National Conference of State Societies

Sociedad del estado de Arizona Recepción para Cinco de Mayo Se llevará a cabo el Dos de Mayo

Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona will open up the hospitality of his Capitol Hill neighborhood home to members of the State Society of Arizona for a Cinco de Mayo reception on Friday, May 2 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Admission is free to members of the society who RSVP but non-members may attend for $35 which will include the cost of membership for one year and a chance to purchase tickets to the Route 66 Inaugural Ball next January.  For more details on these events and to find out how to join the society, please CLICK HERE.

Mexicans and Americans of Mexican heritage celebrate Cinco de Mayo as the day in the struggle for independence from Europe when Mexican militia troops led by General Ignacio Zaragoza and loyal to President Benito Juarez won a great victory over the French occupation forces paid by Napoleon III.  This year the day marks the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Louisiana State Society Crawfish Boil is Sat. May 3

The Louisiana State Society will sponsor the absolutely delicious, scrumptious, and terrific annual Crawfish Boil on Saturday, May 3 from 1 to 6 pm at Fort Hunt Park near Alexandria, Va. For directions to Pavilion A at the picnic grounds and to order tickets online, please visit our LSS web site and CLICK HERE for more information.  On other web pages, you will find information about how to join the Louisiana State Society of Washington, DC.

Georgia & South Carolina Gold Cup Event Is Sold Out

The Georgia and South Carolina State Societies are sponsoring a party at the Virginia Gold Cup on Saturday, May 3.  This event is now sold out.  But keep watching this page for other state societies that are sponsoring Gold Cup parties. Several still have tickets and there are contact details above and below this post. If you are from Georgia and would like to learn more about the Georgia State Society and how to join, please CLICK HERE to visit our web site.  If you are from South Carolina, please CLICK HERE. 

A Letter to NCSS from Lynda Johnson Robb

The Honorary Chair of the 2008 Ball and  guest of honor was the 1961 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen, Betsy Howard Jefferson.  Betsy was 19 when the wheel stopped on Kentucky, the state she represented.  On April 11, Betsy returned to the NCSS Grand Ball to spin the wheel for the First Runner Up, Elinor Rushforth of New Mexico.  On the night in 1961 when Betsy was chosen as Queen, she was asked for the first dance by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.  Lynda Bird Johnson, daughter of the vice president, is shown on this page in a black and white photo presenting flowers to Betsy.  Betsy is also pictured in a color photo as she looks today wearing the Mikimoto pearls she received in 1961.  While Mrs. Lynda Johnson Robb, a former First Lady of Virginia, could not attend this year's ball to recreate that 1961 moment, she did send a warm and gracious letter to all the guests at the NCSS Ball.  Here is the full text of that letter which was addressed to the MC of the ball:

Andrea Roane

News Anchor for WUSA9

Dear Andrea and Friends:

I regret my schedule prevents being with you all tonight as you celebrate the 60^th Anniversary of the Princess Program.  As a former cherry blossom princess for the Texas State Society (let’s not be specific on dates, but just stick with “former”) I have wonderful memories of that time when my father was Vice President and agreed to spin the Wheel of Fortune.  The Wheel stopped on Kentucky and I presented flowers to Betsy Howard before Daddy asked her for the first dance.  I am so pleased tht Betsy is with you tonight as Honorary Chair and I thank you for sending me pictures from that long ago evening.

 

Spring in Washington, DC is a special season, particularly because of the cherry blossoms that adorn the trees donated to America by Japan as a symbol of goodwill.  The blossoms help us enjoy the beauty of nature, something you know was so important to Mother.  The blossoms also continue to promote goodwill between our two countries year after year.  The 60^th anniversary of the Princess program is a testament to the continued success of that goodwill mission and I’m proud to have been a participant. My best wishes to Betsy and to all the former and current cherry blossom princesses from the embassies and across the United States. I hope you enjoy the parade on Saturday and am sure you have had a wonderful week of getting to know each other and sharing a little of your own local goodwill with your fellow princesses.

   

With warm regards,

Lynda Johnson Robb

Greetings from the Class of 1948

The recently-concluded National Cherry Blossom Festival was also the 60th Anniversary of the NCSS Cherry Blossom Princess Program that started in 1948.  Joan Lovering Boos and her husband Fred Boos (pronounced Bows) were two special guests at the NCSS Grand Ball on April 11.  Joan was in the very first class of princesses in 1948.  She is pictured at left at the ball with Japan Cherry Blossom Queen Megumi Yoshida of Saitama, Japan.  Not only did Joan attend the ball but she also saw her 2008 counterpart, Emily Little, become the Cherry Blossom Queen when the wheel stopped on Maine. (Photo courtesy of Maine State Society President Carl Bouchard.)

More Gold Cup Parties--New Mexico and Idaho

The Idaho State Society and The New Mexico State Society of Washington, DC will jointly host a Virginia Gold Cup Party on Saturday, May 3.  Tickets priced at $50 each include food, drinks, transporation to and from The Plains, Virginia as well as access to the track-side tent for the steeplechase horse races. Busses will leave and return to the Santa Fe Cafe in downtown Rosslyn.  If you are from Idaho or New Mexico and want to find out more about how to join our state societies, please contact us.  If you are from Idaho, please send an email to idahostatesociety@gmail.com.  If you are from New Mexico, send an email to info@mnstatesociety.org.

Oklahoma Society Congressional Reception is April 22

Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 6-8pm - The Oklahoma State Society Congressional Reception will be in the Senate Caucus Room (SR-325) Russell Senate Office Building. Join us for a wonderful evening with Congressional Members, food, drinks and lively conversation. Please RSVP for the reception by sending an email to okssmail@okstatesociety.org with the names of people planning to attend.

AND -- OKSS Tickets to the Virginia Gold Cup Races on Saturday May 3. CLICK HERE to get OKSS tickets.

1,600 Photos of Cherry Blossom Princesses Posted

Photographer Bobby Singh has posted 1,600 pictures of the 2008 NCSS Cherry Blossom Princess Program from April 6-April 12.  All are available for purchase direct from Bobby.  To see photo albums for each day and event:

CLICK HERE.

 

Ford Mustangs Return to the Parade

Left to right: Nevada cherry blossom princess Jennifer Cooper, Maine Princess and 2008 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen Emily Little, Ohio princess Shelly Horn, and Nebraska Princess Abby Helman, pose in the back seat of a 1972 Ford Sprint Mustang that was first used for princesses in the 1972 National Cherry Blossom Parade.  More than fifty 1972 Mustangs were part of a special promotion that year by the Ford Motor Company. (Photo courtesy of Rex Turner of the Ford Mustang Club.)

Maine President Carl Bouchard photos also posted

CLICK HERE to see photos from Maine State Society President Carl Bouchard.