The Speaker Series of South Haven is previewing what kinds of engagements it will be offering throughout 2026.
Series board member Dick Brunvant tells us they can’t yet reveal the identities of the guest speakers just yet, but there will be at least four relevant and timely issues addressed with this year’s events.
“The series is starting by talking about Ukraine, and that’s going to be brought to us by a speaker who is a former ambassador to Ukraine,” Brunvant said. “We’re hoping to get all this set up. We’re making the final arrangements there with her. And then we’re going to have an astronomer who’s talking to us about how the bright lights will endanger our starry skies.”
Those engagements will be in April and May, respectively. Brunvant says the second half of the year will bring more presentation, including one on AI in October.
“And it’s very difficult to find somebody that can actually present on that topic that can give us really what’s going on with AI and what we can expect and how fast it’s coming towards us.”
The season will conclude on November 19 with a discussion exploring the art of getting along in a deeply divided and troubled society by a best-selling writer and journalist.
Brunvant says the Speaker Series board decides which guests to invite based on its own discussions and the input of the community.
“We get feedback from the people who attend all of our sessions. They give us a lot of good feedback on what kind of areas they’d like to look at. And we’re also trying to look at what are the areas of the biggest concerns? What are the things that people are talking about most?”
For a community the size of South Haven, Brunvant says they manage to get some heavy-hitting presenters.
“It’s just amazing that we’ve been able to have the Speaker Series go for all these years and be able to find these relevant speakers that will come and will come at the fees that we’re limited to pay them. Our fees are not in the area where some of these major speakers normally are able to receive, but they look at our program, they look at what we do, and they say, ‘Yeah, we’ll come for that.'”
Brunvant says also new for this year are some South Haven Speaker Series board members. Kalamazoo Promise architect Dr. Janice Brown and South Haven City Council member Dave Flack have both joined the series board, which has reelected Elaine Stephens to a second term as president.
All presentations of the South Haven Speaker Series are held on the South Haven campus of Lake Michigan College. Admission is $10, and students attend free of charge.
