Maria Shriver, First Lady of the sometimes great State of California, looking oh-so smashing in a strapless black lace and taffeta gown!
I’ve always liked Maria Shriver. She’s the kind of woman you know would make a great girlfriend.
She’s also smart and real; has a terrific personality—down to earth, cheerful, humble. She has that optimistic/can-do attitude and as such strikes me as the kind of person who brings out the best in others.
Maria seems the least affected/most accessible of the Kennedy Cousins. And also the hardest working. What hasn’t she done?
She’s been an award-winning journalist; TV news anchor; TV producer; documentary producer, businesswoman (co-owns an ice cream company!); best-selling author; founder of the Minerva Awards, which celebrate humanitarian work and “honors women on the frontlines of humanity;” is a champion of various causes such as Alzheimer’s, foster grandparents, Special Olympics, and military families; and of course she’s also a wife, mother, and First Lady of the State of California.
Maria must not sleep. Her schedule is jam-packed. For instance, last week she met Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev in San Francisco; hosted a private dinner party for 62 at former Secretary of State George Shultz’s home, wrote a blog for the HuffPost titled: Art is Fundamental—and Fundamental to Support; and launched promo activities and ticket sales to the annual Women’s Conference held in Long Beach. (I, on the other hand, made pot roast.)
This conference, hailed as the “Nation’s Premier Forum for Women,” was started in 1985 by then Governor Deukmejian. But I had never heard of it until Maria became involved with it. She added star power and increased the popularity factor by a gazillion. The list of celebrities participating is a who’s who of women (and some men) in entertainment, journalism, the arts, business, sports, politics, philanthropy, and current events.
The conference draws over 25,000 attendees. The tag line is: We empower women to be architects of change.
This year’s conference theme is “It’s Time.” It will be a time for women:
“to experience three amazing days of empowerment, inspiration, and education…an opportunity to come together and transform ourselves, our communities, and our world…”
The conference will feature 140 speakers/participants, such as Erin Brockovich, Deepak Chopra, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Caroline Kennedy, Donna Karan, Laura and Lisa Ling, Sandra Day O’Connor, Jamie Lee Curtis, Arianna Huffington, Laila Ali, Dr. Oz, Diane Sawyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Matt Lauer, Mary J. Blige, Meghan McCain, and of course, Oprah.
Last year’s conference sold out. And so did this year’s—in lightning speed. I tried to get tickets through the only way to get them: the screwed-up online system. You’d think the First Lady of the most technologically savvy state could come up with an online ticket-purchasing system that worked.
When I logged on at precisely the correct time, I was already number 1320 in line. I moved up the queue a little, and then the system froze. When it came back on line, I was bumped to position 1821. There were more problems (like the hour and a half I had to babysit my computer before I could check out), but I came to praise Maria, not rag on her for a faulty ticket system.
I didn’t get a ticket to the “Main Event,” but I did score one for “A Day of Health, Wealth, and Transformation.” Should be interesting. I look forward to going in October. And I will be blogging about it.
In the meantime before Maria hosts this super-duper women’s event, allow me to present her with the Fuchsia Woman NOW Award, because as we all know, so many times and so many ways, she done good!
Maria Shriver is a deserving winner of the Fuchsia Woman Honey Pot Trophy.
