Millennium Network Event With President Clinton at the Brooklyn Bowl

Backstage view of President Clinton enjoying Grave Shift

I can't even begin to say how amazing last night was. The Millennium Network Event took place last night at the Brooklyn Bowl. A huge black suburban (was that as Escalade?) with leather seats and black tinted windows came to pick me up from the Clinton Foundation offices at 2pm - yes, a huge car all for me, insane, I know. The driver took my to the Brooklyn Bowl so I could help prepare for the event. That was the last time I would sit down until 1am.

I arrived at the Brooklyn Bowl, got the walk through, and was put straight to work. This is when the tornado-storm hit. Lightning every 5 seconds, followed by a torrential downpour (see my photo),  heavy winds, and ping-pong sized hail - although it wasn't cold, which is, for my understanding, one of the reasons why it was such a massive burst in such a short time period. It all lasted about 15 minutes. Back to work.

After putting some finishing touches on the gift bags I began checking in the volunteers who began arriving I finally had a chance to change into my dress, which I have been looking for a reason to wear. Then - show time!

Chaka Khan coming back onstage for her encore

My task was to shadow the event director, which meant that I was outfitted with a walkie-talkie ear peace and microphone - one of those sweet little ones that the secret service wears - and ran around everywhere. Mostly I was in the VIP lounge and backstage helping to make the directors job a bit easier. It was a lot of work but still very rewarding. I was able to meet actors Michelle Rodriguez, Peter Sarsgaard, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (so beautiful in person, btw), rapper Talib Kweli, and singing legend Chaka Khan.

President Clinton was supposed to arrive, quickly take photos, speak for 5-10 minutes and then head straight out after his very long day. You could tell he was exhausted, but a guy in the crowd still yelled, "You look good!" to which President Clinton responded, "I'm not sure anyone believes you when you say that to a man my age," to huge laughter. That, I think, was when the whole mood shifted and he got on a roll. He gave a great talk. First, it started with a story I have already heard about an African Village (basically that uneducated villagers were able to come together and make decisions that were good for their community, good for their economy, and good for their environment - just because people aren't educated does not mean that they don't know what is best for them), but then he began moving towards more political issues - the environment, the economy, health care - and it was amazing! Everything he said was really great. Really great. Everything I wanted to hear.

I even got to wear one of those secret service earpieces.

After he spoke - for a half hour! - Talib took the stage and rocked it! Backstage I was able to sneak in a few words with President Clinton - eep! This is my 4th time speaking to him now (I'm like BFFs with his secret service detail - lol, but seriously), and I think maybe he recognized me because he stopped talking the Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard to shake my hand. This time I was so relaxed and not jittery at all (which is how my previous interactions with him have been - awkward), and had the presence of mind not to just say, "Nice to meet you," but rather, "Nice to see you again, my name is Erica." I told him that I wish I had heard what he had to say about the economy before I turned in my Econ paper yesterday! He responded with some nice hearty laughter - I don't know if that was just a really good courtesy laugh, but maybe what I said really was funny - even though I meant what I said!

It was already really great that President Clinton stayed to hear Talib although he was scheduled to make a quick exit, but then he stayed to watch Chaka Khan sing - she also rocked it, what a powerful voice! While she was singing he even took some time to take a little stroll around the Brooklyn Bowl (first "green" bowling alley in the US, being LEED Certified). It was great because everyone was enjoying Chaka Khan and hardly anyone noticed that he had come out from backstage. After Chaka finished up her set, plus a two song encore, the President wanted to hear a great group of youngsters called Grave Shift play (they had already played much earlier before Clinton or any of the other talent arrived). He introduced them, then sat at the keyboard to watch them play - I'm sure that will remain a highlight for those kids for a long time to come.

Again, President Clinton enjoying Grave Shift

After the kids played two songs, President Clinton gave them hugs, waved goodbye, and was out the back door at nearly midnight - what was going to be a 30 minute event to him turned into a wonderful all-nighter. I've heard that if he feels a good vibe at the venue and a good vibe coming from the audience, it does not matter what his schedule was supposed to be, he will hang around for as long as he can, and that is exactly what happened last night. The whole night, although I was running around a lot, was a total success!

Of course there are always irritating things to deal with, like people trying to get backstage and such, but overall I had a great learning experience and a very fun (and tiring) day. I hope some day to be able to do that again!

Huffington Post also wrote a short piece about the event. Check it out here.