In the fall of 1975 I received a call from the Michigan Petroleum Association. President Gerald Ford had promised when he was a Michigan Senator that he would be their banquet speaker at their upcoming meeting. He had reconfirmed it when he became Vice President and again when he became President of the United States but something urgent had come up in Washington so he could not keep that speaking engagement. The association would like me to be their replacement speaker at their Banquet.
Would I! Man my heart started beating double time and I said “YES!!!!” We agreed on my current fee plus travel expenses. The location was the fabulous Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island. And then that caller added, “Since you are replacing The President and we had the Presidential Suite set aside for him you can have the Suite that night if you’d like.” I pictured the travel and realized that I’d be driving north right through Harrison, Michigan where my Mom and Dad lived. I took a deep breath and asked, “I wonder if I might bring my parents with me and let them stay in that suite. It would be the thrill of a lifetime for them and I would gladly pay for just a single room.” That gentleman said, “No problem, Art. They will be our guests and we’ll throw in the extra room too.”
It was a wonderful experience for us. My folks were delighted. At the cocktail party before the banquet my Dad ate $100 worth of shrimp. That Grand Ballroom is big and long and I swear I can still hear the laughter rolling from the middle of the room to the far wall and then bouncing back like waves. I had really worked on that speech and when I finished the audience stood up and applauded and congratulated my parents.
That is one of those engagements I will treasure forever.
What an honor to be asked, and how wonderful that you could share it with your parents!