The Reagan Inaugural

Following the bleak years of the Carter Administration the Republican Party wanted to make sure the Reagan Inaugural was the best that Hollywood could produce. The likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and a positive Who's Who of Hollywood was coming to Washington, DC to show them how to stage a extravaganza!

Fortunately for me they hadn't a clue of who to call in Washington, or the East Coast for that matter. That began a Once in a Lifetime opportunity for me, when I was appointed as Deputy Director for Purchasing Logistics. In other words, all of the planning, logistics, purchasing so the well heeled Californian Socialites could be ensured of a flawless event.

The job entailed "Seamless integration of a clash of cultures to enable the event ever to take place." The regular argument from the Washington establishment was "You can't do that!" to be responded with "Why not, we do it in Hollywood?" by the Californians.

With most event planning the problem is obtaining goods and services in time, and located in the right place for the event. With the Reagan Inaugural it was a matter of holding back the flood of gifts, products and "Please find room for these" from vendors and manufacturers around the world. At one point I had to get parking space on a nearby Army Base to park the many containers of wine, products and gifts showered on us. Everyone wanted to send whisky, champagne and wine by the truckload, just in order to have their bottles and labels seen by their rich clients. I am not complaining, but it caused headaches most meeting producers are not accustomed to in their normal planning. What happens to a truckload of champagne parked in the open in winter.

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