The grand tradition of the “Heart’s Delight” Vintners Dinner was lifted to another level Friday evening as guests raised their glasses to honor dinner Chairman Constance Milstein.

Milstein and her husband, Jehan-Christophe de La Haye Saint Hilaire, are long-time benefactors of the American Heart Association.

David Markiewicz, the Executive Vice President of the AHA, praised Milstein’s dedication and generous support of heart research, and highlighted the pivotal role she played in gathering the supporters at the annual event.

Milstein friend and President Obama’s HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Ambassador Capricia Marshall joined her at the table, as well as Ambassador of Monaco Gilles Norghes and his wife Ellen, and the new deficit czar Bruce Reed and his wife, Bonnie LePard.

CBS News White House Correspondent Bill Plante emceed the evening. The sparkly crowd included Betsey Apple, Dee Dee Myers and Todd Purdum, John Coale, the Washington Post’s new Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Kathleen Parker, ABC News’ reporter Jonathan Karl.

FOX News’ Bret Baier recounted his infant son’s multiple heart surgeries to the spellbound crowd (including his wife, Amy). The Baier’s family story inspired the wine auction that followed, raising some $50,000 for research.

The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium was aglow as some 400 guests dined on a six-course meal accompanied by distinguished wines from Château Margaux.

WHC Insider Awards American Heart Association, Betsy Apple, Bill Plante, Bret Baier, Bruce Reed, Capricia Marshall, Constance Milstein, Dee Dee Myers, Gilles Norghes, Heart's Delight, John Coale, Jonathan Karl, Kathleen Parker, Kathleen Sebelius, Todd Purdum

Valerie Jarrett, Desiree Rogers Offer Support

Capricia Marshall and family with Sec. Hillary Clinton

The Ben Franklin Room of the State Department was filled with stars and stargazers, as well as family and friends, as Secretary Hillary Clinton presided over the swearing-in ceremony for her longest-serving aide, Capricia Penivac Marshall, as chief of protocol.

Marshall, the former Clinton White House social secretary and campaign veteran, came to Washington with the Clintons in 1992. Secretary Clinton shared a hilarious Inauguration story about Marshall being stuck outside the White House gate.

It wasn’t just Clinton friends. Top Obama pals Valerie Jarrett, Desiree Rogers, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff Susan Sher, were there to pay tribute to the newest executive in charge of diplomatic activities for President Obama. Roger’s deputies Ebs Burnough and Joe Reinstein had a crowd of admirers lined up to say hello.

CLICK here to see Marshall’s official list of duties.

Marshall’s protocol team includes some Washington’s savviest veterans, including deputies Lee Satterfield and Dennis Cheng. Her team debuts on the world stage this month with one of the biggest diplomatic gatherings of the year: the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh.

Obama State Department Ambassadors Elizabeth Bagley (Global Partnerships) and Melanne Verveer (Global Women’s Issues) added their shine to the large crowd. Clinton family members, from mom Dorothy to daughter Chelsea, cheered for their close friend. Marshall’s 9-year old son Cole mugged and husband Rob Marshall looked shocked by Clinton’s shout out to him as “the best cardiologist in the world.”

Parents Frank and Mary Penavic beamed and assorted cousins from her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, watched the ceremony.

Former protocol ambassadors Lucky Roosevelt, Lloyd Hand, Lea Berman, Evan and Kit Dobelle joined former White House Social Secretary Ann Stock and veterans of other administrations in their own mini-reunion

Celebrity guests included: Greta Van Susteren and her husband John Coale, Mandy Grunwald, Janet Howard, Ann Orr, Claire Shipman, Michael Feldman, Melissa Moss and her husband Jonathan Silver.

Pam Stevens, once Condoleezza Rice’s press secretary and now press adviser to Ambassador Nancy Brinker and Race for the Cure, caught up with old friends as Betsy Fischer and other media types worked the room. New York’s fabulous event planner, and Marshall pal, Bronson Van Wyck drew his own crowd.

Terry McAuliffe had a double-barreled receiving line around him; no surprise there. He also hosted a Friday night gathering at his McLean home.

Check out the photo gallery:

thaddad Event Coverage, Washington Events, White House Staff Ann Orr, Ann Stock, Betsy Fischer, Bronson Van Wyck, Capricia Marshall, Claire Shipman, Dennis Cheng, Desiree Rogers, Ebs Burnough, Elizabeth Bagley, Evan Dobelle, Greta Van Susteren, Hillary Clinton, Janet Howard, Joe Reinstein, John Coale, Jonathan Silver, Kit Dobelle, Lea Berman, Lee Satterfield, Lloyd Hand, Lucky Roosevelt, Mandy Grunwald, Melanne Verveer, Melissa Moss, Michael Feldman, Pam Stevens, Susan Sher, Terry McAuliffe, Valerie Jarrett