Author speaks at colleges 'Civic Leadership Day'

By DJ Mastroianni

ORLANDO, Fla- Top selling author and senior news analyst--Pat Duggins--spoke at Valencia, Tuesday. It was Civic Leadership Day at the college and Duggins came to speak about acting civil with the upcoming presidential election.

Gathered around the podium students listened to Duggins as he spoke about civil discussions and debates. “You don’t have to scream to have a civil discussion,” said Duggins in an interview.

“This was my first time seeing a public speaker and Pat Duggins is a very knowledgeable man who inspired me to vote,” student Lauren Barren of Oviedo said, “I very well may go out and buy his book too.”

Duggins works for WMFE and is nationally known as a resident 'NASA expert'. Over the years, Pat has covered 85 Space Shuttle missions. His top selling book is titled, "Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program.”

Student Jason Hermits of Longwood said, “Pat seemed to really enjoy speaking to us. He had a smile on his face the whole time he spoke and everything he said made sense about having a civil political discussion.”

Civic Leadership Day comes once a year and is free to all Valencia students. Free food and drinks are offered to all that attend. The opportunity to register to vote is also available for students who attend.

For more information about Pat Duggins you may visit the website http://www.wmfe.org/.