This year marks the 99th Anniversary of the White House Correspondents Association’s Annual Dinner, which means our Annual Garden Brunch is 20 years old! Our brunch goes back to a time when White House Correspondents Weekend meant only a dinner and no time for old friends to meet with new ones before convening at the Washington Hilton.
Originally held at the Palisades home of Haddad Media CEO and veteran Washington TV executive Tammy Haddad, the brunch has since moved to the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown. Over the years the brunch has been co-presented and honored such prestigious organizations like CURE epilepsy, The White Ribbon Foundation and this year The Miss America Foundation. Co-hosts include a bi-partisan list of media and political notables including Hilary Rosen, Alex Castellanos, Steve McMahon, Kevin Sheekey, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, David Adler, Mark Ein, Franco Nuschese and now Steve and Jean Case. The Brunch provides the first time that many new faces for Correspondents’ Weekend meet their dinner sponsors.
Barbra Streisand attended the first brunch along with Tim Russert, former Bush 41 White House aide Anna Perez and a bunch of reporters. There are too many famous friends who have attended to list here. Take a look at last year’s video below:
The Brunch is an essential kick-off for the day’s festivities, which will continue into the night when Conan O’Brien introduced President Barack Obama at the dinner.