My Experience at Cardinal’s 10 Year Anniversary Gala

When I first saw the announcement of the Cardinal Institute’s 10 Year Anniversary Gala, I was ecstatic. Not only do I love any excuse to wear a tuxedo, but I would also finally get to meet many of the faces I have only known from the Cardinal Institute’s “Meet the Team” page. I also looked forward to the chance to apologize to Amanda Kieffer, who has to chase me down for blog posts far more often than she should.

I also had a hunch that I would meet a handful of interesting folks from all around West Virginia and the United States. Much to my surprise, the first speaker was Australian! The liberty movement, and Cardinal’s presence within it, is truly worldwide.

Arrival at the Greenbrier Resort

As my previous blog posts have explained, this native West Virginian now lives in Columbus, Ohio. After loading our usual weekend trip luggage into our car, along with our kids, the black tie clothes were next, hung from the backseat’s hangers, blocking my son’s view out the window to his dismay. We traveled down a day early, giving us a full morning of preparation on Thursday. Not only did hair need to be managed and clothes either put on or stored for putting on in the White Sulphur Springs Depot parking lot, but a certain little boy’s worries that we would not return needed to be assuaged. 

Abandonment worries dissolved, and we had the privilege of driving to White Sulphur Springs during the early evening. Although we surely have missed peak fall colors, deep and dry shades of brown and red remained in many areas, along with plenty of trees that have fully shed their coverings.

After pulling into the Amtrak station’s parking lot and putting on the final touches of pocket squares and less-than-comfortable shoes, we caught the Greenbrier’s shuttle up to the main entrance. Approaching the entrance of America’s Resort is always a treat. Sundown, facade lighting on, The Greenbrier stood as it always has: tall and bold. 

Reception Before the Gala

“Up the stairs and to the left.”

That’s where our registration and reception would take place, as told by the doorman to the attendees in front of us, saving me from asking. Donning name tags, we headed into the Greenbrier’s Crystal Room. After being treated to lamb and artichoke skewers, short rib tarts, and fried green tomatoes, it was time to mingle among other liberty lovers.

As someone who is admittedly a bad mingler, my appreciation goes out to Mark Duran and Forrest Fowler, who struck up a conversation with myself and my wife, Lindsay. Mark and Forrest are cofounders of Student First Technologies in Bloomington, Indiana. Student First Tech aims to make it easier to use Education Savings Account programs across the country.

After admiring paintings by freedom-loving artist (yes, they exist!) Tom Acosta, we were shown from the Crystal Room to the Greenbrier’s Cameo Ballroom, the flamingo-hued venue that serves as the Greenbrier’s grandest stage. 

In the Ballroom

The aforementioned Aussie, Vale Sloane, Vice President of Development for the Federalist Society, welcomed us into the main event of the evening. We were served a great salad and cornbread as we met our table companions for the evening. The evening’s dessert was preset, tempting us with a raspberry and gold leaf set on top of some sort of fruit mousse in a shortbread crust. The man to my right said that he wouldn’t judge us if we went straight for it. After all, they left it there!

That table partner, who I’ll leave nameless simply because I forgot to ask if he cared to be name-dropped, treated us to tales of his adventures all around the world, advocating and fundraising for liberty across the globe. By his count, there were only a handful of countries he had not visited, having stepped foot in something like 180 different countries. Lindsay and I, international amateurs compared to him (who wouldn’t be?), could at least talk about our Ireland trip earlier this year. Lindsay also spoke about her time in Argentina which came before we met.

After having our main course, former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos took the stage along with Garrett Ballengee. They spoke about education freedom, with Garrett posing some questions and then taking some from the audience. It was a privilege to hear Secretary DeVos speak especially as her life’s work comes to a head, with charter schools, ESAs, and scholarships for education freedom appearing all across the country. Artist Tom Acosta presented Secretary DeVos with one of his paintings to celebrate these achievements.

To punctuate the night, Garrett had us turn to the back of our event programs, to find 17,000 dots printed. Each dot represented one pupil who is benefiting from a school choice option in West Virginia. The fruits of our labor, to which I have contributed a minuscule amount relative to the full-time Cardinal team, were printed in front of us. The Cardinal Institute, however, is only getting started. 

Leaving the Gala

As we finished our time in the Cameo Ballroom, we were invited to a Whiskey Reception in the Spring Room. Not drinkers ourselves, and needing to drive anyway, Lindsay and I abstained, although we were pleased to find a table of assorted treats. We sampled a blueberry tart, a dark chocolate tart, and a coffee eclair. Saying goodbye to Mark, Forrest, our traveler table mate, and Garrett, we exited The Greenbrier the same way we came in, pulling away from the lit facade. Happy 10th Anniversary to the Cardinal Institute! I look forward to our 20th Year Gala to come.