Supernatural Botanicals

Seriously, how much fun can you have in one night?  Smart Talk Connected Conversations brought Ann Compton to town last night and she nailed it!  Literally, from the opening paragraph into her speech, I was captivated…we were all captivated.  Ann has so many interesting stories, you could just talk to her for hours.  And you can see by the pictures, she’s completely down to earth and sincere. 

Ann has covered seven presidents for ABC News in a career that has taken her to the White House and Capital Hill.  She is the national correspondent for ABC News Radio, based in Washington, D.C.

It’s overtly obvious that she’s an excellent speaker.  She’s dynamic and she captures the audience instantly.  Below are some notes I took during her speech.  Everything she said was so interesting, I could barely take notes fast enough. 

*  She was the only broadcast reporter allowed to remain on board Air Force One during the dramatic hours when President Bush was unable to return to Washington. 

*  The Dalai Lama told President Obama that we needed for female leaders!  (ed. note:  Team Dalai Lama!) 

*  President Bush emailed her yesterday.  He’s working on a book. 

*  Thanks to Google Map, she learned Bill Ayres …yes, this  Bill Ayres, lives in her childhood home in Chicago.

*  On Air Force One, everything, everything, has the Presidential Seal, from the seat belts,  the drinking glasses to the razors in the bathroom.

*  On 09/11, Air Force One landed in Louisiana …because they were out of gas, and only for that reason.

*  The infamous potatoe/potato blunder made by Dan Quayle was, in part, not his fault.  It was an error made by a teacher on a flash card that he was reading.

*  The biggest news source right now…it’s YouTube, believe it or not. 

*  Ann’s only lukewarm on the notion of social media.  She thinks it’s the dumbing-down of news, and at times, grossly inaccurate. 

*  On August 6, 1990, president George H. W. Bush sent her an apology note (on presidential stationary) saying he was sorry for being too snippy with her in an interview.  He signed it with a smiley face!

*  “Social media is fraught with error and bad judgement.” 

*  One of her favorite websites is the DrudgeReport.com. 

*  Ann still sees the good in on the spot reporting, however.  For instance, reporters were not allowed to view Saddam Hussein being put to death.  The reason we saw those images thereafter was due to camera phones of those who witnessed it. 

*  Ronald Regan threw great cocktail parties for the press.

*  Ronald Regan called Ann in the hospital the day her daughter was born to send warm wishes.  (Wow!)

*  The speech writer for Obama is (surprisingly) only 27 years old. 

*  Ann goes directly to the White House every day for work, not ABC offices. 

*  Ann was offered a job her senior year of college.  She says she has never applied for a job in her life. 

*  Jimmy Carter once referred to Ann as “the reporter with the large diamond ring.” 

*  Ann is married to Dr. William Hughes, and has four kids.

*  Her children are the following:  A doctor, a lawyer, a software designer, and a budding media exec. 

*  She was with president bush at the elementary school when 09/11 went down. 

*  She first sat down and cried about 09/11 when she got back and checked her email.  The first email was from her son, stating his fraternity brother was on the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center.

Ann is truly an inspiration to all career girls, and women in general.  She’s a fearless female leader who has earned her place at the top.