White House Correspondents Insider
Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.
The Samuel J Heyman Service to America awards were held Tuesday, September 20th and Vice President Joe Biden delivered a special message to the winners as well as all federal employees saying, “You could have chosen a number of professions and be making a lot more money, but you chose to serve your country. You’re professional, you’re dedicated. You’re the best the buy the American people get and they don’t know it.”
You can find photos from the big event below.
Michael Kelly, Denis McDonough, and Stephanie Ruhle at the Sammies Awards, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media
This year’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Awards, better known as the Sammies, honored the finest in government service. The event was held Tuesday, September 20th at the historic Andrew Mellon W. Auditorium.
Hosting the big event were Michael Kelly, who plays Doug Stamper on Netflix’s House of Cards, along with NBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. Together they added humor and wit to the night’s proceedings. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough caught up with Michael Kelly, who portrays the role McDonough fills in real life. At the winner’s reception, they got a chance to thank and mingle with the winners of this year’s awards.
Among the VIP’s at this year’s awards were:
You can read more about the event and the winners of this year’s Sammies here.
House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, Sammies Awards emcee, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Garden Brunch, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media
The Partnership for Public Service’s 15th annual awards gala the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, or the Sammies, will be held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium this evening. Known as the Oscars of civil service, the Sammies will honor the federal employees who made the biggest contributions to American life. Civil servants often don’t get credit for their work and the Partnership for Public Service is using this night to give credit where credit is due. The emcees of this year’s awards will be House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, who plays the ruthless Chief of Staff Doug Stamper to President Underwood, and NBC’s Stephanie Ruhle.
The recipients of Sammies awards save lives, innovate, discover, and preserve national security. This year’s Federal Employees of the Year award will go to Jean Moody-Williams, Dennis Wagner, and Paul McGann, a team from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who were able to reduce hospital-acquired medical conditions by 40%.
Among the other winners includes Jaques Reifman, who invented a device for army medics in the field to find out if they have internal bleeding. Undetected internal bleeding is the number one cause of death for war casualties and this device has the potential to save many of these lives. Another is Tate Jarrow, who has lead the Secret Service in investigating some of the biggest cybercrime cases in history. Jarrow will receive this year’s Call to Service award.
Another outstanding public servant will be honored tonight is Kirk Yeager, the FBI’s top explosive scientist, who will receive the National Security and International Affairs Medal for his work in training local bomb squads in how to handle live explosives.
Vice President Joe Biden will address the nominees this year in a special video message. “You could have chosen a number of professions and be making a lot more money, but you chose to serve your country. You’re professional, you’re dedicated. You’re the best the buy the American people get and they don’t know it.”
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service is an organization who makes government more effective with a number of programs like mentorship programs for incoming government workers, inter-agency briefings to decrease overlap between agencies, and courses to ensure federal employees have the most up to date training they need.
You can read more about this year’s winners here.
The live feed for the Sammies can be found here.
Uber execs Todd Bowers, Megan Capiak, Crysten Glawe, Dave Barmore with the milkshake man from Captain Cookie and the Milkman, one of UberEATS’ most popular delivery places, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media
Friends and colleagues gathered Tuesday night, September 13, to welcome Jill Hazelbaker, one of their own, back to Washington DC. Hazelbaker is currently Senior VP of Public Policy and Communications at Uber after longtime executive positions at SnapChat and Google. Hazelbaker had previously served as an aide to Sen. John McCain. Politicos, media, and techies gathered in the backyard of Tammy Haddad, the former site at the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, to catch up with Jill and enjoy food from UberEATS vendors.
Jill Hazelbaker, Michelle Lee, Niki Christoff, Cecilia Kang at Uber EATS Dinner
Among the guests were Greta Van Susteren, recently departed from FOX, and her husband John Coale. Guests like Facebook’s Erin Egan were talking about the 4 million viewers Susteren had from her most recent Facebook post. The link to Greta’s post is here.
Guests from the White House included Shailagh Murray, Deesha Dyer and Kirby Bumpus. Marty Baron, Editor of Washington Post was seen talking to former employee Cecilia Kang, now with the New York Times. Her colleague Jeremy Peters, Rick Klein, Betsy Fischer Martin, Robin Sproul, Kevin Cirilli and Craig Gordon rounded out the political journalists. Hill favorites Heather Podesta, Juleanna Glover, Kimberley Fritts and Ron Bonjean were on hand. Four Seasons Women Breakfast Club members Carol Melton, DeDe Lea were also in attendance.
Food for the gathering was provided by a variety of UberEATS vendors such as Mason Dixie Biscuit Co., Captain Cookie and the Milkman, Zombie Donuts, Ghibellina, Chaia, Hill Country BBQ, Buredo, and The Chickery.
As guests arrived at the 2016 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, they were asked to share their advice for individuals who are seeking to launch a new career and change the world.
Scroll through the slideshow for insights shared by successful individuals from business, entertainment, media and politics.
A special thanks to Microsoft for providing the interactive PPI board.
Valerie Jarrett, Laura Jarrett
Washington power players made an appearance at the annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch over the weekend.
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, attended with her daughter Laura Jarrett. Other members of the White House staff included Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady, and Krishanti Vignarajah, Policy Director at the White House. They were joined by Ellie Schafer, Director of the White House Visitors Office and The Most Powerful Person in Washington That You’ve Never Heard Of, according to Capitol File.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
Capitol Hill was also well represented at the brunch. Congressmen from all corners of the country were in attendance, including Representative Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12).
Kevin Plank, Daniela Lopez Osorio, Bryan Cranston and Jay Roach
Some of the biggest stars in television who were in Washington for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner stopped by the annual Garden Brunch.
House of Cards favorite Michael Kelly, in a return appearance for Correspondents’ weekend, led the parade of TV stars along with co-star Neve Campbell who recently joined the cast of House of Cards for season four. They were rounded out by House of Cards alum, Constance Zimmer, who is also starring in the TV series, UnREAL.
‘House of Cards’ Star Michael Kelly
There were three ‘presidents’ in attendance: Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn, Independence Day’s Sela Ward, who plays the first woman president, and Esia Morales from HBO’s The Brink.
Television executives were also on hand, from Nina Lederman of All3Media America, Deborah Turness of NBC News, Steve Capus, Executive Producer of CBS Evening News, and Chris Licht, the new Executive Producer of the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Besides all the TV stars, a few famous faces from the film word were also in town. HBO’s film All the Way, which was honored at the HBO-Google party at the Renwick Gallery (voted the best WHCD weekend party by Roll Call readers) was attended by star Bryan Cranston and his wife Robin Dearden, along with Director Jay Roach and HBO Films President Len Amato and Vice President Tara Grace.
The Vanity Fair/Bloomberg White House Correspondents’ Dinner after-party, held this year at the French ambassador’s residence, was – as always – one of the hottest and most glamorous tickets in town.
Google, HBO and the Smithsonian American Art Museum partnered on Friday night for a White House Correspondents’ Weekend party to celebrate HBO Films’ “All the Way.” Actor Bryan Cranston and Director Jay Roach were the featured guests.
And if Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren are having this much fun, you know it was a great party. Thank you, HBO and Google!
Media notables, Hollywood stars, and leaders from the business and non-profit sectors came together on Saturday for the annual Garden Brunch in honor of White House Correspondents’ Weekend. The mission of this year’s brunch was to recognize entrepreneurs who are ‘starting out and starting up’, along with initiatives that support members of the military and their families.
Dr. Sachiko Kuno with Halcyon Incubator Cohort4: Jeffrey Prost-Greene, Eric Shih, Kathleen O’Keefe, Daniel Hill, Charlene Brown, Faran Negarestan and Kristof Grina
Hilary Rosen introduces Connie Milstein and Derrick & Emma Dockery of Yellow Ribbons United
The brunch raised awareness for Halcyon Incubator, an organization founded by Dr. Sachiko Kuno that supports early stage social entrepreneurs through an immersive 18-month fellowship program. As guests arrived, they were asked to share their advice for individuals who are seeking to launch a new career and change the world. The notes were shared on an interactive PPI board provided by Microsoft.
Tony Goldwyn shares advice on the Microsoft PPI
Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitz Grant on ABC’s Scandal, shared: “Commit 100% to your dream. That will lead you to places you can’t even imagine!”
Sheila C. Johnson introduces Dr. Sachiko Kuno
Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET, philanthropist and the first African American female billionaire, knows a thing or two about success. Her advice? “Be bold and be fearless!”
Arianna Huffington and Travis Kalanick
Arianna Huffington and Travis Kalanick, who arrived at the brunch together, are two of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. Huffington’s tip: “Remember failure is a stepping stone to success!” And Kalanick shared insights based on his own experience of creating Uber: “You can bend reality but don’t break it!”
Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles focused on practical advice: “Do not argue with your boss when u are drunk, even if u are right.” Under Armour CEO and Founder Kevin Plank also offered sound business advice with “Find out if your product can sell!!!”
Fox News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren encouraged individuals to broaden their horizons: “Travel! See the world so that you know something!” And CNN’s Wolf Blitzer gave advice that is often heard in Washington: “You may be smart, but other people may be smarter. Listen and take advantage and learn. Two heads are smarter than one.”
The focus on entrepreneurship and Halcyon Incubator was highlighted during the event as Dr. Sachiko Kuno, CEO of S&R Foundation, took the stage to talk about the work of her organization and to introduce the program’s current cohort.
This year’s Garden Brunch also raised awareness for Yellow Ribbons United and their initiative #PlayfieldInThePark, which serves approximately 500 children and teens attending the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) Good Grief Camp and Honoring Our Heroes Camp over Memorial Day Weekend. The program was created by Derrick and Emma Dockery, and has recently received the support of Constance Milstein, who was also a co-host of the Garden Brunch.
In addition to sharing their mission with brunch guests, Emma Dockery also had advice for budding entrepreneurs: “Never give up, for every no you may receive there is someone who will say yes!”
Neve Campbell, Derrick Dockery, Emma Dockery, Tammy Haddad
Additional guests from the entertainment industry included Bryan Cranston of HBO’s All the Way, Director Jay Roach, Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren, House of Cards’ Neve Campbell, Daredevil’s Rosario Dawson, Lisa Edelstein from Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, Constance Zimmer of UnREAL, The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, Blindspot’s Jaimie Alexander, House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, actress Sela Ward, Blue Bloods’ Bridget Moynahan, Concussion’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw, model Anne V, Independence Day’s Jeff Goldblum, Valeri and Candace Cameron Bure, Omarosa, Eric Podwall, Dule Hill, Matthew Morrison, HBO’s Len Amato, Scandal’s Scott Foley, and model Daniela Lopez.
Media in attendance included Charlie Rose, Jim Bankoff, Kevin Merida and Marie Donoghue from ESPN, Gayle King, Wolf Blitzer, Laura Ingraham, Bret and Amy Baier, Brian and Jamie Stelter, Betsy Fischer-Martin, Stephanie Ruhle, Joy Behar, and April Ryan. Tech was also represented by Josh Ginsberg, CEO of Zignal Labs, Erin Egan of Facebook, Snap Chat’s Nick Bell and Instagram’s Charlton Golson, John Tass-Parker and Charles Porch.
From the world of government and politics, guests included Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, Heather Podesta, Tony Podesta, Jeremy Bernard, Megan Smith, Robert and Capricia Marshall, Heather Rothenberg and Ellie Schafer, Representative Joaquin Castro, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Fauci of NIH, World Bank President Jim Kim, Mike and Kristi Rogers, Ben Ginsberg, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
The crowd was kept up-to-the moment on the presidential election with Zignal Labs‘ realtime analytics.
Dessert treats were provided by Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis of Georgetown Cupcakes.
The 2016 Garden Brunch was held at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown. The event host committee consisted of Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen, Sachiko Kuno, Fred Humphries, Mark and Sally Ein, Connie Milstein, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, David Adler, and Franco Nuschese.
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