When White House Calls

WHEN WHITE HOUSE!" CALLS From Immigrant Entrepreneur to U.S. Ambassador J P The University of Utah Press Salt Lake City N M T C S It is important to remember that our Nation has a tradition of citizen soldiers and citizen public servants— individuals who have been willing to put aside their private lives and notwithstanding the costs in money, personal privacy, and all the rest, put their talents and energies to work for the Country that has so richly blessed us all. —F F, P R R, D B, S n February , , at the Utah State Capitol, I was sworn in as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America accredited Oto the Republic of Mauritius, the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros, and the Republic of Seychelles, located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. On that same day, President George W. Bush officially opened the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. ;e coincidence of my swearing- in ceremony occurring within hours of the Olympic opening events was breathtaking. ;e idea that in between events President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush would pay a visit to our home, Fairfax House, in Salt Lake City, was nearly overwhelming. I had to pinch myself several times to be- lieve that after so many months of paperwork, seminars, meetings, and interviews, this was indeed really happening. But now, standing in front of Secretary of State Colin Powell with Governor Michael Leavitt looking on, my wife, Marcia, by my side, and my left hand on the Declaration of In de pen dence and the Constitution of the United States, I stood resolute to represent the country I love, to the best of my abilities. I didn’t yet know that the complexities of my assignment— including diplomatic relations with the host countries, our U.S. interests there including trade relations, W W H C the potential problems of terrorism, and the regional challenges created by pandem- ics and human poverty— would further strengthen my resolve. Marcia and I had been friends with the Bush family since actively supporting Presi- dent George H. W. Bush in the presidential campaign. In , I was appointed to the Industry Sector Advisory Committee for Small and Minority Business, which coordinated with the Department of Commerce. I was also asked to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Small Business Administration. In , the president appointed Marcia to the President’s Advisory Committee for the Arts, which later, under President Clinton’s administration, became the National Committee for the Performing Arts, “to support, enhance, and advocate national arts education.” As of , Marcia continues to serve as a member of the NCPA board, which func- tions at the Kennedy Center. In , I was asked by former President George H. W. Bush to serve on the National Finance Advisory Council for the George and Barbara Bush Endowment for Innovative Cancer Research, at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. I remained on the council until I had to resign from all boards as part of the ambassador nomination pro cess. On two occasions, August , , and July , , Marcia and I attended council meetings and afternoon retreats at Walker’s Point, the Bush family summer residence in Kennebunkport, Maine. At this seaside community, long considered the jewel of the southern Maine coast, President Bush and his wife, Barbara, hosted traditional Maine lobster and clambake feasts at the picturesque River Club. During our last visit, I had the thrill of speeding through the shallow waters off the rocky coastline with the former president at the wheel of his sleek new - foot Fountain Tournament Edition fishing boat. Powered by twin - hp Mercury engines, the high- performance Fidelity II left the Secret Ser vice in its wake. As the members of his security detail strained to keep up in their Zodiac inflatable boats, I asked the president, “Are you sure you know where the rocks are?” After a glance and a slight smile, he nodded— then gunned the engines! Only once did he slow down, to navigate around what appeared to be giant boulders beneath the surface of the clear blue ocean water. I held my breath and hung on as the boat was tossed by the chop. Offered another ride later that day, I opted instead to join Marcia on a tour of the beautiful grounds at Walker’s Point. Since the Bush campaign, I had also been following his son George W. Bush’s rise to power as governor of the State of Texas, and I considered myself one of the early supporters in his presidential campaign. We held one of his first national presidential exploratory committee fund- raising events at Fairfax House on July , . It was a successful occasion, attended by more than three hundred supporters !e Call to Ser vice and well- wishers. Since the president’s birthday was the day before the event, we surprised him with a birthday cake. Earlier, in March , Utah Governor Michael Leavitt had invited me to go with him to Austin, Texas, to meet with Governor George W. Bush and have lunch together. A handsome Re nais sance Revival– style building, the Texas State Capitol was completed in , and is second in size only to the Capitol in Washington, D.C. After our meeting, the governor led us to the State Senate chamber, where one of the legisla- tors, a knowledgeable historian, concluded the tour with us. ;en Governor Bush went off for his daily jog, saying he would meet us later for lunch. While waiting for the governor at the historic Governor’s Mansion, we met up with Michael Dell, found er of Dell Computer, who was also joining us. I admired how Michael had changed the way people bought computers. By simplifying the technology and selling directly to customers, Michael turned a fledgling garage start- up into a multibillion- dollar, worldwide enterprise. After lunch, at which it was suggested that Governor Bush consider setting up a presidential exploratory committee, we ran into Karl Rove, a key advisor to the governor, who had lived and attended school in Salt Lake City. I told him about our lunch conversation and said I would be happy to help Governor Bush in his presidential campaign should he decide to run. Several weeks later, Karl came to Utah and spoke at my home to a group of business leaders I was trying to recruit. ;at night, Karl had dinner with Mike Leavitt and me. An interesting po liti cal conversation ensued in which Karl discussed his fondness for President William McKinley and the style of campaign McKinley had run in , a realigning election that marked the beginning of the Progressive Era. President McKinley was pro- business, and many of his supporters were businessmen. He ran a successful, well- funded campaign, and would serve with Republicans having won control of both houses of Congress. Later, in the fall of , I was invited by Heinz Prechter to go quail hunting at his ,- acre ranch in Wheeler, Texas. Heinz, who emigrated from Germany after World War II, was an early pioneer in the automobile sunroof business and founded the American Sunroof Company, which employed several thousand people. Heinz, an early Bush supporter, was hosting the weekend retreat for George W. Bush and his wife, Laura. Among the twelve invited business leaders and active fund- raisers were businessmen Robert Wood (“Woody”) Johnson IV, who later became the own er of the New York Jets football team, and Dave Checketts, who was president and chief executive officer of Madison Square Garden. I had met Dave when he was president W W H C and general manager of the Utah Jazz basketball team. (Several years later, Dave founded and became the chairman of SCP Worldwide, the own er of the Real Salt Lake soccer team.) ;e main purpose of this retreat was for everyone to become better acquainted with George and Laura. Since bird hunting was not a sport I enjoyed, I opted to stay behind and talk with Laura and several other guests. ;e weekend turned out to be a great time for bonding. After some pointed ques- tions during a chat with the governor on the economy, his pro- business stance, lower taxes, and security matters, I was convinced he was the right candidate for the GOP, and I committed to fully support him. I wasn’t alone. By the end of the weekend, Gov- ernor Bush emerged as the “GOP moneyed elite’s candidate,” as noted in a report by Texans for Public Justice. During the ensuing months, the presidential exploratory committee was formed under the leadership of Donald Evans, the governor’s longtime friend and future U.S. Secretary of Commerce. ;e committee expanded nationally. I became Utah’s chairman and also a member of the national finance committee. We met regularly in Austin, Texas, tracking the groundswell of support as it came from every corner of our great nation. In the meantime, Utah was heavily involved with plans for the Winter Olympic Games. In June , the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had met in Budapest, where they awarded the XIX Olympic Winter Games to Salt Lake City. On April , , I was appointed by Governor Michael Leavitt and Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini to be a member of the Salt Lake Or ga niz ing Committee (SLOC) Board of Trustees. Later, on February , , I was also se- lected to be on the Management Committee. In early December , Governor Leavitt asked if my Hawker jet was available to take several SLOC members to Los Angeles.

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