Inside the Main Event

Seen & Heard at the ServiceNation Forum

Power players from the world of politics, development, and Hollywood came together at Columbia University Thursday night to hear Barack Obama and John McCain take a day off the campaign trail to present their mutual support of volunteer service.

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**featuring soundbites from Tobey Maguire, Jeffrey Sachs, David Paterson, and Queen Noor of Jordan

Tobey Maguire AKA Spiderman on serving

Greg B. asked Maguire if he had ever volunteered for any of these initiatives. His reply: "I am interested in them but have not made a commitment to any organization."

Maguire went on, "For awhile I tried to decide what I wanted to do, did I want to choose an organization or start my own thing? I couldn't make up my mind, so I've decided to put one foot in front of the other and see where it goes."

Thanks for serving, Spiderman.

Yeah! Yeah! Usher gets out the vote

Rapper Usher Raymond IV spoke at a press gallery at Low Library just now. He said the common goal between politicians, philanthropists and entertainers is to promote service. Usher, who looked smooth in a dark suit and sunglasses (it was an indoor event!), was flanked by three young men who are involved in youth-based service initiatives. When I asked him about the most important issue for young people in the upcoming election, the Yeah! singer replied simply that it was ?engaging young people?.

Usher meets with "Generation S"

At the start of the ServiceNation event today, famed R&B artist Usher met with "100 Exceptional Young Leaders" who gathered at Columbia University to discuss their ideas for the future of community service. Usher has been named ServiceNation's "Youth Chair," and he has deemed the country's youth "Generation S" for their service potential. Along with a list of musical accomplishments, Usher founded "New Look," a non-profit organization dedicated to providing youth from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to learn about the business behind sports and entertainment."Set a platform. Set a vision. I'll be the voice. I make that promise to you today," he told the group at the conclusion of the meeting.

Spiderman, The Terminator, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Bon Jovi, the First Lady, the Queen of Jordan? Oh my!

We first reported Usher attending the ServiceNation Summit earlier this week, but with Barack Obama and John S. McCain both scheduled to speak at Columbia University on the seventh anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, it's easy to overlook the growing chorus of politicians, celebrities, businesspeople and um, "community organizers" also involved in Friday's event being held at the Hilton New York.

Below is a list of all scheduled attendees for this Friday, September 12, 2008 (I divided them into broad categories so as to see which industry was ServiceNation friendly). California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will wrap up the Summit as keynote speaker on Friday night.

Charities and Foundations

• Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, The King Hussein Foundation
• Dr. Mehmet Oz, Founder and Chairman, HealthCorps
• Silda Wall, Founding Chair, Children for Children
• Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO, Teach For America
• Jean Case, CEO, The Case Foundation
• Ray Chambers, Amelior Foundation
• Martin Luther King III, CEO, Realizing The Dream
• Kelly Caffarelli, President, Home Depot Foundation
• Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Laurie Tisch, Philanthropist, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

Politics & Government

• Lieutenant Governor Mitchell Landrieu
• Representative Christopher Shays, Connecticut
• Admiral Michael Mullen, Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Senator Hillary Clinton, New York
• Senator Chris Dodd, Connecticut
• First Lady Laura Bush
• Governor David Paterson, New York
• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Keynote speaker)
  

Fashion, Music and Film

• Alicia Keys, Co-Founder and Global Ambassador, Keep A Child Alive
• Kenneth Cole, Fashion Designer
• Jon Bon Jovi, Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation
• Tobey Maguire, Award Winning Actor
• Usher Raymond IV, Summit Youth Chair; Founder, New Look Foundation

Education

• Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University
• Dr. Amy Gutmann, President, University of Pennsylvania
• David Gergen, Professor, Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
• Scott Cowen, President, Tulane University
• Chancellor Joel Klein, New York City Schools

Environment

• Robert Kennedy, Jr., President, Waterkeeper Alliance
• Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University

Business

• Lloyd Blankfein, CEO, Goldman Sachs

"Mrs. Bush Saluting Service" photo by Tina Hager. Photo courtesy of White House Photo Gallery