Dr. Walt Menninger of Topeka will be featured at the April 25 fundraising dinner on behalf of the William Allen White State Historic Site in Emporia.
Menninger, better known as “Dr. Walt” during his tenure at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, will share a long-standing interest: “Memory and History, Remembering It Like It Wasn’t.”
A third-generation member of one of America’s leading medical families, he has carried on the tradition started by his grandfather, father and uncle who established the Menninger Foundation in 1925 in Topeka. Dr. Walt Menninger succeeded his older brother, Dr. Roy Menninger, as the leader of the Menninger Clinic, a nationally known leader in mental health. Heretired at age 70 in 2001 and became the chairman of Menninger Trustees.
His appearance in Emporia will be under the sponsorship of the William Allen White Community Partnership, a group committed to the support of the William Allen White home at 10th Avenue and Exchange Street. The White home is now owned and operated by the state through the Kansas State Historical Society, but it depends for operational funding on money raised by the community partnership because the authorizing legislation provided no financing for operations.
Tickets for the fundraising dinner at the Granada Theatre cost $50 a person. The dinner will be at 6 p.m. Those who wish to see Menninger’s presentation may be seated in the balcony before 7 p.m. for a donation of $5.
“We are especially pleased that Dr. Walt Menninger has agreed to be part of this vital fundraising effort,” said Tom Eblen of the Kansas Press Association and president of the community partnership.
Information about the event may be obtained at the visitors center at the William Allen White State Historic Site, 342-2800.