On Friday, Sept. 4, the Deep River Chapter of Colonial Dames XVII Century held its first meeting of the program year at Country Club of North Carolina.

In the absence of chapter president, Jackie Oakley, Treasurer Barbara Reining called the meeting to order and led the group through the opening rituals.

Lynne Frazier introduced the guest speaker, Col. Donald Goulet, United States Army (ret.). Following the luncheon Goulet presented his program titled "A Private Citizen's Perspective."

Goulet is a native of Hartford, Conn., and a graduate of Syracuse University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and George Washington University, where he got a master's degree in information systems management. He is also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and the College of Naval Warfare of the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

Goulet retired from the Army after a 24-year career and then worked for the next 23 years in the defense industry. Goulet and his wife, Kay, retired to Pinehurst in 1995 . He has been active in volunteer leadership roles including serving on the Board of Trustees of The Village Chapel; vice chairman of the Board of Directors, The Academy of Moore County; past president of Kiwanis Club of Pinehurst; immediate past president and current board member of the Braxton Bragg Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army; first vice president of the Sandhills Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America; and serving on the board of the English-Speaking Union.

Goulet's presentation was interesting, thoughtful, non-partisan and reflected his strong interest in history. He opened by discussing his belief in the fundamentals of this republic and identified the three elements of national defense as "national will," a "strong economy" and an "educated citizenry."

Goulet than discussed several areas that are critical to defending the country: a common goal and a shared culture, strategic alliances, strong borders, internal security, and a strong defense

Goulet closed with a sobering observation of the life cycle of a democracy, which is said to be 200 years. Historically, democracies decline when people start electing representatives who only feed individual interests and lose the perspective of the greater good. Reining presented Goulet with a donation to the English-Speaking Union scholarship fund as a "thank you" for his presentation.

Reining presided over the business meeting that followed. It was agreed that the Deep River Chapter will continue to support Project Able as its veterans project for the next two years. Sue Aceves agreed to serve as the chapter representative on the newly formed State Membership Board.

The Spring 2010 State Conference was discussed, and the meeting was closed with a prayer by Chaplain Nathalie Scott.