After being shot at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was moved to William Petersen’s boarding house across the street from the theatre, where he later died. The Petersen House, which is now part of the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, has most recently undergone a period of extensive renovation and repair work. The building’s rehabilitation included exterior repairs; an interior overhaul; repairs to the historic windows, casings, doors and shutters; and the installation of a new climate management system. The Petersen House will reopen to the public on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011, according to a recent announcement by the National Park Service.

One of the biggest changes to the Petersen House while it was under renovation was the new connection between the House and the adjacent Ford’s Theatre Society Center for Education and Leadership, which will open in February of next year. Visitors will be able to easily travel between the place of Lincoln’s death and the Center’s exhibits on the life, legacy and leadership lessons of the sixteenth president. The addition of an elevator to the Petersen House is also noteworthy, as it will finally allow universal access to the room in which President Lincoln died while still preserving the historic character of the building.

The partnership between the National Park Service and the Ford’s Theatre Society helps bring the historical and cultural experience of the life and death of Abraham Lincoln to nearly one million visitors each year. Ford’s Theatre continues to be one of the most visited sites in the nation’s capital. Connie Milstein has served on the Board of Trustee’s since June of this year. She also resides in Washington, D.C.

Connie Milstein was among the women who joined to discuss the current real estate industry and their personal experiences in the business at last week’s panel, “The Women Leading NY’s Real Estate Families.” Covered in The New York Observer’s Real Estate section, she was the center of attention when someone asked her about the challenges that come along with being part of a prominent real estate family.

“Sometimes, you gotta go along to get along,” she said.

It was a diplomatic response for a woman like Connie Milstein, one who’s associated with her fearlessness and go-getter attitude. The other woman who were part of the panel, including Lisa Silverstein, Helena Durst, Faith Hope Consolo and Andrea Olshan, followed suit. The women discussed what it’s like to be a leading lady in real estate today, and on the more light-hearted side—shopping malls and plus-sized fashion. The Observer also noted that the highlight of the night was when each panelist paid tribute to her mother, even bringing Consolo to tears.

The panel was hosted by New York Commercial Real Estate Women’s Network, an organization dedicated to advancing the success of women in commercial real estate.

Hear and see some of the results from the Blue Star Families’ 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey results.  Blue Star Families, where Connie Milstein is on the Board, spent extensive time and money collecting these survey results so that they can best serve military families.

The cookies that you buy today just might help someone else to have a hot meal tomorrow.  That’s because Connie Milstein and Connie’s Bakery and General Store donate 100% of their after-tax profits from the store to six charitable non-profits.  They do so with the Foundation of Sweet Success and they select different organizations each year to receive the donations.

This year, Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains is one of the recipients of the Foundation Sweet Success money. They are a non-profit organization that delivers food and companionship to people who might otherwise be alone and hungry all day.

Their services are available for anyone living in the city of White Plains who can’t shop for meals for themselves or who can’t prepare their own meals.  This is regardless of age or income.  They accept referrals from all sorts of locations including doctors, hospitals, social workers, family and more.

Their volunteers deliver two nutritious meals, planned by a professional dietician, a day to homebound individuals.

With St. Patrick’s Day upon us, it’s time to enjoy yourself at Quill, Jefferson Hotel’s elegant lounge. Quill, as part of the Jefferson Hotel which was beautifully restored by Ogden CAP Properties, LLC with Connie Milstein, is getting inspired with the holiday.

The Quill Cocktails on St. Patrick’s Day will include an 1800’s Irish coffee recipe, a specialty four leaf clover Mojito that is made with fresh limes, a fresh watercress and tarragon mixed with Bluecoat gin and green tea liquor, and an Irish Whiskey tasting. The Irish Whiskey tasting will include: Jameson 12 years, Knappogue 12 years and Clontarf.

If that’s not enough, Quill is also offering great fun to the first 70 guests. They will be able to sample one of the homemade four leaf clover St. Patrick’s Day cookies. Quill is getting into the holiday spirit and looks forward to welcoming guests to do so as well.

In recent news, Lifetime Television is showing its support for military families.  Blue Star Families, where Connie Milstein is on the Board of Directors, explains that Lifetime Television is donating $1 to Blue Star Families for every time a certain link is posted to Facebook or Twitter.  With the season premiere of Army Wives on Sunday, March 6^th, they are showing their much appreciated support for Blue Star Families.

A mere three years ago, Blue Star Families was set up by a group of dedicated military spouses who sought to “raise awareness of the challenges of military family life with their civilian communities and leaders.”  Today, this is an important organization that has developed a whole support system for those who have family serving in the military.  The organization also seeks to involve the larger community, which was why the recent activity by the group of grandmothers baking special treats for those marines deployed in Afghanistan was so typical of their work.
BSF Southern California chapter director Reyna Reyna appealed to her community for help and had an incredible response from these grandmothers.  Indeed, Reyna commented that it’s a problem how many civilians want to get involved in helping their military brethren, but don’t know what to do. This was a perfect opportunity.  “Oh this is great, it’s my first time helping out,” said Dixie Branscome from the Lake Elsinore Elks Ladies Auxiliary. “I made 60 dozen cookies myself.”  Reyna was shocked and delighted that the women wanted to bake the cookies from scratch, donating real time to the cause.  “Military veteran Leo Vasquez, who served in the armed forces from 1977 to 1990, said he remembered how important care packages were to him. ‘I am here to give my support to those still serving,’ Vasquez said. ‘These packages meant a lot to me, they kept our morale up.’”
Connie Milstein is on the Board of Directors at BSF.

Ron Reagan, Connie Milstein and Tammy Duckworth

Co-hosts at the gracious Jefferson Hotel for an elegant book party in honor of the launching of “My Father at 100: A Memoir” were Connie Milstein, her husband JC de La Haye Saint Hilaire, Tammy Haddad, Ted Greenberg, and Jon Meacham.

At the end of an interview conducted by the Pulitzer-Prize winning Jon Meacham, Ron Reagan, the 40th president’s son and author of the memoir, asked Mr. Meacham to please read aloud about the closing moments of his father’s life; words he had written but which proved too emotional for him to read himself:

“His eyes found the face of the woman who for more than half a century had formed the core of his private world. ‘I love you honey, I love you’ was all she could say. Was all she needed to say,” Meacham read from the book while a mesmerized and emotionally moved audience listened on.

Blue Star Families is an organization started by and dedicated to supporting the families of men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces.  Since its founding in 2008, BSF has been active in raising awareness among the general population about the kinds of sacrifices military families make for their loved ones and for their country, while at the same time providing special activities, information and support to help those families get through those more challenging moments.

As a longtime supporter of military families, Connie Milstein became a member of the board of directors of BSF and participates in many activities that bring pride and joy to the families of military personnel.  One such event, which is pictured here, was a dinner reception honoring military families at the elegant Georgetown home of Connie Milstein, in March, 2010.

Giggles Theater is one of the many projects of the non-profit organization Medical Missions for Children, where Connie Milstein has contributed and served as a Trustee.

Performing three times each week, Giggles Theater brings the healing power of laughter, song and entertainment to hospitalized children at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, NJ.

Giggles also reaches out to the children who are not well enough to visit the theater itself. The show is shared even with those confined to bed or their hospital rooms by broadcasting their laughter-filled productions over closed-circuit TV throughout the hospital.

In addition, every show is recorded so that it can be viewed by ill children in over 100 children’s hospitals throughout the world.  This fulfills one of the goals of Medical Missions for Children, which is to break down the barriers of nationality and distance to bring comfort and medical care to any child anywhere in the world. In the case of Giggles, that care is in the form of laughter, proving that “laughter is the best medicine.”