First Lady of Japan pays a visit to Ward 8, tours THEARC!

We are ballin' on an international level over here in Ward 8. Act like you know! 

The Advocate had to keep her lip zip and her blog posts silent on this one until after it was over. I was over the moon to meet Mrs. Akie Abe, First Lady of Japan on Wednesday. Mrs. Abe was beautiful, kind and oh so very graceful! There is something about First Ladies that makes me want to be a better person.

I was able to meet Mrs. Abe (fabulous handshake) and join her on a tour of the Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus. Afterwards she spent an hour with the girls from The Washington School for Girls at THEARC. Mrs. Abe shared her life story, answered questions from the students and presented each student with a special gift from Japan -- a Hello Kitty pen! The Advocate is not afraid to admit that she really wanted a Hello Kitty pen! 

Including some photos from the special day.

Great things continue to happen in Ward 8! #SoutheastLove all the way! 

First Lady of Japan Akie Abe being greeted by Skip McMahon, Co-Founder of THEARC

The First Lady greeting THEARC staff Edmund Fleet, Janet Stone, and your girl The Advocate (in the role of her day job as the Director of Marketing and Community Engagement)

Mrs. Abe greets a young ballerina and student from The Washington School for Girls

Mrs. Abie Abe talking about her life in Japan.

Part of my job is making sure that the press is happy and informed (I think they were happy).