernie,
You are certainly the Master of spy conferences! Again, it was an informative, eye opening and fun time being with people who want to learn, are curious and patriots. I actually go through withdrawal symptoms when the conference ends. Your speakers are highly qualified to speak on their subjects and the attendees are smart cookies themselves. Thank you to you and your staff for planning and executing. The coffee was particularly good and the food on both evenings was tasty and well-chosen.
Jim Cheatham says he hopes you and Katie will join us at the Carolina Inn on April 19 at 5:30 to participate in Robert Ruark's acceptance into the Journalism Hall of Fame.
I enjoyed talking to Katie's parents.
Thank you for keeping us challenged and informed, Bernie.
Love to you,
Lou Johanson
Bernie/Katie,
Trish arrived safely in Arizona and my drive back to Vienna was uneventful and quick which is the desired outcome from any travel experience.
Trish and I want to thank you both for your hospitality during the recently highly successful conference. Had to be the best one yet. I spoke to so many people before during and after the event and they all loved the presentations. My colleagues were equally delighted not only for the opportunity to speak but to sell a ton of books also. During our discussions back at the Oakwood Inn, we all agreed that it could not have been better.
Special thanks to your staff: Maury Jefferson and Katie Poole who looked after our every need: Larry Wilson and Floyd who were so gracious and helpful driving us to and from our destination and the folks who own the B&B who were delightful hosts.
Katie - as always, enjoyed the interactions with your parents. How lucky you are that God has given you such wonderful people as your parents.
A special thanks for including Dan Mulvenna and Andrey "Rostov" as participants. Dan toiled long hours to make my presentation "conference ready" and is a huge supporter of the conference. Dan speaks to audiences all over the world and perhaps when we get the theme hammered home for next year's conference we can consider him to be on stage. While not technically a defector (he still gets a small KGB pension), Andrey cannot return home and is barely scraping by in this country. Dan takes care of him in many small ways and your providing a pass to the conference is greatly appreciated.
Have to mention that one of my "online" students (early twenty year old young lady) who is taking one of my grad school courses which I teach for the Bush School at Texas A&M asked me if she could sit in my presentation. Given the fact that she is taking an online course, she has heard me via my taped lectures but had never met me. She lives and works an hour or so away from Raleigh and took a half day off of work to hear my talk and that of Ron Olive whose book is required reading for my course. She showed up at noon Thursday with her protective father (USAF veteran) just thrilled to be at the conference. Spoke with the father who was going to go to a coffee shop and wait for his daughter. Invited him to sit in for the afternoon session and he was equally thrilled. Told him the pass was our thanks for his service to our country. Both were just so happy to have taken in the half day.
As you may recall, I was asked a question yesterday which raised the issue of a "Fourth Mole" which many of us believe is still out there (I have fourteen pages in my book devoted to this theory.) I used the question to plug AFIO and the fact that one of my graduate students at the Institute of World Politics where I teach a course in the fall had written a paper on the "Fourth Mole" which Elizabeth Bancroft has chosen for an upcoming issue of their in house semi-annual journal, the "Intelligencer." The young man heard that I had plugged his article and wrote the nicest note to me last night in awe that his first published article was mentioned at the conference and had left him "speechless." The reactions to the two young people who are students of mine makes me feel so good and wanted to share their delight at being connected to the conference. It is young people like these two (and there are so many more) that represent the kinds of folks we need to invest in to be sure that our country remains safe.
Terrific event and Trish joins me in thanking both of you for your (as always) warm hospitality.
Brian
PS - Your photographer snapped a picture or two of me speaking with Andrea Bloch. We spent a very long time exchanging thoughts at the Jazz Club. When you are pouring over the photos I would appreciate your sending me one of them. Thanks.
Bernie,
Great letter --had to make you feel very vindicated.
I hope that you share Doug's letter with the rest of the speakers - I am sure they would feel as delighted as I was to read the comments. Gene and Elizabeth would be very pleased to read the comments too.
Couple of things that Doug highlighted which are of importance: many of the speakers are former "practitioners" and not the academics who usually speak at these events. Moreover the speakers are approachable and mingle with the audience during the breaks as well as before and after the proceedings.
Doug hits on the topic which I raised about the lack of students and clearly an issue which we need to address in the fall when plans will be made for Raleigh VII (assume that you will be going for another round.)
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards,
Brian
Hi Bernie,
It was nice to meet and talk with you at the spy conference last week.
The speakers were fantastic! You have created a tremendous forum for the topic. And I can say that as a practitioner/scholar with a few years under the belt.
In the future, I'd like to bring a few students to the conference. Thanks and again please accept my congratulations on a superb program.
All the best,
David
Dear Bernie,
Excellent Spy Conference! Nigel West is a stick of dynamite, totally fascinating. And he definitely has a sense of humor. I believe you have established a social event as well as a discussion of espionage. The interval between speakers on Thursday was quite good because of the social interaction and access to the speakers. The long interval on Friday was probably due to a lecturer not being able to attend.
The two authors who wrote about Jonathan Pollard and the Chinese woman might give an assessment of their books themselves at the end revealing the aftermath of those cases. What was the effect upon the CIA and FBI along with what happened to those agents who bungled their jobs? The importance of the assessment might be suggested to the authors before their talks or perhaps this was considered enslaved for the open discussion on Friday morning.
The introductory talk about women in espionage really set the tone for the conference and even prompted me to purchase his book. The overall topic was really engaging, especially Mata Hari, Hedy LaMarr and others of that ilk. Since so many people are interested in World War II, another compelling conference topic might be the underground during that conflict, especially in France under Vichy. You definitely have speakers for more on this topic.
Terrorism is always a compelling topic. How about providing more insight on the vulnerabilities of the US at this time? This may be difficult because speakers are limited. How about also providing insight on successes of US counter espionage over the past 10 years? Even though much of this is classified, much about this is known but not publicized. It is likely that speakers generally come to promote their books and it is probably difficult to prompt speakers to come just to present a topic. I’d like to be inspired by a successful American Spy!
Cheers,
Surry
Thanks to Bernie Reeves and the rest of the
Metro Magazine crew for a very successful Spy Conference. We thought the speakers were splendid, the venues wonderful and the information was outstanding. Please consider my husband Stephen and myself as future attendees … we would love to come again.
Eugenia B. Ryner
Library Director/Unit Chief
FBI Library
(
Editor’s Note: The 6th annual Raleigh Spy Conference was held March 25-27 at the NC Museum of History Auditorium. We thank our sponsors: Le Bleu Water and Nature’s Pearl; Restoration Systems; Rosemary and Smedes York; and Florence and Charles Winston. The registration reception was held at The Pit barbecue restaurant and the Thursday evening spy gala at Amra’s Jazz Club, catered by Mark Day Catering. Speakers were lodged at the Oakwood Inn, and Supreme Auto Service provided speaker transportation. The Flying Biscuit provided coffee and food during the event, and Sitti restaurant hosted the speakers for lunch March 26. This year’s conference was presented in association with the Department of Political Science at NC State University, Andrew Taylor, Chairman. Go to www.raleighspyconference.com for a recap of the 2009 Raleigh Spy Conference and for information on past events.)