Heads of State, Ambassadors, Legislators, CEOs…and Me

It's Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in London's Heathrow Airport awaiting my return flight back to New York. It's been a hectic and exciting week. My apologies for dropping off the face of the planet. I traveled down to Washington, D.C. last Monday to be the Master of Ceremonies at the Atlantic Council Awards Dinner and woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible feeling of nausea. I threw up most of the night. I then rushed over to George Washington University at 5a.m. Tuesday morning to host Money for Breakfast and The Opening Bell from GW's campus. Shockingly, I made it through the show but just barely. On my return train ride back to New York City I continued to throw up. Not my prettiest day! No, much like my mother's quiet enthusiasm and gentle inquisition, I'm not pregnant. Although all of my producers were probably thinking that all morning.

When I returned back to New York Tuesday afternoon I crawled into bed and didn't get out until Wednesday afternoon. My 48-hour bug started with my baby Slate who had the identical condition last weekend, moved on to my oldest Logan just as my husband and I were leaving Wednesday evening for London and over the weekend my middle guy Kyle caught it. Hopefully all will be back to normal this week.

It's been several days since I Emceed the Atlantic Council Awards Dinner but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to tell you about the brilliant night. I had no idea what to expect when I received a call a month or two ago asking me to participate in the ceremonies. To be honest with you, I didn't know very much about The Atlantic Council until I read about it on their Web site and compiled some research. The easiest way to describe it, it's a non-partisan organization here in the U.S. that promotes cross-border communication and initiatives whose central focus is the Atlantic community. U.S. lead corporate executives, politicians and philanthropists work with ambassadors, heads of state and leaders in their respective countries to create and encourage a working dialogue about some of the World's biggest and most pressing issues. The council tackles issues ranging from terrorism and security, to climate change, energy independence, resisting protectionism and human rights.

At the dinner on Monday night, four spectacular individuals were honored. Rupert Murdoch, my boss, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, the parent of the Fox Business Network, Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and current Quartet representative, representing the U.S., UN, Russia and the EU in helping Palestinians prepare for statehood, Evgeny Kissin, a world renowned pianist born in Moscow and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Just those four individuals could cause you to go weak the knees but the list continues.

As the master or mistress of ceremonies, I had the honor of introducing Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to both President's Ford and Bush, former president of Spain Jose Maria Aznar, Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, General James Jones, chairman of The Atlantic Council and former marine commandant and supreme allied commander Europe, Former Polish President Kwasnievski (trying say that three times), Fred Kempe, president and CEO of The Atlantic Council and General Colin Powell, former secretary of state, national security Adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Oh My God!!!!!!!

It was an incredible night!! Honestly, one of the most memorable nights in my life. I was somewhat nervous about what I would wear and how I would look. Not only was I going to be in the presence of people that I've read about and dreamt of meeting, but I was also representing in some small measure Rupert, News Corp and the Fox Business Network. I wanted to be elegant, crisp and understated. Hopefully I achieved that! Listening to Evgeny Kissin perform Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu and Scherzo #2 was amazing. At the beginning of the night I had to try, and I emphasize try, to quiet down the loud DC crowd. It took some time but when Evgeny played, the room was silent. For 15 minutes his fingers strolled the keys on the piano and we knew we were in for a treat. His performance took my breath away! The speeches were equally engrossing. Tony Blair talked about the Middle East, a common voice and need for unity. Rupert talked about Europe, NATO and why a trade deal with Colombia is a necessity, the World is watching. The Admiral talked about the soldiers on the front line every day and the importance of supporting our missions abroad.

In between each speech I sat at my table. Rupert, Kissinger, Richard Edelman, chairman of Edelman Public Relations, James Lee, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase, Sir Martin Sorrell, group chief executive of WPP.......the list could go on and on, sat next to me. I was by far the poorest and most uneducated kid in the room and I'm proud to admit that I'm a Columbia grad !

After the dinner I met Stephen Schwarzman, a man I've always admired from a distance but never met in person. He was kind, thoughtful and very unassuming. Very down to Earth! I saw my good friend Richaed Gelfond, the IMAX CEO and his lovely wife, met the Lebanese prime minister, the Swedish prime minister and so many others! I felt like I was in the old classic Sabrina. I wasn't there to fall in love , although I do have a crush on Kissinger and Powell and believe me, I told them. The Irish…we're not bashful !! I'm not sure if I was Cinderella but I felt like it. When I introduced Rupert and Kissinger, Kissinger had to use the facilities so I had to stall. I talked about the first time I met Rupert and how touched my grandparents would be if they were alive to see me standing in a room with these people. I don't know if it will happen again but for one night, all I could do was pinch myself. Moments like this don't happen, at least not to me. Five former heads of state and government, three former national security advisers, two former secretaries of state, 37 ambassadors, two dozen senior U.S. officials and legislators, 26 chief executives and chairman and me.