A.B. Stoddard will headline the SAFPAC Reception and Dinner during SAF’s 39th Annual Congressional Action Days.
Award-winning journalist A.B. Stoddard will headline the SAFPAC Reception and Dinner, Tuesday, March 12, offering her nonpartisan insight on the top political news of the day.
The dinner, held during the Society of American Florists’ 39th Annual Congressional Action Days, benefits SAF’s Political Action Committee, which supports the association’s lobbying efforts and brings visibility to the floral industry by contributing to the campaigns of federal candidates.
“We’re happy and honored that A.B. Stoddard agreed to join us,” said Shawn McBurney, SAF’s senior director of government relations. “She is sought after for her fair commentary and sharing the insights and experience she has gained throughout her career.”
Stoddard, an associate editor and columnist with political news site and polling data aggregator, RealClearPolitics, and a guest host for SiriusXM’s POTUS channel, appears regularly on Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNN and MSBNC as a political commentator. Frequently in contact with sources and politicians of all stripes, Stoddard has her finger on the pulse of Washington, D.C., and is known for offering detailed, smart analysis on the most up-to-date happenings between Congress and the White House, ongoing budget battles and the electoral prospects for the two parties.
Stoddard began her journalism career as a reporter for a local northern Virginia newspaper. She started covering Congress in 1994 for States News Service, later becoming a reporter at The Hill newspaper and then a Senate producer for ABC News. Wanting to return to print journalism, she landed back at The Hill as a columnist in 2006. In 2009 and 2011, Stoddard won first place in the editorial category in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington, D.C., chapter’s annual Dateline Awards contest.
Stoddard has spoken out about the increased polarization in the media and the need for unbiased reporting. “Now we have, with the Internet, coverage that’s tailor made for people on the different polarized ends and that rationalize their choices and their understanding of issues,” she said to fellow media personality Greta Van Susteren on the podcast Greta Talk. “Voters, as consumers, are in their corners now too because of what they’re reading and consuming.”
“Even those who don’t identify as political junkies will enjoy Stoddard’s talk, as well as the whole CAD experience,” said veteran CAD participant Robert Kitayama, the president of Kitayama Brothers, Inc., and Greenleaf Wholesale Florist in Watsonville, California.
“The reason I keep coming back is not because I love politics that much, but that I think it’s very important that our voice is heard,” he said. “We hear so much about politics from the talking heads on TV. To actually come here and experience it is much different. You’ll actually have a much more positive opinion of our government after being here.”
There is an additional fee to attend the SAFPAC Reception and Dinner. For details and to learn more about Congressional Action Days, visit safnow.org/cad. The cut-off date for guaranteeing the SAF room rate at The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, the official CAD hotel, is Feb. 18. The early-bird registration deadline is March 1 and is $295 for members and $395 for non-members.
CAD registration includes an additional free registration for a second person from the member’s company who has never attended before. To take advantage of this incredible offer, please contact meetings@safnow.org.
SAF’s 39th annual Congressional Action Days, March 11-12, 2019, is underwritten by Platinum Partner CalFlowers, Gold Partners BloomNet, FTD and Teleflora, and special thanks to Armellini Air Express and Hortica.
Christy O’Farrell is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
