it is truly a pleasure to

introduce and welcome all of you this very special evening as a continuing mission of the white house historical associations, presidential sites summit, which i hear is going swimmingly and this panel will engage as i think, very powerfully entitled, entertaining at the white house, a conversation with former social secretaries. after that engaging conversation, we're well, we're welcoming you to a number exhibits that we've kept open. the star spangled banner just, in case you haven't had enough lately. of course, is right behind me. and it's special chamber. the american presidency and the first lady's just above you on the third floor. and our new and culture wing three west with entertainment nation a spectacular a way to as well as some of our incredible curators who visit our guides up there. each of these exhibitions as well as our museums overriding

help us envision our mission and live it each day, which is to empower people to create a more just and compassionate future by preserving, sharing and exploring the complexities of our past. so we thank you for helping us enact this mission as we honor yours, we have much in common with the white house historical association. you are cherished partners. now, in your 60 seconds, very young year, of course, the association works daily to protect and preserve and, provide public access to the people's house just up the lane. one very, very role, of course, in the white house is that of the white house. social secretary, relying on one's expertise in protocol, tact, etiquette, hospitality. i think there might be some magic. it has, and it remains key to build relationships, maintain diplomatic ones, present the

most welcoming experience possible at the white house. the kansas city star in 1921 reflected her duties will be as complex as that of an. that was laura harlan, the social secretary for, warren g. harding and calvin coolidge, who served from that year to 1929. but, of course, was 20 years prior, in 1901, during president theodore roosevelt's administration. that first lady edith hired the very first official social secretary at the white house, isabella hagner james, and ever since social secretaries have helped create memorable experiences for all guests at the white house from kings and heads of states, artists, scholars and little children chasing those easter eggs at the white house easter egg roll. while the reins of the job varies and you will likely never them on a good night, we are

very grateful for their impressive levels of patience. their unflappable, calm pressure and their grace. i'd like to introduce now it's truly a pleasure to introduce the moderator and the panelists for this evening. tonight's moderator is none other than anita mcbride, who directs the legacies of america's first ladies initiative at american university. there, she also serves as executive in residence at the center for congressional and presidential studies. in the school of public affairs. i guess in her off hours, she also serves that adviser to the sign institute for policy and politics. her remarkable white house experience spans decades and four and administrations including serving at first as an assistant to president george w bush and chief of staff first lady laura bush. she's joined this by an august

panel. first jeremy bernard an author and, a political activist. he served as the white house social secretary and special assistant to president barack obama. from 2011 to 2015. he in paris and served as a senior advisor to the u.s. ambassador for france before taking that role at the white house and as well as a liaison to the national endowment for the humanities. he was president and ceo of the mayor's fund for los angeles. from 2018 to 2020 and is the coauthor with lieberman of the book treating people well the extraordinary power of civility at work and in life. gayle hodges. bert, chairman emeritus of the american academy in berlin, an institute that she co-founded in 1997 with the late richard holbrooke bringing, of course, american scholars to germany,

residency and research and community. ms. bert started her career in civil service at the u.s. state department in 1973, where she served as a personal assistant. none other than secretary of state henry kissinger. she was then assistant chief protocol until 83. in 1983, she up the lane again to be the white house social secretary for president ronald reagan and first lady nancy reagan, where she served until 1985. she then moved to germany where her husband was serving as u.s. ambassador. last but, certainly not least, is amy zantzinger currently the head of amy zantzinger interior design, which she established 1998. you can see some of the beautiful bleeding right of service and of design and, of care and of course, all with grace and civility. her interior design business was

put on hold for two years when she in february in 2007 was asked by president george w bush if she would serve as his special assistant to the president and the white house social secretary and she did. with great through january of 2009 from 1993 to 1994, she zipped back to san francisco and was the chief officer for that fair city. amy also worked in the white house for president h.w. bush in the visitors office from 1989 to 1992. please me in giving a warm welcome to our incredible panel and our wonderful moderator. thanks again. for.

all. welcome everybody. welcome to the stage. hello, everyone, again. this has been such a terrific day and thank you so much and thank for watching. welcoming us to the american history museum. it's such a wonderful museum, a perfect place for us to have this conversation. and thank you for your generous introduction of all of us. you know, two of the museum's most popular exhibits, of course, are on the american presidency and on first ladies. so it's an ideal place for our discussion tonight, which is entertaining at the white house. and we are here with three of the foremost experts and also that this is coordinated with the museum's current exhibit at entertainment nation. so we are grateful to you. this is a highlight for our guests for the presidential sites summit.

so you three are the best equipped to talk about our topic tonight. i'm thrilled to be back together with. each of you know, you all a long time worked with two of you and jeremy. you've become a friend over the over the years. and one of the funniest people i. so we what i like and of course there are decades of service amongst these three over four decades of service. and in the three different or four different administrations that they serve, because you also serve 41 and and 43, you heard and they have mentioned the historical origins of this role, the role of social secretary. so we thought we'd show you a of isabella bell hagner for those who may have not said very severe looking woman. i also want before we get started to in addition to welcoming everyone here, welcoming everyone that's watching live on youtube. so we have a far reach tonight.

so, isabella hagner, i'll just tell you very quickly, her, she was working as a clerk at the war department. she was transferred to the white house and worked closely with first lady edith roosevelt. this was the professional position. for a first lady. mrs. roosevelt, a large family. she needed managing social obligations and all the requests that were coming in to her. they'll hagner wrote in her memoir hours until one has held the position of this kind, it is impossible to realize the ingenuity of the human mind in making their requests. so this question is a perfect way to start for all of our our panelists. what do you think of that quote? and can you recall in one at least one ingenious request you received? and, jeremy, i'm going to start with you. good evening.

thank you for inviting me. this actually did surprise me. and that was some called they were they had an appointment to meet with the president at like 1230 and they called around nine. they were coming from new york, landing at a private an airport for private planes. and he wanted permission to have the helicopter take him to the south lawn. there he was on time for the. meeting. and i love laughing because i assumed it was a joke. he was dead serious and i explained it. no one other than the president really gets up on his own helicopter or didn't want marine one to go. no, he wasn't bold to ask for marine one and give that credit for that. okay.

that's pretty ingenious. all right, gail do you have a memory of one like that? i thought a a pretty ingenious one. mahalo everyone to be here with you. i had a a performer who was coming to perform at a state dinner and his publicist called two days before and said he can't come without his therapist. and if you don't allow his therapist to and sit at dinner, terrible things could. and so i. so i didn't want terrible things to happen. so i said, okay, the therapist can come. and i had no choice but to see the therapist next to the artist. but then the next day i got the call. could the therapist wife come? the list? oh, yeah.

anyway, i thought that was. that was rather ingenious. he got there. he got a seat at the table. so the entertainment happened, the therapist came and the therapist went and nothing terrible happened. and they're okay. that's perfect. amy well, when you're planning a state dinner, there are lots of special requests, people. the white house graciously asks guests if they have any dietary restrictions, and i was always amazed when kathy, who worked at my office took all the responses would say that interpret dietary restrictions as almost like preferences no butter, no you know. you know as opposed to true dietary allergies allergies exactly. but for a dinner we also had an instance where woman coming it was actually a state dinner for the queen. she was very concerned about her dress and she wanted to stand out and she had purchased an

oscar de la renta gown, but she wanted to stand out so much. she wanted to make sure that nobody else was wearing the same. so she had my office hold a second gown in our office that she could change into if somebody was wearing one of the dresses. that sounds very reasonable. me you never had that request. tuxedo i always had an extra tuxedo, but yes, yes. i mean, each of you like in your offices. speaking of that, do you always have to have clothes at the ready. didn't you and like did you have a little bag? a little extra. a little extra. like because some of the days it was really so after one, you know, most days unfortunately they didn't fan out evenly. so some days we'd have three events and it was i was constantly trying to reiterate

to my staff, i know we're going from one to the other, but try to take in the moment at the end of the day to enjoy the events. because, you know, i to the point where people be, oh, yeah, i had a medal of freedom today and this and it was easy to lose sight of what each of those meant to people. and what they meant right when. when you're so busy. yeah, yeah. you're so busy. you're just going from one context and and you're you're planning the lists for the next events, and you just you you have to keep rolling. and in speaking that really maintaining guest lists and being at the ready for events that were going to going to happen at the white house during the time you were there everything was really primarily paper based. oh, right. only, only, right and the way that you maintained everything were files nothing computerized

that changed over time. how did change how did that affect you being able to do your job i guess you didn't know any different right. i mean we the highest tech we had was if you had a ibm correcting selectric typewriter that that was like because you could also get a non correcting selectric typewriter. so you got the correcting one, you like. it was great. everything was on paper. copies would then be mimeographed messengers would come and pick up copies to take to the west wing. mrs. reagan and i would literally put cards down on the floor cards with ten sticky notes, and we would do the seating the floor with sticky notes, and we would crawl over there and crawl over and crawl over there to do seating.

and where would you do? up in the residence. up in your office? yes. yeah. and you would just leave it there and leave it there and then i would take it all. the the the cards were numbered. i would take it all downstairs and then we'd type it up on an ibm lecture and, and, and it would be distributed. you didn't know. you didn't know any different. and, you know, many, many state dinners. i mean, that would be so are all those cards and the sticky notes are those in the presidential library? do you know. yeah, they weren't actually sticky notes. they were little cardboard arrows that we would write on and then we would cross out and in we had blue for men in pink when were the old days you. oh, amy, what about you? started it. graduated a little bit from having worked for bush 41 and 43. i do remember those big

envelopes, you fried the memo in, and they were messengers all day long around delivering papers for email. but when i was social secretary, we had this incredible program. it was a giant screen behind my desk and we would input all the names and then we would be able to populate with the number of tables and we could divide out the guest and then drag the name to the tables and it was pretty incredible for a state dinner. the whole, you know, the whole screen was filled with filled with names and, people. but it was a great way to be able to sort of see the whole picture. it sort of the modern version of what gail and mrs. reagan were doing on the floor. but i was sort of there as things changing. we were only allowed to blackberries and i was sort of at the beginning of the internet where you could actually you know, for i would research

potential dinner guests on the internet that was just starting. and then jeremy, jeremy, you i would have loved that program, let me tell you, because i still did it pretty old fashioned. but the well, i know it's still i think your predecessor took it down after amy. yeah. that's why you didn't have the benefit. right. so i will remind her of that. the, the big thing that i think changed with gary, the obama years is we and i remember kind of the back and forth with calligraphers getting to the point where we would invitations out via email, then when people would come to an event. we would give them the hard copy. so they had a symphony here. the one thing we didn't do that with and we didn't do that at all events, but it got to the point we were. but one thing we didn't do that it was with state dinners. mrs. obama always wanted make

sure there was time enough for invitations to be sent and when one point the state department people in state were pushing a state dinner in a relatively short time. so i said, i'm telling you guys, you want me to bring it, i'll bring it to her. this is not going to fly. and sure enough, she said, absolutely, it's not fair to you guys. it's not fair to the guests. no. you have to have enough time. we would follow up with emails and sometimes the invitation as well by email. so we could interact via email about whether someone was coming or making sure they got the invitation. so what is the optimum amount of time between when a invitation would go out and the dinner is going to happen? what's the length of time that mrs. obama considered optimum? or either i think she was

because she wanted the invitations to go out at least several weeks before the event. i think it was like ten weeks. yeah. oh, that's a lot. that's a lot of hours out. 4 to 5 weeks in advance. we didn't send them out but they to our study, we would at least have two months to prepare. yeah, well, let's talk about state visits actually. we have an image to show you the first state dinner ever hosted in the white house was by president ulysses s grant in 1874 for the king of hawaii. and obviously there are traditions that dictate a lot of the certain elements that you always incorporate in state dinners. but presidents and first ladies have an opportunity obviously to make each state visit their own, and they all have styles. we see the pomp and circumstance, of course of the arrival ceremonies.

we don't know a lot about that process. you could share some of that with us. tell us how that how that works. and some of the decisions that you all made that went into your guest list or entertainment menus. i'd love to hear a little bit about that. gail, do you want to start with us, please, about i guess i see a lot of men in that photo, a lot of men at that at that state dinner. and as a matter of fact, it was one of the things i worked on. i kept a a list of of single women because every foreign delegation for a state dinner and they were about 15 and number they were only oh almost always men all men. so i would be heavy on men. so i always needed women. my husband says he fell in love with me when he discovered that i subscribed both people

magazine and the new york review of books, and he thought there must be something weird there about this woman. but, you know, i read every all the time we had 11 state dinners a year. we had a state dinner every month except august. and so i was constantly making up guess lists and i files of clergy people you know people who had just invented something created something. of course, we always had the judiciary with i had a formula that the people we had to have the executive branch, the legislative branch, the judiciary, and then i would start to deal with minorities. a union represented gives, you know, a smattering of everything. and then the celebrities that

was always fun celebrities and, the reagans coming from hollywood, the celebrities always came. so we i never had a hard time getting celebrities to come. i had a hard time getting entertainment because a lot of thought that ronald reagan's policies were too right wing for them. so a lot of entertainers turned me down. but frank sinatra did our sound and white, and he would come for every state dinner, do the east room for us, and he would always help me get the entertainment, which is, you know, you have to book almost nine months out, some of these entertainers are so are so booked out, so it the it was pieces of a puzzle that would sort of collapse into shape at the last minute. how menus. but mr. obama we know she was very interested in food healthy

food she of bad things her main concern was finding out from an often we'd have to contact someone in the leader's office if state didn't have it but more than more often than not, state department knew what their favorites were, what they didn't like. we'd find out what colors were a no no and what colors were a favorite. she wanted to know of that before she started on the decision of what it was because to her. the main importance was making these honored guests at home and welcomed as possible. so she was very much focused on it. if i came back and said, well, they said they didn't have it, she said, well, they must have something like we wouldn't let state department or someone, you know, it was working for them. just say, oh, it doesn't matter

really want to know what music did they like? what entertainment, what foods, all that. so that really was the start of it. and then once had that, i would work with the chef and they would have three different menus and i would do a tasting with mrs. obama and her mother and usually someone else from my office. and those were always fun because also did wine pairing. yeah, yeah. right. i don't want to say i got baratunde, but were times that going back to work all easy after that hopefully that was not a day you had too many other events. some of my best events happened. those days. amy you were. i knew mrs. would do a lot of. i wasn't sure who she would. we would prepare a menu that was to her liking and then she would a couple of members of congress and their spouses to come to the private residence and she would when they arrive, she would say today's a special evening.

you're going to be served. what we are planning on for the upcoming planning to serve at the upcoming state dinner and people were thrilled and she would say, you know we can only invite so many people, but at least you're going to get positively you're going to get experience what we're going to taste. and then she would ask them, she would say, well, what do you think of the food? and and so we would do tastings. and then she would often do if there was a luncheon with a group of friends or for a luncheon tasting. people really enjoyed that as well. they were sort of there, but there but not not exactly. well, okay, so now can you each recall of a time or event you organized could be state dinner, could be something else. didn't go according to plan or and you had to help fix the situation i think we we might have some pictures here and i'm not sure but gail you a great stories one of my favorite stories that you tell about

someone on the south lawn being in the way we had a state arrival ceremony on the lawn and the reagans coming from from hollywood had a lot of celebrity friends always at state dinners and we would invite for the arrival ceremony on the south lawn and. we had a special cordoned off space for for them or or the reagans personal friends and at one of these arrivals ceremonies was charlton heston. there. the the picture was charlton heston. and for whatever reason, charlton heston decided to leave cordoned off area and started walking around reviewing the troops who were stationed out there on the south lawn was just sort of walking through them and, you know, as we have

established i did work in the stone age and we we our communication walkie talkies and walkie talkies were this big with a with a antenna sticking out of it. and i would have to clip it either onto my belt or in my pocket. and it had a squelch. you'd click on it and it would have this squelch and you knew someone was trying to reach you and everyone could what was on the walkie talkies. but i very set into my walkie talkie, could someone please go get charlton heston and bring him back to the reviewing stand? and without missing a beat, a secret service agent who i still am in touch with on the walkie system said, you can't, moses. and everyone heard it. everyone heard it. and everyone started to laugh.

i lucked out. yeah, but he stayed reviewing the troops. they, you know, we brought him back. he came back. we got him back. amy is a sweet story you have about the dalai lama. dalai lama? so he was coming to visit the president, mrs. bush, and they decided to do a very quiet visit, not on the north portico press, not in the west wing. just just in the south portico. a private visit in the in the residence. we take him upstairs. lovely visit. bring him down the elevator and they did decide to supply the marine entrance. the gentleman that you if the west wing that opened and closed the you see that on tv and so as he was leaving the in there very serious to try to open the door for and without just wandered right up to one of them tickles under his chin and says please

just give me a little smile. and the marine sentence, you know, stood there and smiled with his eyes. and once he drove away, the kid was just overwhelmed that he had had that interaction with the dalai lama. such a sense of humor. i know. yes. not a protected that jeremy you had experience at the kids state dinner yet i had we didn't really have trouble getting entertainment i remember i would call the manager or sometimes the artist but usually it was a manager or agent and say this is jeremy bernard of the white house social secretary. i'm calling to see if such a such can perform at a state dinner. and there would always be this long pause and they would say, is this a joke? and i would always say, feel free to call me back the number

because they all you know, at first i would say at least half of you didn't think it was for real. so got very comfortable with. the fact we were having entertainment. but gail had told me in a meeting before we were i think at dinner or having drinks and she said, be prepared, care for the time. and there's always is at least one of an air of entertainment that cancels at the last minute. and just her saying it scared me to death and maybe a year or two later before the kids state dinner, which one was probably mrs. obama's favorite event? it was actually a lunch, but we call the kids state dinner the entertainer canceled a few days before and i remember gail saying, no, what's going in the city? always know what is going on.

and the lion king was playing at the kennedy center, so we called out. but in the time before getting an answer from them and i called gail in a panic, met her for lunch, slash drinks and was terrified. i think her and lee both walked me kind of through it. how to inform them. the president and first lady and explain it. but it was a scary moment. it sure enough, it happened. yeah and did you get the lion king, kate and afterwards, mrs. obama turned to me. it says this was better. this this was saying some you're just meant to be. but will and that's really something about your position you all have to constant you're always having to roll with it and be at the ready was an incredibly good advice and and you lucky social secretaries you're a tight group and you rely you rely on each other and

i think you know each of you work for very different people and i'm interested in what the favorite way of entertaining for each of your principals and maybe amy would you like to start what was their favorite way. well the person mrs. bush really enjoyed entertaining and i say that only because there seemed to there was a moment where it seemed like it word got that they didn't but i was amazed at how much they entertained i also as social secretary for that the end of their administration and during that time they were in incredibly generous invite ing people upstairs to the private residence. so typically there's the lower level and then the state floor and then there their two levels that are their private and usually and for various reasons those are 100% off limits,

except for close friends. but as i said, maybe it was because the their term more often not we entertained in the private residence and that gave people the opportunity to see the lincoln bedroom and, the queen's bedroom and it was just really really intimate. i'll of there are a couple of moments remember when president bush would always have lunch with the reporters prior to the state of the union? we would gather in the blue room for sort of as people were gathering. and when the president and then the meal would take place in the state dining room or the east room and for the very last of his presidency, first of all, it was a fascinating event because it was all the people who were here on the tv at night, all one every single one of them in one room. back then, it was, you know, katie couric and brian williams and the whole group were all together. and i said, ladies and

gentlemen, today for lunch, we will going upstairs and to see that group that is pretty remarkable because they had all seen a lot in their lifetime and were so excited they were giggling, going up the elevator or to actually be in the private. and so they enjoyed the president. mrs. bush, as bush being he was really enjoyed the more casual entertaining at camp david. he would ring heads of state out there and instead of the formal meal he would have cheeseburgers, coleslaw, apple and blue bell, ice cream. and he did the same down at the ranch in texas. he really enjoyed this more informal gatherings and felt it was an easier way to get to know people more on a more personal level in. fact that's one of our most popular right? stuart the recipes the ranch that matt wendel who cooked for

them quite a bit now as the manager at blair house. i don't know how many cheeseburgers he's making there fried chicken but that is you know matt talks often about that cooking at the ranch jeremy what of what about mrs. obama had a mrs. obama was very insistent in in a sense that we keep bringing in new people, people that had never experienced the white before. so she wanted there not to be too many repeat i call them repeat offenders people felt that they were entitled to every holiday party, every state dinner. we all had those you know folks we understand no one else gets this, but we should. but she wanted it as as many people come in that had never experienced it. and one of the criticisms i

think that was in the paper was that we had couples sitting at the same table where that's usually just the main the presidents table is that we kept couples didn't sit together, but they were at the same table. and i told mrs. obama about someone i'd worked for before. and when they gone to the white house, his wife said to me, i was sitting it was the state dinner for britain in the clinton white house. and she said, but i was so nervous i couldn't. john kennedy was john kennedy junior was at the table, but i couldn't talk to anyone i was so kind of at all nervous. and i said, i think it makes a difference if have the the spouse or partner at the same table. so we kept that and i think she she just wanted to make it open to people but also as welcoming as possible. was that for all events or state dinners only? pretty much all of it. it's all seated events and just

the mrs. bush, the when the bushes for the portrait unveiling we had china from the upstairs residential china we you know i talked to chris comerford this chef about what serve in all this the lunch went fabulous then was the ceremony the following day mrs. bush called my office and asked arnie in my office if she could have my home address to send a note because she knows how long it takes to get through the white house and also she wanted me to be able to have it if wanted it, because anything that's sent through is technically screen well. and also you can't take home it's part of the archives it's she said the most amazing handwritten note and she said every detail i noticed was

thought out the the china his favorite meal that the chef was incredible the residents that everyone and she just went on and on how she listed details that she noticed which renee and i shared with the staff and with the residents in just said, you know, that's really amazing that she would sit down and say, oh, yes, that's not amazing to me. and amy yeah, well, he know her details. that is really that's. thank you for sharing that. tolstoy, gail, any thoughts you? well, as i said, have had 11 state dinners a year. but one of the things that mrs. reagan, which i've never really forgotten, i always try to think about it because we had so many single women, because we were always trying to balance the ratio with the foreign delegations and they were

always, always men. we sending cars and to hotels to pick up the single women, we would send a white house social aide. we military social aides, they came from all the branches and we would send a aide in the car to the hotel to pick up the woman and bring her to the white house. the social aides instructions were to check her coat, bring her a quadrant. i had the east room, divide it off into quadrants for the once again, the stone age, because when the receiving started. we had to know who was coming. the receiving line on the on the camera roll so that we could identify the people afterwards. so i would put people quadrants

in the east room and i would have a woman brought to her quadrant. and the social aide was instructed, get her a drink and engage in conversation with someone in the quadrant and then retreat and and it worked beautifully. and i never forgot and all those women, almost all of them thanked me for it because it an intimidating thing to come to the white house alone by yourself. and we had once williams who had just become miss usa or was it miss it? yes. or was it miss america. miss america. she was the first person of color to be miss america. and as i was selecting an aide to go pick her up, i to myself, do i send a black person or a white person? and whoever whatever i choose, it's going be an issue i can

expect to read about it the next. anyway, i, i did send one of our black social aides and he's still in touch with me. marcus. he's still in with me. and he was thrilled to be going to pick up vanessa williams. and he has pictures of it. and she was lovely and anyway, it was just personal touch that mrs. reagan of was a nod to single women, you know, and you mentioned the arriving in cars this is one thing i want you everybody to sort of picture too. at the time that you were social secretary, when people were invited to a state dinner, their pulled in the gates under the portico were all of us were left out in busses right on 15th and pennsylvania avenue. we had a walk a long way come through security that's not the way guests would arrive at the

east wing in your time, they would come by car, walk right. and if someone would open their door and they go right into east wing and the cars leave and then the cars would come back to get them and was quite a process. you would remember this from bush 41 days to, but also there was a whole call system. i'm not sure if that was still the case. by the time you got there wasn't i think after 911, all that really changed. yes. and jeremy, you look at you definitely never heard of. no. in fact, when i started i asked that we get more social aids for events because my was people would give up so much to get in. they had to give their birth date. and that was always a problem because they would not give the right year and so when they got to the gate, we, the secret service would say we have to run it again.

what? and they would quietly try to explain that it was a different year. so we would i would often get a call from the secret service. you know, we have someone held up and i said, go ask them, you know, privately for the information because it might be the spouse doesn't know the real date, but that they would give up. so then you'd have to walk all the security and you got your name checked three times. so by the time they got through, they went through so much. i wanted everyone to feel as welcomed as possible. so having more and more military aides greet as they came in helped kind of ease that the that that draw the drama and the trauma of going through all those security steps and your real age. okay so the white house, we've shown is a stage for big events,

global. domestic men's medal medal freedom and state dinners. but it's also a home. and this is where the lives can you either of you talk a little bit any family events that happen you had a wedding, you had birthday parties for the president and always at the white house but at camp david would love to hear a little bit about that moments experience with the families. so jenna bush got engaged while i was secretary and it was decided away that the reception would be in crawford texas at the ranch. but shortly after planning heard from mrs. bush and she said amy the wedding in crawford is not going to be that big. and we have so many family members that aren't going to be able to attend as. well, as many of the teachers that jenna has taught with over the years, i think we have to have a white house reception. so i believe her wedding was

mid-spring we ended up in june doing i believe it was in june. julianna event at the white house. and it was a really special event. she did not wear her wedding dress, but we did many things that were very similar to the actual in texas with the same flowers and the largest wedding she chose to have the marine band play. and it was really an old fashioned, traditional white house event. and bush said, you know, many of the people, many of the schoolteachers, that jenna's taught with would probably rather come to a white house event anyway than go to a tent in texas. and it was superficial, old friends, their closest that were members of congress, came extended family came. and it was really special to see the president. mrs. bush so relax and, you know

there was a moment where, oh we had the president's time for you to do the first dance with janet. and he is like, i've already done the first dance. don't tell me we're doing another one, but we a lot of fun, very relaxed, lighthearted moments with that event and. everyone who loved dancing to the marine in the east room, it was really it was a special event to the white house pastry chef. do the cake. yes yes. and the florist and the florist did this exact same flowers that had been in crawford. it's fun. yeah, it is. jeremy the obamas had. some great private parties. it was their their expense and their and their guest list. and they were his birthday party. a birthday party for her. i private inaugural event. and they but it was very important that they wanted a folks to enjoy it and to enjoy

it for the moment and not for taking photos and immediately sharing it on facebook or social media. and one of the things was mrs. obama felt awkward about people that were invited she kind of in a sense showing off that, oh, i was invited this and we were but she also wanted people to enjoy that moment. we would check phones like in coat check. we would check phones as well so people weren't taking photos up and video during these events. but they also for the holidays because the main floor was filled with tours and guests they would have private holiday party in residence, which was always amazing because i kind of referred to it as the apartment above the museum because the residence has such a different feel look than downstairs. it's truly a home so it was

always kind of amazing to go up there and suddenly be in this totally different atmosphere. exactly. completely different. so you've all been part of historic events and actually last night as we were into the white house, one of the iconic images that still there and has always been in the east wing is, the image of princess diana, john travolta dancing here. tell us of how did that happen? so this is. 1985 and prince charles and princess diana were coming. and mrs. said, you know, i really want to have someone who can dance with diana and. fred astaire dead.

i'm i'm so i said, well, how about john travolta? and she's. oh, no. she said, i i'd like someone current now saturday night fever was the seventies. i mean, it was in years. this this dinner. so and and john travolta had then made a series of really terrible movies called look who's talking or look, there's some baby walking movie who's shocking. yeah. and i mean, he made several of them and were dreadful and so and and mrs. said, well, you know just like a hollywood studio. yeah and think of someone else so so i, i go back the next day. i, of course i thought and i

couldn't patrick swayze, he hadn't done dirty dancing yet that was in the future. so i said to her i said, i cannot come up with anyone else. and she said she obviously couldn't either. and she said, well, okay, i had met john that the summer before at down in the bahamas, a house party put on by robert stigwood was a film producer, and he done all of the biggies movies and i called robert stigwood and i said, you know, could we get john travolta in? and he dance with princess diana. and that all worked. and i got the sheet music for dancing alive, i think it was called stayin alive. stayin alive. yeah. oh, my gosh. thank you, me and and it's been

a while. and yeah, it's been a long while. and the and the band practice did and it, it was going to be great and we, i brief john travolta was briefed on what he needed to do and he had to go up and tap the president on the shoulder he didn't want to do that but anyway he did it. and that the story behind this iconic photo and john next film was pulp fiction, for which he won an oscar. and i take full credit for jump his career that is fair. that's fair. yes thank you. perfect. oh, my gosh thank you for sharing that as you probably did. that is that those are quite two very different movies. amy, tell us a little bit about queen elizabeth.

last visit to the white house in 2007. this is a beautiful state dinner. it's so we had a wonderful time preparing the guest list for this dinner. the president, mrs. bush, had old friends that they wanted to come to the dinner it was, i guess, about two years before they were leaving office sunday. so they had about a year and a half. it was very elegant. condoleezza rice and mrs. bush decided to make it white tie, and it was going to be five courses instead of four courses. and know just a lovely spring dinner. as we were working on the guests, as we had the idea to hold two spots for. something to do with the kentucky derby because the queen was staying in versailles, kentucky, going to the derby friends and then she would up

here. so i well why don't we invite owner whoever win the derby winner the owner and bush says, well, that's a great idea, but let's see who wins. and she says, and then you got to figure out, you know, they would fit in come into a state dinner. and i said, oh, i'll take care of all that. so she called me as soon as the dinner was over and. it was the year that calvin burrell came across the finish line and through his hands up in the air. and she said, i'm sitting here, george and some friends. and she said, we forget the owner. we want to invite calvin burrell in the state dinner and. i said, well, that sounds good to me. so i had the same thing that jeremy talked about where you call, the manager, and you said, this is, you know, amy zantzinger, i'm the white white house social secretary. how do i know you're the white house social secretary. yeah, we got through that. he was in a press frenzy at that moment. but when things settled, of course, he agreed he would come.

he brought his fiancee and the the dress store louisville opened on so that she could buy dress. and the president's tailor fitted him in d.c. monday morning white entails needless to say, he's tiny. he's a tiny, tiny, tiny. so that was probably not as easy for him as it could if you know. and then they showed up and they were a huge hit were you know proud of his property, the queen at the dinner. and she was joyful to meet him and he didn't quite figure out the protocol at one point. he just threw his arms around her and all. but one of the manning brothers was there and there were some other prominent people, but calvin burrell got most the attention that night. it was it was just a few days after it was the service was on saturday holiday and the dinner i think was on monday. yeah. so right quick things happen at

the white house that there was a fine. it was always fun coming up with guests. so those are memories. you had a rather serious one, jeremy. and watch. we have a picture of you that kind of stands for a reason right there. so this was actually on a sunday. i've been working the white house for just over a little over, probably two months. and i was at a dinner on sunday night. it was a casual dinner. and you always had your phone. and then the blackberry, which was the work phone just in case something was going on. and i coming in and leaving my phones on the table. you walked in and were i'm at this dinner and at the dinner table and someone from the washington post, someone from

the new york times and about other people. and i heard a phone going off and in my mind, i was like, what idiot left their phone out there? and i was like, oh, no, could it be because i hadn't had a contact on a sunday before that? and i got up and i checked and it said a possible announcement in the east room close. hold me. yes. all i couldn't say anything, so i just to the dinner said to the host i'm sorry, i'm leaving and walked out at which i as i went to white house the conversation at the about them saying what an -- your guest was they just got up and left and i got to the white house and by the time i got there, the secrets told me as i was going in, we think they got bin with you.

so i went into the the all, the joint chiefs said it panetta all the top dogs were in the blue. i was in the green room. president came in ask me how my weekend was and i like well it got a little different tonight but this is this is good and so i'm i'm there and my mom pointed out is this got in time magazine that everyone is dressed up but for me was standing in the back in a with his arms crossed as well mom i didn't know when i left that that i would be at the white house. but the one of the awkward moments was this was a pretty amazing evening. but then after the president made the statement he went back to the blue room, one of the people with the audio visual said, you know, you have to

them, yes, come do the first part again, because that was done for which one camera for the networks and everyone to cover. but now we have to do it where he comes in and pictures are taken of him doing the speech so i had to go in there and tell him he, had to walk back out like it was the first time pretend he was saying for the first time for the photographers that didn't over really well and he came out but so anyway when you see photos of him during the announcement the photos are actually not the it's the second announcement it was all really just for that camera but it was interesting see how how things in a sense the sausage is made how quick and how quick you had to. it was late. yeah. wasn't it. it was by the time i got out of there was midnight. yeah. so there, we know that wherever the president is, the white house sometimes has to go with

it. right? so whether it's weekend at camp david or you're traveling internationally, gail, you have an amazing story of a thanksgiving dinner that you had to put together and of all places beijing. yeah. once again,. 1984 it had always been that when a went to china there would be a state dinner for the president and the next night the president would host a return state only it was always in the same hall with the same food and and so mrs. right it was and mrs. reagan said, why don't we host a turkey dinner. not in the hall, but in the

hotel. by the way,. in 1984, there one hotel, it was the first hotel it was i am pei built. it had a revolving bar top which was hard for me to my head around because i had been there earlier my life in the seventies when it was a country of bicycle and mao suits in nothing else. but anyway we were in this lovely hotel and so i said out three weeks ahead of time with thanksgiving menus, my recipes and the air force flew in 300 frozen butterball turkeys and i had befriended the chef at the hotel, the cook.

he didn't speak any english and i didn't speak mandarin. but but the white advance office said, don't worry, we're sending you an advance man. he'll he'll smooth the way for you. so advance man comes and he's away in mandarin with the with the cook and he's my recipes. and i turned to him and i said, john, where did you learn your mandarin? this was john huntsman. and he had done his sojourn that they all do as a as a mormon. and in china and so he was our my interpreter. and so we did we created the meal with a lot of recipes and cranberry sauce and and the whole yards and the and the frozen and which they ate back

then. they didn't have the, the things popped out, but anyway. it, it, you know what i said expecting and really low with mrs. and i started on saying you know i don't know and there no flowers in the country you know i mean you think about it but there were no you couldn't there wasn't a flower store you could go to. so i found some candles that i could in vases of. they weren't really they were ashtrays, but but it's it was all fine. and anyway, i expectations were low. it turned out to be great. we 600 people wow and and it was the first time we americans hosted a return banquet with our

food our not in the great hall but it was and deng xiaoping the leader he had come to the white house already. so president and deng each other and so it was actually a lovely evening with thanksgiving dinner did they like did they do like i think they did that. yeah, that is a terrific start. and that is a social secretary extraordinaire her story for sure jeremy you were part of helping to organize the g-7 at camp david. i think we have a little photo of that. can you tell us just a little bit about that. so this was, i think the first time i was at camp david for working an event. and so each each country got their own cab. and it was really kind of amazing walking around and setting it up and but were were

waiting in the in that it was aspen not the escort and where all the leaders were going to come and the president would greet them. and the president i were standing there waiting for them to arrive and. they have the blow up photo was in frames just like they do in the white house of different events. and he looks at this one photo. he goes that was my favorite state dinner and i look and it's the one my first one germany state dinner in the rose garden and i just said to him, thank god you weren't pointing to one of smooth's many julianna smoot, my predecessor. i think had you weren't talking about one of those or is it. that was my favorite as well. but then the guests started coming. you really had got an interesting sense of the the soviet that russian leader was not there. but some people from russia

were. and they were in the cab. and you really had a sense in the residence staff was there working and they would tell me the demands that were made by the different and and russia one on the number of what and demands they made but it also gave me a time to talk to the resident staff and really get a feel of of what their work was like, what it was like. they talked about the changeover from one president the other and how they, you know, adored they didn't one would say anything negative about anyone but they you know you could tell who their favorites were. and it was just an interesting lesson for me hearing talk about their experiences in a very different and more personal, constant way that they they interacted. so i have one last question for you all of you.

what was your we've talked a lot about entertainment. i'd love to know for each of you, what was your favorite at the white house and gail, i'll start with you. well, i don't that frank sinatra was my favorite know. but but he was a big, large presence during my tenure because as i said he did all of the sound and light for us for every state dinner he contacted the entertainers so when people get a call from frank sinatra, either it's him or it's not and they they they they wouldn't argue. so it wasn't calling and begging, but at this particular state dinner he was performing and. something happened during the that that i course i never thought of i never planned for

but his rehearsal was scheduled for 2:00 in the afternoon. we had had a state arrival that morning, so it had been a busy morning and i get a call from the gate that the bombs dog who was sniff frank sinatra's equipment for the whole band was tired and wouldn't sniff any and and there and for they they couldn't clear the equipment and it's like 145 and the equipment out there and the dog is tired and i, i wanted to say you've got to be kidding you know get that dog up and and they said you know it doesn't work that way you can't make sniff if they

and i said okay get another dog. well we've we've thought of that and we're getting dog but it's coming from andrews force base and it'll be least an hour and, and so i knew i mean, i just waited for mrs. reagan to call me because i knew he would call her right. and which he did. she would call me and. so, you know, i. i said she said, is there a problem? i said well, there is there is a problem. and then i thought, you know, i'm just going to tell her the dog won't know and and there's not a whole lot we can do. we're getting another it's coming. i mean, i'm sure the dog was careened over there, you know, probably had a heart attack on the way there. but anyway, we've finally got it all in.

we were hours late and frank sinatra was actually pretty good about so so it all went. i hope the dog went back to work some time. frank sinatra got rid of that dog. that's why he. oh, my gosh. i mean, i didn't know. never heard of that. i think after 911, there was a lot of more dog. yeah, yeah, yeah. so, amy, you had a fun event in, the rose garden. we did the lion king had just surpassed phantom of the opera for, the biggest, biggest title on, broadway. and when you have elton john, having done the music we had a state dinner, the president of ghana and performed on a picture september evening in the rose garden and it was just magical the lighting was perfect. the weather was everybody was in

a good mood. it the bush's last state dinner so that it all so very special but i'll just quickly share one other you talk about favorite this was very spectacular but fun teeniest things did happen there. a christmas at washington event television special in downtown d.c., the bushes general would invite the entertainment back to white house for a dinner they often hosted a holiday dinner, christmas dinner, the night of the christmas in washington. there were a couple people they all the entertainers at the end of the dinner, andrea bocelli got up from his table and went to the stunning steinway piano in the entry and did a spontaneous performance for the for the guests. and everybody just stood up and walked over and there were those special moments where you couldn't plan for that. and it was wonderful. you know, you never going to ask

him to do it because he had already performed at this at christmas in washington. but it was priceless. it was sure he wanted to perform at the white house. yes. yes. that was perfect. yes. jeremy, you had one of the greatest entertainers of all time. i actually we had some a amazing entertainers. and they were all all for the most part, all very. fun and fairly easy to with. one of my favorites was mick jagger. but one of my more interesting aretha franklin because, she had a lot of strong requests and one of the things it was difficult was once she got to microphone, she didn't like giving it up. and it was it would take a while for there to be a conclusion. so and she did several of the it performance at white house and at the last that i did she was

singing and she has a choir behind her and she's singing and gets on her knees and then she c lift up, lift me up and realized at a certain point she's not really meaning it in the lyrics she sang to the choir lift me up. oh, couldn't up. but i thought perfect timing. i ran up to the president. i said grabbed the microphone and thank everyone for coming and he did and no one knew anything but afterwards in the elevator i was going downstairs with aretha franklin she looked me and she was like, now next time i say, lift me up, you know, lift me up. and earlier that day, the person that was assigned to her walk behind me during rehearsal and just said, i'm going to kill her, i didn't even have to ask who he talking about. i just said not a jury will find

you guilty. i'm going to --. that is, i'm going to just show two last images. we're going to end here. this is great. this is a very special club. the social club for anybody who's in the white house, no other group of staff has a club like they are tight. they get together, they help each other and you get at christmas, you get together outside. of the white house there is a tradition of success or or the someone who's leaving the job hosts the new person coming in and all the former social secretaries, and they share their secrets and they share their advice. so you have a couple of pictures here. i trust that whoever the host was of this and you can just tell us just a little bit about your club and then we're going call it a night. well, my rang off the hook when

jeremy he became social secretary every. gay friend i had in washington wanted an introduction to you i find this out over a decade later. anyway it's look if gretchen poston who's not in this photo was jimmy carter's social secretary she spent so much time with me walking me through how she did things and and of the pitfalls and it's always nice to pay it forward. we are a nice little club. have a wonderful time together. you really do. and it's been wonderful. be with the three of you, your stories. great. you're terrific. storyteller. you're a part of white house history that it's enshrined forever. thank you for sharing at the white house. please join me in thanking our panelists thank.

great