During his 11-year tenure as a White House correspondent for Reuters, Steve Holland has traveled to all 50 states and about 60 countries with three United States presidents.
Last weekend, Holland had a more immediate challenge — making sure that the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner went smoothly and introducing the speakers, President George W. Bush and actor Drew Carey.
Holland was a little nervous. After all, he’s a reporter, not a public speaker. Yet, he pulled it off and can now add this to his resume that not only did he preside over the annual dinner, but booked Drew Carey as well.
Holland’s resume is already impressive. He started out at the Chattanooga News-Free Press, where he met his wife, Lucie. He joined UPI in Knoxville, and then moved to the Washington Foreign Correspondents Desk and became the UPI bureau chief in Paris. He took a job briefly with CNN as a script writer. He and Lucie moved to Old Town when he took the job of national security editor for Reuters.
The grooming for his most recent role began three years ago when he agreed to serve a three-year term on the White House Correspondents Association board. The evolution took him through a year serving as a board member, a year as vice-president, culminating with his role as president of the organization this past year.
ONE OF THE PRESIDENT'S main roles in coordinating the annual dinner is booking the presenter. Most of the logistical work is done by the associations’ executive director, Julie Whiston. “She’s been doing it since 1994, she knows what needs to be done,” Holland said.
Holland’s role wasn’t that easy. “The last thing I was prepared for as a journalist was to be a talent scout,” said Holland.
He started calling around in January and got lucky when he was put in touch with a Hollywood talent agency, who handle, among other stars, Drew Carey. They thought that the actor might be available, and they began making arrangements.
“The people in the agency were very nice,” said Holland, who never actually spoke with Carey until he came to D.C.
Surprisingly, Carey was nervous himself. Holland said that since Carey had been off the comedy club circuit since he started filming “The Drew Carey Show,” he felt that he was a little rusty. So, before the dinner, he spent a couple of weeks doing the comedy club routine. He also came to Washington a few days early, just to get acclimated.
Once the entertainment was booked, Holland had to decide what would be served for dinner. In April, he and Lucie, went to a tasting dinner at the Washington Hilton, the site of the dinner. Along with other association members, they had to decide what would be served at the dinner.
“This was the third year that Lucie and I did this. The first year, we wanted to finish all the dishes, so we got full too quickly. We’ve learned to just take small samples of everything now,” said Holland.
After sampling five appetizers, three entrees and four to five desserts, the committee selected a salad w/ warm scallops; sea bass & filet mignon with orzo and mixed vegetables.
ONE OF THE PERKS of being the president of the association is that you’re seated with the President of the United States — at the head table.
Holland has been going to the dinners since 1989 and said, “I’ve sat way in the back, and close to the front. The last three years, I sat at the head table and the last two years I was seated next to President and Mrs. Bush.”
For many people, just getting invited to this prestigious event is exciting no matter where they sit. Holland said that invitations are sent to all members of the association. Each member organization is allowed up to eight tables, while associate member groups can reserve up to two.
Members can choose whom they want to invite, as in the case of Greta Van Susteren who invited Ozzy and Sharon Osborne. Ozzy stole the show and were referred to in both the remarks made by President Bush and Drew Carey.
“Almost every news outfit is represented there,” said Holland.
Another benefit for Holland was that he was able to put together a personal table. Rather than inviting business associates, he invited close friends, including Karen and John Braswell, Ken and Elizabeth Wainstein, and Ellen and Derek Van Bever.
Wainstein wore a dress made by Fimi Azimi, the owner of “The Silver Lining,” in Old Town. “I walked by and noticed an article written about her. I went in to talk to her, and she ended up making me a dress,” said Wainstein.
“It was wonderful, a real treat,” said Elizabeth Wainstein, owner of Brockett’s Row Antiques & Fine Arts. “We were thrilled to be his guests.”
“Steve is so low-key, you forget what he does,” said Wainstein. “He did a wonderful job.”
Since they were at a table up-front, they also saw all the stars who kept coming up to talk to the president.
A ROPED-OFF AREA put a distance between the president and the other guests, but that didn’t stop people from coming up to say hello. One of the guests at Holland’s table said that people kept asking him to take pictures of them with the president behind them. “I had the chair where they wanted to be,” he said.
“We were surprised at the number of stars,” said Wainstein. “I saw Sally Fields in the bathroom putting on lipstick.
Holland said that the number of celebrities tends to ebb and flow. Some years, like this one, there are more celebrities.
Being with Holland, his personal group also had the opportunity to meet with the President and Mrs. Bush prior to the dinner.
“Shaking hands with the president was the highlight for me. Mrs. Bush is beautiful up close,” said Wainstein.