I had the opportunity to attend the formal 100th birthday celebration as an invitee to the Reagan Presidential Foundation’s lovely events at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley last night.
Readers may know I was a young delegate for Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention in 1976, and served all eight years of his administration in Washington, D.C., completing those years as General Counsel of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, where we implemented Reagan’s policy of deregulation and forcing cost/benefit analysis in government rulemaking.
After this service, I also had the opportunity through Young America’s Foundation to actually be the first person to open, and then participate in, the negotiations that lead to that Foundation’s purchase of the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara County for historic purposes.
More recently I have gotten involved as a supporter of the Reagan Presidential Foundation and have developed over the last few years a nice friendship with one of that Foundation’s biggest donors, Arizona philanthropist Norma Zimdahl, who was appropriately honored last night at the Reagan 100th Birthday party for her contributions, including building what amounts to a new wing of the Reagan Presidential Library.
Norma Zimdahl, Jim Lacy, Orange County Register editorial board member Brian Calle at Reagan Centennial in Simi Valley, 2/5/11
During a glittering golden sunset, it was great to have a piece of birthday cake and see the likes of Pat Boone and other long-time celebrity supporters of Ronald Reagan’s political career. And it was also very rewarding to notice Reagan’s lasting political influence throughout the event. For example, the Presidential Library rests in solidly conservative State Senator Tony Strickland’s district! Tony was a very young volunteer for Reagan back in the day! Orange County Register editorial mucky-muck Brian Calle and me drove up to the event together from Orange County, and we were able to hob-nob with Tony and his fellow State Senators Dennis Hollingsworth and Joel Anderson. (Senator Anderson is a client of my law firm.) We talked with fellow Reaganites such as Hon. Dan Oliver, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan Presidency; Dr. Charles Kessler of Claremont, and his lovely and brainy wife Sally Pipes, the head of the Pacific Research Institute; and a highlight was spending a little quality time with Norma Zimdahl and her sister, Josephine, whose assigned escorts were also our respected conservative friends and political operatives from Los Angeles County, Lou and Jane Barnett.
After the birthday party reception, which lasted from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm, guests were treated to a great concert that included "I’m Proud to be an American," Mr. Lee Greenwood.
We will be hearing more about the contributions of Ronald Reagan during this, his 100th year, and I have been able to attend several great events lately honoring him, including one last week sponsored in Newport Beach by the Pacific Research Institute that featured Dr. Arthur Laffer, whose economic ideas inspired the longest sustained economic growth period ever to its time during the Reagan years. (Laffer has a new book out with Steven Moore that is excellent.) I enjoyed talking with our publisher Jon Fleischman that evening, who has also been making the rounds to honor President Reagan. But I must say last night was really a special one, a fitting honor for our greatest President.