Reagan Secret Service agent to speak at EC Sept. 24

Law enforcement officers and families invited to attend

free of charge

Former Secret Service agent Joseph Petro was among only three witnesses at a 1985 Geneva Summit private meeting between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that ushered in the end of the Cold War. Petro will discuss the meeting and other events that occurred in his four years protecting President and Nancy Reagan at a presentation at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Cerf Center at Eureka College.

Petro’s 2005 book, “Standing Next to History: An Agent’s Life Inside the Secret Service” published by St. Martin’s Press, recounts his 23-year career guarding, among others, Gerald Ford, Henry Kissinger, Walter Mondale and Dan and Marilyn Quayle. He also discusses his supervision of the largest protective effort in Secret Service history – Pope John Paul II’s 1987 10-day, 114-stop tour of the United States. Petro co-wrote the book with his former college roommate, Jeffrey Robinson, author of 19 books.

Petro is a former Navy lieutenant who currently is head of global security and investigations for Citigroup and co-chairman of the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council. He is a graduate of Temple University and is a former fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Tickets are $5 and may be reserved by calling 467-6420. A reception and book-signing will follow. Books will be available in the college bookstore.

Area law enforcement agents will be admitted free of charge.
"Eureka College is pleased to welcome a former Secret Service protector of President Reagan – someone who had a front row to the Reagan presidency from the highest profile personal security job in the world,” said Eureka College President J. David Arnold.  "To show our appreciation to those who protect and serve all citizens, the college is pleased to waive the ticket price for all active and retired law enforcement officials and their family members."

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Contact:

Michele Lehman

Media Relations Coordinator

mlehman@eureka.edu

(309) 467-6318