White House Correspondents Weekend Insider

DC Cap Talent Competition Winner Victoria Davis

It could have been a tryout for American Idol, from the terrific talent on stage to the enthusiasm in the audience. Yet, it was for something more important; providing scholarships to DC public and charter school students to go to college.  It was the third Annual DC College Access Program All Star Talent Competition and Gala led by co-chairs Donald Graham and Deborah Lehr.

The kids sang, danced and drummed their way across the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Stage as the audience clapped, hooted and voted on their favorites using dial remotes. The judges were internationally renowned opera soprano, Harolyn Blackwell, Olympic gold-medalists, Dominique Dawes, Broadway star, choreographer, and director Baayork Lee,  and Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, who knows a few things about competing.

Mr. Graham reminded the audience that it was a GOP led Congress that introduced and voted for this special program that helps keep DC students competitive and motivated by giving them scholarship money for college.  Speaker John Boehner was the head of the Education committee that helped pass such a resolution and was awarded a special apple for his work.  Congressman John Kline of Minnesota accepted in his honor and joked that the tears would be flowing if Speaker Boehner was there tonight.  Ms. Lehr also presented philanthropic superstar, Catherine Reynolds with an award for her great efforts for DC kids and helping many Americans be able to go to college.

ABC7/WJLA’s Leon Harris served as Master of Ceremonies and kept the competition moving and recognized DC Cupcake sisters, Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis, for their hard work in the community and their generosity of donating 400 cupcakes to the DC CAP Gala.

It was a tough choice for the judges to pick a winner as all of the contestants were incredibly talented.  The final results were:  3rd Place went to Sherman Wood ($4,000 scholarship), 2nd Place to Savannah Cranford ($6,000 scholarship) and 1st Place to Victoria Davis, a terrific singer, ($10,000 scholarship) and plans to pursue a degree in classical music.  All of the winners attend the Duke Ellington School of the arts.

Famous faces were everywhere including Julius Genachowski, FCC Chairman, David and Katherine Bradley, John Rogers (Deborah Lehr’s husband,) Steve Elmendorf, Wayne and Lea Berman, Pat Butler, and DC CAP board member Mark Ein.

A dance party followed with a red carpet, a band, fake paparazzi, beautiful starlets and lots of every happy DC students and their families.  Even a President Obama impersonator made an appearance.

Mr. Graham moved the crowd with his remark that DC-CAP is not just fulfilling the dreams of the very talented students on the stage but also the friends of those students. Marl Ein moved the crowd by pledging to give a $2,000 scholarship to each of the other seven finalists.  Other notable guests were CFO of Discovery Channel, Brad Singer and wife, Ali, co-founders and CEOs of OPNET (a Bethesda based tech company), Marc Cohen and brother, Alain Cohen.

Check out the photos from the competition and after party below!

Women gathered around the world today for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. At the State Department, First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presented the “Women of Courage Awards” and announced a partnership with 10,000 Women and the successful Goldman Sachs Foundation program that goes into the poorest countries and teaches women business skills.

Monday evening some of the nation’s best women’s advocates were brought together by the ONE campaign, the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, CARE, and the US Advocacy Advisory team Mothers Day Every Day at the home of former ONE chief, David Lane. Dr. Helene Gayle, Sheila Nix, Susan McCue and Theresa Shaver urged the crowd to redouble their efforts on behalf of women. Dana Perino, former Bush White House press secretary led a bipartisan call to action with the help of Barbara Bush and sister Jenna Bush Hager.

Barbara Bush’s Global Health Corp is in the process of selecting their third round of fellows. David Lane, who left the ONE campaign to work with Bill Daley at the White House, caught up with old friends as he accepted their well wishes. First Lady Michelle Obama’s chief of Staff Tina Tchen, and Jen Klein from the State Department’s women’s section, greeted colleagues and friends including Stephanie Psaki (sister of WH deputy communications director Jen Psaki), Jodee Winterhoff, Teri Whitcraft, and Anita McBride – fresh off her First Ladies Conference. David Lane was cheered when he walked into his own home, the location of some of the great advocacy work for women.

Kelley McCormick with Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron

Kelley McCormick, one of DC’s top communications gurus, has been named partner and chief operating officer of Gibraltar Associates. McCormick will manage clients while focusing on growing the agency and assisting in operations.From the press release:

“We are delighted to have Kelley join the team,” said Eric Bovim, GA’s CEO and co-founder. “With nearly 20 years of agency experience, she is a true agency veteran who knows how to take GA to the next level. With Kelley on board, we are poised to exceed our plans for aggressive growth in corporate communications and consumer marketing.”

McCormick joins GA after nearly nine years at Qorvis Communications, where she most recently served as a partner. Some of her previous clients include Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Feld Entertainment, Scientific American, Bloomberg Businessweek, GQ and World TeamTennis’ Washington Kastles. She has also provided counsel to a number of non-profit organizations including YouthAIDS, Creative Coalition and Earth Conservation Corps.

“I am thrilled to join the GA team. It is a fresh, nimble agency that is entering into a period of intense growth and success,” said McCormick. “I look forward to applying all that I have learned in my 20 years of agency life and putting it towards the continued success of GA.”

McCormick was also recently elected to the Board of the Miss America Organization, where she will work closely with fellow board member, Regina Hopper on developing new initiatives around the MAO mission of empowering young women through education and scholarship.

Susan Axelrod, Susan Sher, Connie Milstein & Anita McBride at CURE Epilepsy event in DC - December 2010

Forty-six women have served as First Lady, standing alongside our US Presidents throughout history. To kick off Women’s History Month, the American University’s School of Public Affairs is holding an afternoon conference, The Legacies of America’s First Ladies, to celebrate and examine the role of the nation’s first ladies.

The conference was organized by Anita McBride, former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush and now an executive in residence at American University.

“A first lady’s role may be a mysterious to many, but these leaders behind the leaders help effect change and advance our society in valuable ways,” says McBride.

Susan Sher, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, will be making her first appearance since leaving the White House. She will be participating in a panel discussion with McBride and Melanne Verveer, former chief of staff to Hillary Rodham Clinton, on how these modern women have redefined what it means to be First Lady.

There will be other panel discussions throughout the afternoon with premier historians, authors, White House correspondents and journalists, who have studied, written, covered and traveled with the first ladies. Representatives from the Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush administrations will also be participating including Gahl Hodges Burt, former special assistant to President Reagan and social secretary.

Events will be held at AU’s Katzen Arts Center and the White House Historical Association, the National Archives’ Presidential Libraries, and American University’s Library are conference partners. For a full list of speakers and conference agenda, click here.

In addition to the conference, McBride is also spearheading the creation of the First Ladies Foundation to cultivate the first non-partisan history on the impact these women have made. For more information go to FirstLadiesFoundation.org.

WHC Insider’s Tammy Haddad sat down with Ron Reagan to discuss his new memoir “MY FATHER AT 100.” The youngest son of President Ronald and Nancy Reagan wrote the book to commemorate what would have been his father’s 100th birthday on February 6, 2011.

Reagan candidly offers new insights on his parents’ relationship and the Reagan family dynamic; he also sets the record straight on what he actually wrote about his father and glimmers that he was not always “completely 100 percent” while in the White House.

Never one to shy away from political opinion, Reagan responds to comparisons between his father andPresident Obama. And as for those rumors about Joe Scarborough, Reagan’s former co-host on an MSNBC after-hours show, making a possible run for president or vice-president in 2012? Reagan says, “He’d be the only Republican candidate not on FOX.”

As for Keith Olbermann’s recent departure from MSNBC, Reagan said “Keith was a remarkable figure there. In many ways I think he made that network what it is today.”

You can read more and watch the two-part interview on POLITICO and for more information on the book go to www.ronreagan100.com.