Former White House photographer Eric Draper treated an audience of more than 300
Eric Draper talks to people at the SPJ RG event. Photo by Mark G. Bralley
people to a “Front Row Seat to History” on Sept. 1 at an event sponsored by your SPJ Rio Grande Chapter and Citadel Broadcasting in Albuquerque. Draper’s slide show of photos of President George W. Bush showed a side of the former chief executive that many will never see — posing on an extra-long sofa at Buckingham Palace with Mrs. Bush or having a quick “practice dance” before inaugural balls; sharing laughs with international leaders; and looking out the window of Air Force One at the smoking wreckage in the Pentagon after Sept. 11, 2001.
Draper, who says he looked the president in the eye and asked for the job that he kept for eight years, has several images in the Monroe Gallery through Sept. 25, 112 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe. Special thanks to listeners of KKOB news radio, students at University of New Mexico who write for the Daily Lobo, and all of our chapter members who attended. A silent auction raised more than $1,500 for the chapter treasury and will be used for future programs.
Draper wows crowd of 300 in Albuquerque. Photo by Peter St. Cyr.
Chapter Vice President and Treasurer Peter St. Cyr was the lead for the chapter on setting up the event and silent auction with help from board president Julie Ann Grimm, and board members Sandra Martinez, David Brown, and Robert Galin.
