When Plans Go Sideways

Over 75 years of programming, the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth has prided itself on bringing order to complexity – translating the turbulence of global affairs into thoughtful, well-organized conversations for our community. But occasionally, the world has other plans.

Some of our most memorable moments have come not from the events that went exactly as scripted, but from the ones that didn’t.

Take the evening of our 2002 H. Neil Mallon Award dinner honoring President George H. W. Bush. The event was meticulously planned, as any evening honoring a former president must be. But President Bush, ever the connector and people person, had his own agenda. So eager was he to greet the friends and supporters who had turned out for the evening that he spent far longer than anticipated working the room during the reception – and then, rather than entering through the expected route, slipped in through a side door entirely on his own. For a brief, heart-stopping moment, Council staff had lost the president. He was quickly located, of course, characteristically surrounded by people he was delighted to see.

Geopolitics has also had a way of upending even the most carefully laid plans. On March 12, 2014, the Council was set to host Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak – until Russia’s intervention in Crimea made that impossible. The ambassador was, to put it plainly, otherwise occupied. It was a bracing reminder of something the Council has always known: Our speakers are not observers of history. They are often at the center of it. Ambassador Kislyak did ultimately join our members in May 2014, and what might have been a routine visit became a genuinely extraordinary one, shaped by the very events that had delayed it.

Then there was November 1, 2023 – a date that any Texas Rangers fan will remember for the rest of their lives. The Council had planned a Mallon Award dinner honoring Kenneth Hersh, a distinguished energy executive and civic leader who also happens to sit on the board of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. What no one had anticipated, at least not with any certainty, was that the Rangers would choose that particular evening to clinch their first-ever World Series title. As a board member and a lifelong fan, there was only one place Hersh could be: in Arizona, watching history happen. With almost no time to spare, the Council recalibrated, and Hersh accepted his award virtually – making the evening, if anything, a little more memorable for the circumstances.

Running an organization at the intersection of world affairs and community life means accepting that surprises are part of the work. A lost president, a postponed ambassador, a World Series — these moments have a way of reminding us that the best-laid plans are no match for the richness of real life. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Reflections on Les Femmes du Monde

By Jim Falk

One of the things that’s so interesting about the Council is that when it was established in 1951, the women’s auxiliary group is really what supported it. Les Femmes du Monde – women of the world – were truly instrumental in the Council’s growth, and I would say that they kept it alive. Without Les Femmes du Monde, the Council would not have survived during certain periods in its history.

Women’s auxiliaries really don’t exist anymore the way they did back in the 50s and 60s. It changed so much. Les Femmes du Monde was an organization that women really wanted to be a part of. You can walk through our office – which I encourage members to do – and look at the photos, you’ll see women with gloves and wearing hats and everything. You look at that now and you laugh or smile.

But these women were incredible. I remember talking to a woman who was a WASP – a member of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots back in World War II – and she told me stories about how the women would sunbathe on the roof of Old Parkland. So, the men pilots would fly very close to the roof to wave and move their wings. But these were women who trained American pilots for World War II.

There were world class athletes. There was a judge. There were businesspeople. Just a remarkable group of ladies. Anne Mallon, the wife of our founder H. Neil Mallon, was a leader in Les Femmes du Monde. In the beginning, the World Affairs Council even shared office space in Deep Ellum with Les Femmes du Monde.

The way Les Femmes du Monde raised money was by selling clothes. Used clothes, second-hand clothes, consignment. Again, that’s not something that’s quite as common now as it was then.

Once they realized selling clothes wasn’t raising the amount that they wanted – and it was so labor-intensive, as you might imagine – they began doing an annual dinner and honoring leaders in Dallas. And one year, they asked me to roast Herbert Hunt at a dinner, which I knew was a high-risk assignment. But it was great fun and made my friendship with him even stronger.

The amount of money that was raised by Les Femmes du Monde…well, we don’t have the full records, but I would guess that it was well in excess of $1.5-2 million.

A final memory: Shortly after I became president, they invited me to come visit the warehouse where they kept the clothes. And I still have and wear the tweed jacket I bought for $10.

One Council, Four Presidents

In our 75 years serving the North Texas community, we have hosted thousands of politicians, writers, foreign dignitaries, scholars, and changemakers – including four presidents of the United States.

Our first presidential visit came in April 1957, when Herbert Hoover spoke at SMU. Appearing at the height of Cold War tensions, Hoover warned of the spread of communism in Eastern Europe and the broader risks of expanding state control.

Later that same year, the Council again welcomed a former president when Harry S. Truman visited Dallas to deliver the John E. Owens Memorial Lecture, also at SMU and co-sponsored by the Council. Truman used the occasion to make the case for free trade, emphasizing that lower tariffs and stronger economic cooperation would benefit both the United States and its allies. His remarks spoke to a debate very much alive at the time, as Congress considered whether to renew the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. The law was ultimately extended in 1958, continuing the tariff reductions Truman had championed.

More than three decades later, on April 28, 1988, Richard Nixon addressed a packed Dallas audience during a national speaking tour following the release of his latest book, 1999. Nixon reflected on pivotal moments from his presidency, including the tense days leading up to a Moscow summit as North Vietnamese forces advanced on Saigon. He described how advice from Treasury Secretary John Connally shaped his decision to escalate military pressure while still pursuing diplomacy – steps he linked to the eventual signing of SALT I, the first agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear arms. Looking ahead, Nixon urged that future negotiations continue to balance diplomacy with American security and global stability.

Our most recent presidential moment came in 2002, when George H. W. Bush received the Council’s H. Neil Mallon Award – an evening that remains one of the most meaningful in our history. President Bush shared a long and personal connection with our founder, H. Neil Mallon, who had encouraged the young Bush to build his career in Texas, a decision that helped shape both his future and the country’s. The friendship between the two families endured for decades, as Neil Bush was Mallon’s godson.

The evening itself combined ceremony with unmistakable Texas hospitality. Guests enjoyed entertainment from Gary P. Nunn and a menu that famously included large Texas-shaped steaks. Eager to greet friends and supporters, President Bush spent so much time visiting during the reception that Council employees were sent into a panic when they briefly lost the president. He was quickly found after staff realized that he had slipped in through a side door instead. Jim Falk, who was Council President and CEO at the time, reflected:

“President Bush was also known for his gracious handwritten thank you notes. One he sent to me after that evening is framed and hangs proudly on my office wall.”

From Cold War speeches to conversations about trade, diplomacy, and leadership, these presidential visits represent just a few moments in the Council’s long history of connecting North Texas with voices shaping the world. As we celebrate our 75th year, we remain committed to that same mission: bringing global perspectives to our community and fostering informed dialogue for generations to come.

For photos of each of these presidents’ visits, check our gallery below.

Our First Year

This year, we are proud to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.

H. Neil Mallon held the first meeting of what was then the Dallas Council on World Affairs on October 11, 1951. Since then, we’ve hosted world dignitaries, facilitated citizen diplomacy, brought the world to classrooms across the region, and expanded our reach to cover the full Dallas/Fort Worth area. But what did our first year look like?

On March 24, 1952, the Council brought acting French Ambassador to the U.S. Henri Bonnet to speak to our members. The exact details of his speech have been lost to time, but his appearance reflects that bringing the world to Dallas has always been our mission.

We saw early hints of the European Union when former Belgian Prime Minister and first President of UN General Assembly Paul-Henri Spaak visited on April 3, 1952. Spaak expressed his support for the planned European Coal and Steel Community, which the U.S. would officially recognize four months later. The ECSC established the basis of post-war European collaboration and eventually evolved into the European Parliament. In his speech to the Council, Spaak beseeched:

“It is true that Europe must begin to help herself solve her problems. But in the intermediate period we must have the help of the United States.”

Several American politicians stopped by the Council, as well. This included acting Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN), who spoke on combatting organized crime; Kefauver’s rival for the 1952 Democratic nomination Adlai Stevenson, who declined to confirm his presidential ambitions and urged citizens to make their voices heard; and future Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who shared his decades of experience in foreign policy.

By our first anniversary, the Council had neared the 1,000-member mark, become affiliated with the Dallas Central Labor Council, formed an affiliate SMU Council on World Affairs, named a full Board of Directors, sponsored a competition for local young artists, and touched the lives of the more than 20,000 people who took part in Council activities that year.

Now in our 75th year, the Council strives every day to meet our founding principles of community education, informed discussions on world issues, and democratic citizenship. To all those who have engaged with the Council in the past 75 years, we thank you and hope to see you at future events. And for those new to our mission, there has never been a better time to join our efforts to bring the world to Dallas/Fort Worth.

Highlighting favorite photos from the last 75 years