Editor’s Note: These are the prepared remarks for the Three Taps of the Gavel Address, presented by George T. Snyder, Esq., Trustee for Life of the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees, delivered prior to Sunday’s Service of Worship and Sermon in the Amphitheater.
Good morning, my name is George Snyder. I am a past chair of the board of trustees, having served on the board from 2000 to 2013. Following my time on the board, I became a director of the Chautauqua Foundation. In 2017, I was invited back to the board as a Trustee for Life.
In preparing for these remarks, Emily Morris asked if I had ever appeared on this stage before. I mentioned to her that I have had various opportunities to be on this iconic stage as a Scripture reader, trustee, board chair and co-chair of the past campaign. And then there was the time I got caught up here with the Children’s School.
That, of course, is the one that got her attention. It was in the early 2000s — our youngest daughter, Jennifer, was attending Children’s School. I was assigned to get her to the right spot backstage on Old First Night so that she could join the other kids on stage wishing Chautauqua a happy birthday — a cherished tradition here at Chautauqua. My wife, Maggie, must have been connecting our older daughter, another Emily, with her Girls’ Club group.
I’m still not entirely sure how this happened, but I went from simply dropping Jenny off with her teachers to standing on the stage with the children, the teachers and just a few other parents. I thought I would slip to the back and hoped not to be noticed. I could not have been more obvious and out of place. Just then, I noticed the other adults were actually participating in the performance of the Children’s School song. I thought, “I have to do something.” So I joined in the song and dance movements. Regrettably, my hands were going down when everyone else’s were going up. It was not my finest performance. I tried to take solace in the fact that Old First Night is not widely attended (and thank goodness this was before CHQ Assembly, so it wasn’t recorded on video). Hopefully, I thought, no one noticed me.
Well, as you know, nothing goes unnoticed at Chautauqua. Within minutes, I got a message from my lifelong friend Mary Walker Ugoletti who teased, “I saw you with the Children’s School — were you not getting enough time on stage?”
So here I am again, and it’s not by accident! This time, I have the honor of standing in front of our Interim Chief Executive Kyle Keogh, our incredible Institution staff — especially those members of senior staff on stage this morning — and my colleagues and friends on the board of trustees, who have been so gracefully led over the past six years by Chair Candy Maxwell.
It is an honor of a lifetime to have the privilege to stand before you all this morning to officially convene the 2025 Summer Assembly.
When Chautauquans gather in community like this, it is important to remember there are people among us who are here for the first time. To our first-time visitors, we welcome you, and we look forward to meeting you during your time with us.
I was curious about this tradition of Three Taps of the Gavel, and I imagined it might be a little foreign to our new visitors. So, I consulted our archivist and historian, Jon Schmitz, to learn about the history of this address. What I learned is — I actually did not know the full history of this tradition. Maybe that will be the same for many of you. I also wondered if this would be the first time someone other than the Institution president delivered the address.
As Jon explained it, the gavel has become the symbol of the opening and closing of the Chautauqua season, but there is no evidence that either of our founders — Bishop John Heyl Vincent or Lewis Miller — ever used a gavel for this purpose. Instead, the first assembly was opened with a trumpet, which was in keeping with the call to prayer in the Old Testament and was typical of American camp meetings. The bugler went on to accompany the Assembly throughout our first Assembly session. As one journalist reported, “There was true worship in every blast.”
The first documented use of a gavel to open the season was in 1904 — 30 years after our founding. As it is recorded, the general director, Scott Brown, standing in for President W. H. Hickman, “stepped to the front of the platform, and bearing in his hand a new gavel of olive wood from the banks of the Jordan recently presented to Bishop Vincent … he struck three resounding blows on the desk.” The practice became tradition. The gavel I will use today is the very one used in 1904.
And, like in 1904, a volunteer is stepping in to deliver the address.
One may ask, “Why are there three taps (not one, two or even four)?” Normally, one tap is used at adjournment or the completion of a matter of business; two are used to call a meeting to order; and three taps are used to ask all present to stand.
But three is the tradition at Chautauqua. Striking the gavel three times carries a certain force, such as do the three faith traditions that compose the Abrahamic family — Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Or “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. But there is another significance to the number three. It can refer to the “Past, the Present and the Future,” which Jon Schmitz believes is the most relevant in this case. And I agree.
And what a “present” the 2025 Summer Assembly will be.
Where else can you find in one place, in this one week alone, performances of the Counting Crows, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the annual All-Star Dance Gala, and the amazing Diana Krall? In that same week, you will find lectures from the likes of commentators James Carville and Mary Matalin, Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel, and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. And who else in the world gets to benefit from a six-sermon series from the incomparable Rev. Jim Wallis?
And, if you look across this 2025 season, you see experiences that are truly singular, such as the opportunity to hear a Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle talk from renowned author George Saunders here at the Amp, and then see a workshop of a new opera based on his book Lincoln in the Bardo — a collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera, no less?
Then there’s a world premiere at the Bratton Theater: Chautauqua Theater Company’s The Witnesses, by C.A. Johnson, directed by Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll. And how about the opportunity to both hear a lecture from and see a Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra performance inspired by the great Morgan Freeman!
And I haven’t even mentioned our Interfaith Lectures, literary arts programs, Schools of Performing and Visual Arts, dance, Youth and Family Programs, Special Studies offerings, art exhibitions, recreation activities, denominational house and religious organization services and programs, and the popular programs offered by our 16 volunteer community organizations.
As some have said, Chautauqua is an embarrassment of riches, to which I say it’s only an embarrassment if we don’t put our time here to good use. We are fortunate to be here together, in community, surrounded by nothing but opportunity to, as our interim chief executive puts it, “explore and embody the best in human values.”
We gather today as Chautauquans have gathered for 151 years to convene the 152nd Summer Assembly. We convene today at a time of transition for the Institution — a transition in presidential leadership for Chautauqua and with a transition in the chair of our board of trustees forthcoming in October. The fact is, Chautauqua is always in some state of transition and in a constant state of evolution. We take a lot of guff for being resistant to change, but I argue Chautauqua, after 151 years, is an example of change — maybe not a model, but most certainly an example. And that, I think, has been central to our continuing success as an organization and community.
As we experience transition here, our nation is divided, and we see tragic examples of division the world over. As has been the case for generations, amid conflict, global uncertainty and worse, Chautauqua and Chautauquans have a role to play. We have a legacy of engaging in civil dialogue in community with one another. It does not require that we all speak with one voice. But it does require a commitment to listen carefully, earnestly and patiently; to offer respect to the person offering a different or even opposing point of view; to respond thoughtfully. This ideal of civil dialogue does not come easily — as demonstrated by what is happening outside these gates. But you make it happen here in Chautauqua. And it requires dedication and practice. Civil dialogue is itself a practice.
Any time I think of practice, I am reminded of my father — usually when he felt that I was not fully applying myself to some task — telling me that Jack Nicklaus purportedly hit 1,000 golf balls a day. For those of you who may not know Jack Nicklaus, he was arguably the greatest golfer of his era. I would typically remind my father that I thought the point of golf was to hit the ball as few times as possible.
His broader point, of course, was that you do not become great or even very good at something by accident. To be truly skilled requires a lot of work. And just as Jack Nicklaus had coaches and caddies to help him along the way, we have a team of incredibly dedicated volunteers who are helping us with our practice of civil dialogue. The Chautauqua Dialogues is an invitation to every one of us to learn and practice methods of civil engagement. The program is based on the ideal that people of different backgrounds and opinions can communicate in open, kind and compassionate ways to bridge differences with understanding and to build community. I encourage you to look for an opportunity to participate in Chautauqua Dialogues.
Our founders sought to create an environment for the productive use of leisure time, so the time spent here in Chautauqua (whether you’re here for a day, a week, or all season) might better inform and better equip us to be better versions of ourselves for our eventual return home.
I encourage you to dig deeply and explore fully during the time that you are here. Try something you do not ordinarily do. Go to a program or performance that is new to you. Take a master class and a Special Studies course, attend a worship service of a faith tradition or two different from yours. Learn to sail. Play golf or tennis. Dine or have a beverage on the porch at the hotel. Or simply read a book or take a restorative nap down by the lake. Chautauqua’s amazing staff team has curated a program intended to challenge and delight. They have set the stage for all of us to practice engaging in hard topics civilly and with empathy, leading to deeper understanding.
And, it is perfectly OK to have fun while you do all this.
Do not let anything go unnoticed.
I tap the gavel three times.
Chautauqua 2025 has begun.
