Ambassador, Saugus native to speak in town

SAUGUS – A Saugus High School graduate who served as ambassador to some of the politically hottest spots in the world is coming back to his hometown to speak this week.Jim Jeffrey, a member of the class of 1964, will appear as part of the Saugus Public Library Foundation’s Ellen Burns Speaker Forum Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Saugus Town Hall. The event, part of the foundation’s 10th anniversary celebration, is free and open to the public.Jeffrey, an ambassador to Albania, Turkey and Iraq from 2010 to 2012 and the deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush from 2007 to 2008, will talk about the role of civil discourse and building consensus in diplomacy and government, as well as his experiences in Iraq and the White House.A veteran of the United States Army, Jeffrey served in Vietnam and is a graduate of Northeastern University.”We are excited to have Ambassador Jeffrey join us as our guest speaker,” Saugus Public Library Foundation President Linda Call said. “We look forward to hearing him discuss global issues as well as his reflections of his hometown.”The Ellen Burns Speaker Forum honors the memory of the environmental advocate and longtime public servant who died in 2010. Ellen served the community for more than 50 years as a member of the library trustees, Board of Appeals, Planning Board and Town Meeting.She is also credited with founding SAVE (Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment), a nonprofit organization committed to promoting a better quality of life in Saugus through environmental concern and action.According to Call, the speaker forum was created by the Saugus Library Foundation as a way to perpetuate Burns’ service to Saugus that began at the Saugus Public Library.The Saugus Public Library Foundation was established in 2004 through significant gifts from the estates of Douglas Lockwood, Josephine Kibbey and Marie Weeks, as well as funds turned over by the now-disbanded environmental nonprofit, Noblast, Inc., and smaller individual trust funds and bequests. The foundation provides the means for the library to make long-range plans and commitments using the interest earned on the principal balance of the foundation, and promote and carry out charitable and fundraising activities.To learn more about the Ellen Burns Speaker Forum, the Saugus Public Library Foundation, or to make a donation to the Saugus Public Library, email [email protected].