Leadership Luncheon with Caroline Kennedy

Thursday, I had the privilege to hear Caroline Kennedy, former United States Ambassador to Japan and only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy, speak on leadership.

My university, Rockhurst, hosts the Rockhurst University Leadership Series every year. This luncheon allows companies in the area as well as students to hear from some of the nation's high achievers. This year I was able to help in the planning process for the event. Since I work in the department that hosts this large luncheon, I asked to help in as many ways possible. Event planning has always been a passion of mine, so I was elated to be in planning meetings.

Days before the event, I was creating name tags for over 1,000 guests. All of these names were of Kansas City professionals who either bought an individual ticket or, more likely, had a table bought for them by their company. Although there were many components to the event, including a Q&A session with Caroline Kennedy with Rockhurst students before the luncheon, all of the name tags I made were of only guests attending the luncheon. We had over 100 tables put together in the grand ballroom of the Muehlebach Tower.

The day of the event went smoothly. I was in charge of walking around the lobby welcoming hundreds of guests as they waited for the doors to the ballroom to open. I was able to mingle and answer anyone's questions. When I was first told that this would be my job before the actual luncheon, I was annoyed. It seemed like everyone else had an actual job and my supervisor threw me in the crowd last minute and said "just go answer questions people might have". However, I really made the most of it and turned on my charm. I was able to meet Kansas City mayor, Sly James, and the Dunn family, an extremely wealthy family known for their philanthropy.

During the luncheon, I was seated at table 92 which was designated for guests with individual tickets. I was excited to meet professionals instead of sitting with the rest of the Rockhurst staff, and I had hit a jackpot. At my table was the Lyon-Haake family. This family was a co-creator of the Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics, a prestigious award given to an Rockhurst alum or faculty member that has done outstanding work. The man behind the award, Tom Lyon II had passed, but I sat next to his son and daughter, both in their mid thirties, as well as his brother, Jerry Haake. All three of them had graduated from either Rockhurst High School or Rockhurst University, and spoke with me about my own plans after graduation. Their kindness was exceptional, and Jerry told me that this specific Leadership Luncheon was the best one of ours he had been to.

The meal was fantastic. We had pomegranate kale salad with passion fruit vinaigrette and bread service. For our entree, I was served pan seared chicken with artichokes and tomato vodka sauce, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables. Finally, dessert was already in front of us, and I chose the blueberry cheesecake.

Caroline Kennedy spoke about her time in Japan, the movements that are happening today, and reflections on what we could learn from her father. She mentioned a story about how her mother, Jackie Kennedy, would make her brother and her pick a poem to recite at every holiday. They would memorize each poem and present it to the family. She mentioned how that really became a piece of her, as she has now published several poetry books. I really resonated with her story because also spoke on how, now when she sees the poems she memorized as a child, it is like looking into a photograph or memory. I believe stories and literature can really freeze a frame in time, and it was wonderful to hear Ms. Kennedy put that in words.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the event. Not only did I hear from a great leader, I met with plenty of important people in the Kansas City area as well. I also gained experience in planning events such as this one, and got paid to have an amazing time! I would do this event again in a heartbeat, and I hope to take the lessons I learned from Caroline Kennedy's speech into my own leadership.