My Adventure With Ann Richards

By Suzanne Gillis

“Are you it?” she asked when we first met at the Sheraton Hotel front desk. I was nervous and she was frantic. “What the hell is it about Vermont? I just drove up from Boston and I am starved. There is no damn place on your entire highway to eat. Why I finally got the driver to pull into one of your very nice rest stops and not a thing to eat. Get me an orange.”

And so began my adventure with former Texas governor Ann Richards (the Vermont Woman Lecture Series featured speaker Sunday May 22, at the Sheraton in Burlington).

In her room, Richards unpacked, dressed, signed posters, and ate her orange, all the while firing off questions about Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders, and the Vermont Democratic Party. She wanted to know who was attending, and what people think of what’s going on in the nation. And she wanted to know all about Vermont Woman, who our founders are, and how the hell we make money. She wanted to know who the event sponsors were. She listened to my every word, and an hour later integrated the essence of those words into her speech.

Standing in front of an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 700, Richards spoke non-stop for one hour, dishing out her very own brand of Texas charm, straight talk and wit. All with a genuine Texas accent.

Richards is a quick study and an adept and responsive speaker. At seventy-one, she thrives on a demanding schedule filled with back-to-back lectures, board meetings and business consultations, all around the country.

She began her speech with a hilarious story about her troubles getting through security at airports. The alarms go off and the only metal on her are three metal snaps in the crotch of her body suit. When the guard asked if she could pat her down, Richards responded, “Well, I can’t imagine anything more fun.”

The Q & A following her speech produced even more zingers. But as fast and as funny as those zingers were, Richards made two very serious points that were so powerfully delivered that the audience became dead silent.

Both had to do with taking personal responsibility.

The first was directed at women who expect men to take care of them and make everything OK. Richards made it clear that no one – particularly women – should be dependent on someone else for money, or for policies regarding issues that concern them. She specifically talked about social security, health insurance and reproductive rights. Her second point was directed at our own personal health care and taking full responsibility to eat right and exercise regularly.

She made fun of whiners, saying she would match anyone in the room with their busy schedules and challenges: personal health, divorce, raising and supporting four children, financial worries and a demanding work schedule. “It’s up to you and no one else how you want your life to turn out.”

Later, at dinner, Richards continued entertaining with stories of her world-wide travels and opinions about the disorganization of the Democratic Party and the unrealized potential of women’s collective power.

On our way to the airport, Richards took on a mentoring role. In the car for nearly 45 minutes, she offered me advice and counsel on dozens of challenging business issues. Her ideas were specific, focused, and helpful.

She posed for a last photo in front of my car with VTWMN license plates. She accepted and loved the Vermont Woman T-shirts which she will give her granddaughters. Mostly, she loved the Anjou pear and banana I packed for her trip to Dallas.

For me, those last few minutes with Ann Richards were a gift from one of the most accomplished women of our time to a small businesswoman in Vermont.