------41@80 – PRESIDENT BUSH'S 80th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Chris Begala of BEGALA CONSULTING has had the distinct honor and privilege to work for former President George Bush (#41) and the Office of President Bush on a number of occasions. None were more challenging or rewarding than the massive undertaking of the former President’s 80th Birthday Celebration, 41@80, June 11, 12 and 13, 2004.
It’s not every day that a former President and First Lady of the United States decide to throw a little party to commemorate an 80th Birthday but true to his roots, President Bush 41proved that everything is indeed big down in Texas.
Longtime Bush aide and former Bush White House Assistant, Jim McGrath of CEO Communications along with the Office of President George H. Bush asked Chris Begala of BEGALA CONSULTING to Co-Manage Media for President Bush’s 80th Birthday Celebration, 41@80. Begala, McGrath and former Deputy Press Secretary to First Lady Laura Bush, Barbara Knight coordinated and managed all aspects relating to Media for 41@80.
The goals in relation to media were to penetrate positive messages in relation to President Bush’s lifelong commitment to public service, his zest for life at 80, while not being political in an election year involving his son and the current president. We wanted to achieve awareness and positive messages relating to our three (3) charities to help raise money for them.
The entire project was Managed and coordinated by President Bush’s Chief of Staff, Jean Becker.
The project took months of tireless preparation as the magnitude of the event was staggering. Consider for a moment that it took place in a post 9-11 world with the following attendees and entities.
41@80 was broken up into five (5) major events;
1. Friday night, June 11, private dinner at the home of a close Bush family friend
2. Saturday morning, June 12, Points of Light Foundation event as the City of Houston unveiled a mural depicting the life of President Bush
3. Saturday afternoon, June 12, MD Anderson Cancer Center event
4. Saturday night, June 12, dinner and concert at Minute Maid Park
5. Sunday, June 13, parachute jump by President Bush and others at the Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M in College Station Texas
RESULT……
41@80 and all the events that it encompassed went off without a hitch as the former President and all his guests enjoyed themselves immensely. From the golf outing, to the private dinner, to the charity-related events of Saturday, to the Saturday night concert, to President Bush’s two (2) successful parachute jumps on Sunday, everything was successful.
Media coverage was substantial and very positive. Based on the estimates of a nationally respected media tracking firm, over 210 million Americans either saw or read about President Bush’s 80th Birthday Celebration, 41@80. The 210 million people reached did not include radio and magazine coverage and it did not include coverage in Europe, the Far East and South America.
We had over 350 members of the media covering the events of the weekend including all four (4) major Networks, FOX Cable, CNN, the Russian Network, the Chinese Network, Time Magazine, People Magazine, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and more.
Chris Begala coordinated all aspects of two (2) live satellite feeds Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. National media tracking firms estimate that our satellite feeds reached well over 150 million Americans in all 50 states and millions more around the world.
The coverage was obviously substantial in President Bush’s home of Houston as two local stations produced hour-long specials and all the local stations broadcasted from events all weekend long.
The coverage leading up to 41@80 was substantial as President Bush was the subject of extensive stories including guesting on CNN’s Larry King Live, The Today Show with Matt Lauer, Time Magazine article, USA Today weekend cover story, multiple Houston Chronicle stories and much more.
To cap it all off, 41@80 raised a staggering $58 million for the three charities; MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Points of Light Foundation and the George H. Bush Presidential Library.