Posted 5-14-08

Democrats Announce Convention Speakers

Author Broyles, Govs. Schweitzer and Freudenthal to deliver addresses

CASPER - Author and nationally recognized screenwriter Bill Broyles, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal are the featured speakers for events during the 2008 Wyoming Democratic State Convention, state party Chairman John Millin announced Wednesday.

The convention is scheduled for Saturday, May 24, at the Snow King Resort in Jackson.

In addition, Chairman Millin said, delegates and alternates to the convention will hear from the party's candidates for congressional offices as Democrats gather to cast formal presidential preference votes and vote for national delegates, Democratic National Committee members, and electors for president. A full agenda will follow later this week.

"We are fortunate to have such magnificent speakers for one of the most exciting conventions in our state's history," the chairman said. "This has been an incredible year with the visits by the two major candidates on the eve of our county caucuses and the record voter turnout at the caucuses. We are thrilled to have an award-winning author and two Western Democratic governors on hand to address the delegates."

Broyles, who lives in Teton County, will deliver the luncheon address. At the dinner banquet, Gov. Freudenthal will speak first, and he will introduce his counterpart directly to the north, Gov. Schweitzer.

Tickets for the luncheon, scheduled for noon on May 24, are $50, while tickets to the 7 p.m. dinner banquet are $100 each. Both events are fundraisers for the Wyoming Democratic Party. People can purchase tickets by contacting the Wyoming Democratic Party at (800) 729-3367 by May 19.

Short bios of the speakers follow.

AUTHOR WILLIAM BROYLES, JR.

Bill Broyles grew up in Baytown, Texas, attended Rice University and Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, worked in the civil rights movement, and finished out the Sixties as a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam. As a journalist he was the founding editor of Texas Monthly and from 1982 to 1984 was editor-in-chief of Newsweek.

He has published in the New York Times, Atlantic, Esquire, the Economist, and many other newspapers and magazines. He wrote the book "Brothers in Arms" about his Vietnam experience, and he was the co-creator of the Emmy-Award-winning television series "China Beach."

He wrote the original screenplay for the movie "Cast Away" and the screenplay for "Jarhead." He has co-authored six other screenplays including "Apollo 13," "Unfaithful," "The Polar Express" and "Flags of Our Fathers." He was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for "Apollo 13."

He has taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Texas at Austin. He is married to Andrea, a well-known artist. They live in Wilson, Wyoming, and they have five children: David, Susannah, Katie, James and Bettina.

MONTANA GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER

Brian Schweitzer was born in Havre, Montana, the fourth of six children. He was raised on his parents' registered cattle ranch in the Judith Basin, graduated from Colorado State University, and earned a master's degree in soil science from Montana State University.

A Montana farmer and rancher, Gov. Schweitzer has owned and operated farms in four Montana counties, and his experience includes successful agribusiness projects on five continents. He has built hundreds of miles of roads, poured thousands of yards of concrete, buried many miles of pipe, and built hundreds of structures, from houses to warehouses to distillation plants.

In 1993, Gov. Schweitzer was appointed to serve on the Montana State USDA Farm Service Agency committee, resigning in 1999 to run for U.S. Senate. He has remained active in developing and implementing national farm policy, and ensuring that the voice of local Montanans is heard. On Nov. 2, 2004, he was elected Montana's 23rd governor, and its first Democratic one since 1988. Brian and his wife Nancy have three children: sons Ben and Khai and daughter Katrina.

WYOMING GOV. DAVE FREUDENTHAL

Dave Freudenthal took office as Wyoming's 31st governor Jan. 6, 2003. Gov. Freudenthal grew up on the family farm north of Thermopolis, graduated from Amherst College in 1973, and became an economist for the Wyoming Dept. of Economic Planning and Development.

Gov. Ed Herschler appointed him State Planning Coordinator in 1975. While working for the state, Gov. Freudenthal earned a law degree from the University of Wyoming, and he opened a law office in Cheyenne in 1980, representing individuals and businesses. He served as U.S. attorney for Wyoming from 1994 to 2001.

Gov. Freudenthal has participated in many civic activities. He has been chair of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce; a founding director of the Wyoming Student Loan Corp.; a board member of the Wyoming Community Foundation; a member of the state Economic Development & Stabilization Board; a member of the Laramie County Community Action Board; and a Layreader and Vestryperson in his church. Dave and his wife Nancy have four children: Don, Hillary, Bret, and Katie.