Dr. Linda B. Salane speaks to the Columbia Torch Club. Dr. Linda B. Salane, executive director of Leadership Services at Columbia College, spoke to the Columbia Torch Club October 26 about Eleanor Roosevelt (1884- 1962). Salane emphasized that even though Eleanor was born to wealth and privilege, she was not born to happiness. She was orphaned at age 10, sent off to England for schooling, married her cousin who became president but had a continuing affair, engaged in numerous bisexual affairs herself, and to top it off was physically ugly.

Eleanor Roosevelt, according to Salane, was a social activist in a glasshouse. She had wealth and connections but her every move was scrutinized by her family and the nation.

Salane said Adlai Stevenson captured Roosevelt's leadership qualities when he said of her in an address to the United Nations in 1962, "She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world."

"She never ran away," said Salane, "not from her husband's affair, her failed marriage, or political criticism."

Roosevelt believed that leadership required optimism, so that in her fight for human rights, she presented happiness and courage to the world. She would always face down fear. Even though she had many failures, she did not stop. Eleanor Roosevelt was the personification of the New Woman, an example of leadership in action… according to Linda Salane, leadership expert.

The Columbia Torch Club meets monthly for a healthy dose of food for thought after food for sustenance. For information, contact Ed Latimer at 803- 776-4765.