Gardner, a Grand Forks businesswoman and floral designer, spent several days last week adorning the White House interior for the holidays, including rooms that are seldom, if ever, open to the general public.
“There are certain opportunities you would never pass up,” she said. “And being a part of decorating the White House is something I would never pass up, regardless of who’s in the administration. It’s an incredible experience, for sure.”
Gardner, who owns and operates Sadie’s Couture Floral and Event Styling and The Opal Event Center, applied to serve as a volunteer decorator after learning about the opportunity from another floral designer who had done it.
Her application included a summary of her skills as a floral designer and personal statement explaining why she wanted to be a volunteer.
“My understanding is they pay a lot of attention to the personal statement,” said Gardner.
Applicants also submit their social media links, so their work can be reviewed by White House staff.
She also learned that people associated with the military are given the highest priority, she said.
Gardner received her invitation in October and, on Nov. 22, flew to Washington, D.C.
In the Blue Room, Sadie Gardner poses in front of the official White House Christmas tree, which is delivered by a horse-drawn trailer each year. (Submitted photo)
Full workdays
The volunteers’ workday started around 6 a.m. and ended about 5 p.m. They met in their hotel lobby each morning to be transported to the work site. Breakfast and lunch were provided, but, otherwise, volunteers covered their own expenses.
About 120 volunteers had been invited to help decorate the White House, including some who have volunteered annually for years.
“I didn’t meet any two people from the same state,” Gardner said. “People were there from all over the U.S. They wanted the people to decorate the ‘People’s House,’ so it’s a unique mix of individuals.”
One active-duty military couple she met had been volunteering for eight years.
“They were from Hawaii, but in earlier years, they had flown in from other countries,” she said.
There were many active and retired military volunteers, she said, as well as floral and interior designers and people with connections to White House staff.
She learned about one gentleman – who was there last year, but not this year – in his 90s, she said. “He has been (volunteering) since the Kennedy Administration.”
In a special reception Monday, Nov. 30, First Lady Melania Trump expressed her thanks to the volunteers who came from throughout the United States to decorate the White House for Christmas. (Submitted photo)
First lady’s plan
Volunteers were divided into six groups, each working under the direction of a team leader, Gardner said. “We would get our team assignment. Every team had different projects they were working on. It was very coordinated, in terms of what the processes were and what’s going to be done each day,” she said.
First Lady Melania Trump and her lead designer “worked closely, coming up with the designs and concepts,” Gardner said.
Early in the week, she and others did a lot of preparation work at a secure location offsite to get ornaments constructed, she said. “Everything had to be meticulously labeled.” Secret Service personnel checked every box and “four very large cargo trucks” hauled the inventory to the White House where it was checked again.
“It was a huge undertaking in terms of coordination,” she said.
Many of the decorations, such as ribbons and ornaments, are re-used each year, “but they’re adorned differently, depending on the theme,” she said. This year’s overall theme is “America the Beautiful.” Individual rooms and trees also reflect related themes.
“We would work on various projects throughout the day,” Gardner said, noting that “the massive quantities of everything” included 3,200 strands of Christmas lights and 15,000 ornaments.
And “every ornament gets a ribbon.”
Sixty-two live pine trees were positioned throughout the White House, she said.
Gardner helped decorate the largest tree – standing 16 feet tall – which was dedicated to children across the United States. Among the submitted decorations, she found two ornaments created by North Dakota children; they are labeled only with the child’s first name, age and state.
She cut out “hundreds of paper dolls that were put together to create a garland” for the tree, she said.
Because the pandemic had significantly reduced the number of volunteers, “we were working extra hard to stay on schedule with everything we had to do each day, with fewer bodies,” Gardner said, noting that she continued to cut paper dolls in the evening in her hotel room.
On the Christmas tree dedicated to children across the country, Sadie Gardner found an ornament, depicting a flickertail, the state bird, submitted by a child in North Dakota. (Submitted photo)
Gold Star Tree
A few members of her team also decorated the Gold Star Tree, which pays homage to those who’ve lost a family member during military service.
“They get to add a star to the tree in remembrance of their loved one,” she said.
Gardner noticed that security was a priority throughout the White House.
Volunteers could not use cellphones or take photos, Gardner said. “They really wanted us to focus on what we were doing, and not go to the windows and watch when the president was on the (White House) lawn.”
But she and other volunteers were permitted to go into different areas with the White House, including some that are not part of the general public tours.
In the China Room, Gardner said she saw, close-up, the china patterns each U.S. president had designed and the individual portraits of each First Lady. It’s a room that is generally off-limits to the public.
She learned about remodeling that Jacqueline Kennedy had overseen there – the furnishing, curtains and tapestries she chose – and how Michelle Obama had orchestrated the renovation of another room.
Gardner was impressed by the traditional – and detailed – gingerbread version of the White House, which required 25 pounds of chocolate and royal icing, and she was pleased to meet the in-house bakers and florist.
She also marveled at how genuinely friendly and approachable the White House staff and Secret Service members were.
“I couldn’t stress more how really nice everybody was – the staff members, the Secret Service. I didn’t expect that. They were very talkative, and if you had questions about anything, they were there to answer,” she said. “I thought it would be a little more stiff.”
She also felt the solemnity of the place and its purpose, she said.
“It was the ‘pomp and circumstance’ – you just don’t see that.”
In the White House, the decorations on the Christmas tree dedicated to children across the United States include this one, submitted by a North Dakota teenager. Children from each state were invited to submit ornaments for this tree. (Submitted photo)
Her first visit
Before this trip, Gardner had never been to the nation’s capital, she said. “I went in with no expectations. There wasn’t a lot of information ahead of time about what the process was going to be. I just went in with the idea, ‘I’m here to serve.’ ”
“I was blown away by the process and the history and the magic of being in the White House,” she said. She called the experience “out of this world.”
Gardner also attended a reception, hosted by Melania Trump on Monday, Nov. 30, to thank all the volunteers who decorated the White House.
In the past, this event was “more of a meet-and-greet,” when volunteers could meet the first lady individually and take photos, Gardner said, but that was not permitted this year due to COVID restrictions.
At the reception to thank volunteers, Gardner sat in the second row, within 8 feet of the first lady when she spoke to the group from a podium, she said.
“Melania Trump was amazing. She appeared very kind, appreciative and a compassionate person. All the staff and Secret Service only had kind things to say about her and interactions with her,” Gardner said.
She would volunteer in the future “regardless of who is in the administration, as I see it as an honor not based on personal politics,” she said.
“It was just amazing to be part of it, in whatever capacity I was part of. It was just magical, unbelievable. If I was invited to go back, I would, in a heartbeat.”
In fact, Gardner has volunteered to help with taking decorations down after the holidays. If invited, she’d accept without hesitation, she said.
“If they wanted me to take the garbage out, I’d go back and do that.”
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Grand Forks floral designer recalls 'incredible experience' helping decorate White House for Christmas season - Grand Forks Herald
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