Betty Ford To Be Honored in National First Ladies Conference
Forty years later, first ladies once again are the central focus of a conference to spur research and education into presidential spouses.
Forty years ago this month, a curious crowd converged at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the first-ever national conference on American first ladies. The two-day conference, Modern First Ladies: Private Lives and Public Duties, chaired by former First Lady Betty Ford and joined by another former first lady – Rosalynn Carter – was designed to “open new doors to understanding the role of first lady, and all its advantages and disadvantages,” Ford said at the time.
Decades later, the spirit of that historic event is having a resurgence of sorts with the announcement on Monday by the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE), of its first national conference “First Lady Betty Ford: 50th Anniversary Celebration,” honoring Ford’s anniversary of becoming first lady in 1974. FLARE is a first-of-its-kind organization with a membership made up of scholars, institutions, first lady staff members, biographers, archivists, journalists, and public historians interested in research and education about the continuing impact and lasting legacies of U.S. first ladies.
The FLARE conference, which like the 1984 conference, will take place on April 26 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The conference is open to the public and is being held in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum and American University’s School of Public Affairs. The half-day event will include panel discussions that will celebrate Betty Ford’s leadership as first lady and discuss the historic 1984 conference.
“Our goal is to meet our mission, which is to facilitate the lasting legacies of first ladies through research and education,” says Nancy Kegan Smith, president of FLARE and co-author of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women.
The event is free and begins at 2:15 pm EDT. Colleen Shogan, the Archivist of the United States and FLARE member, will welcome guests in a special video presentation. Opening comments will be made by Gleaves Whitney, the Executive Director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and Smith. Other speakers include FLARE members Susan Ford Bales (daughter of Betty Ford), Brooke Clement, Diana Carlin, Stacy Cordery, Myra Gutin, Lisa McCubbin Hill, Alison Jacknowitz, Anita McBride, and special guest Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld.
The conference will also feature a talk by Smith that will showcase original audio-visual segments of the 1984 conference that have not been seen for 40 years, according to Smith.
“We’re going to actually get to hear and see Betty Ford,” Smith says. “We are hoping to have a lot of comments and Betty Ford’s spirit throughout the conference.”
Attendees also are invited to attend the Betty Ford Luncheon, which will include a program introduced by Bales at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids.
The conference, according to FLARE, is an important milestone as the association approaches its three-year anniversary. Smith hopes the event will further excitement and interest in fostering research and education in first ladies and about FLARE.
“Basically there is a lot of ignorance on the incredible work that first ladies do and how engaged they are to further their legacies through the foundations they set up or help fund,” Smith says.
Registration for the conference is required, as seating is limited. Register for the First Ladies Conference here.
The Betty Ford Luncheon will have a special program introduced by Susan Ford Bales at the J.W. Marriott. Tickets for the lunch can be purchased here. FLARE members can purchase tickets at a discounted rate of $125.
The conference will also be live streamed here.
East Wing Magazine is a member of FLARE.