WAC Magazine

March 2013

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Governor���s Ball Leo SantIago By Darrick Meneken, Managing Editor Inaugural ball delivers bounty and handshake with state���s new boss I n retrospect, I probably should have eaten the oysters more slowly. Then again, when you���re searching for the food as long as I was, you tend to lose your self-control when you finally find it. The WAC���s journey to the Governor���s Inaugural Ball in January took close to two dozen members and guests to the state Capitol building in Olympia. For some, it was an opportunity to meet fellow members. For others, a chance to rub shoulders with politicians and powerbrokers. For one, a professional lobbyist, it was just another day at the office. I, myself, showed up for the food. According to my confirmation letter from Club Programs Senior Managing Editor Darrick Meneken meets Event Manager Robert the star of the night, Governor Jay Inslee. 16 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | MARCH 2013 r o b e rt L a u r e n t Hello, governor Members and guests posed in the Crystal Room (top) before arriving at the state Capitol on a foggy night. Laurent, we were to meet at 5:30 pm in Lower Torchy���s. Around the room, champagne flutes, ball gowns, tuxedos, and a few dark suits toasted with their choice of beverage. After a stop by the Crystal Room for a group photo, we met our motor coach outside. (It���s only proper to take a coach to the ball, you know!) Down I-5. Hello, Olympia! Inside the Capitol, the WAC crew dispersed like Hunger Games tributes at the cornucopia. A few small teams stuck together while some of us floated solo. Surrounded by 5,000 people with limited room for movement, I followed a seam into the Secretary of State���s office. An eager line told me the food was near. At the table, my heart sank. Raw veggies and quick-bake mini-quiches? I was promised the bounty of Washington, darn it! And oysters! Onward and upward, I circled the Capitol, navigating masses of sequins and satin, poking my head into the open offices of legislators and lawmakers, trying the desk drawers (kidding ��� maybe).

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