By Danny Freedman
On a night when he was serenaded by strings and feted with an eruption of fireworks over the Potomac, the man in charge of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate also received one of his alma mater’s highest awards, the GW President’s Medal.
The celebration Friday evening in honor of Jim Rees, M.S. ’78, came as he prepared to step down this month, due to health issues, as the longtime president and chief executive officer of Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens, in Virginia about 15 miles outside D.C.
In presenting the President’s Medal, beneath a white tent in the shadow of Gen. Washington’s family home, GW President Steven Knapp called Mr. Rees “one of our university’s most distinguished alumni.”
Past recipients of the medal have included former Soviet President and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mikhail Gorbachev, news icon Walter Cronkite, astronaut Charles J. Camarda, M.S. ’80, and jazz legend Dave Brubeck.
The citation on the award recognizes Mr. Rees’ 29 years of service at Mount Vernon, in which he “channeled George Washington himself as an innovative, tenacious and bold leader.”
Dr. Knapp noted Mr. Rees’ efforts to inspire globally the study of the first U.S. president, as well as locally, particularly at GW.
Mr. Rees was instrumental in establishing GW’s hands-on undergraduate course “George Washington and His World,” in which students utilize the 500-acre estate to study the life of Gen. Washington and the era in which he lived.
Dr. Knapp also recalled the day in 2007 when he was “greeted by a drum and fife corps in colonial garb, and Jim was there with two sheep, a male and female”--George and Martha, a gift of Hog Island sheep from the Mount Vernon Estate. They’re “feisty,” Dr. Knapp said, and “living happily” at the Knapps’ farm in Baltimore County.
Prior to becoming president of Mount Vernon in 1994, Mr. Rees had been director of development and associate director since 1983.
During his nearly three decades there, Mount Vernon’s endowment grew from $4 million to $125 million. As president, he oversaw the development and opening of the Ford Orientation Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center, and guided projects like the restoration of Washington’s distillery and gristmill.
Under Mr. Rees, more than 8 million books on leadership were sent to fifth grade classrooms in every state, and nearly 100 million teachers and students signed up to view distance-learning programs produced by Mount Vernon.
Most recently, Mr. Rees has raised more than $83 million toward the $100 million needed to finish the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, which the organization says will serve as George Washington’s presidential library.
The estate, owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, does not accept government funding. And in a letter last month announcing his retirement, Mr. Rees wrote that sustaining Mount Vernon through the financial support of individuals, foundations and corporations is a point of “great pride.”
“Knowing that the goals of this latest effort are now within reach … is a wonderful capstone of my life’s work here at Mount Vernon,” he wrote. “However, there is still much work to be done, for the National Library and for many other worthy projects. The best parting tribute that anyone could give me would be to continue their support for this most noble of causes.”
Among other tributes Friday night, during which “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak served as master of ceremonies: the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association announced the establishment of the James C. Rees Fellowship for the study of George Washington’s leadership; the group presented Mr. Rees with its highest honor, the Ann Pamela Cunningham Medal; and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, in a video salute, thanked Mr. Rees for a “phenomenal job,” marked by passion, poise and dignity.
A string band serenaded the diners and, afterward, on the sprawling riverside lawn of Gen. Washington’s home, the band played as fireworks crackled and sprayed color against a full-moon sky.
Closing the program before the fireworks, Mr. Sajak noted that the “gratitude and admiration” for Mr. Rees among the gathered guests is shared not just by the millions who have visited Mount Vernon but also by “the millions more yet to come.”
“You’ve left behind a big set of shoes to fill,” he said. “But thanks to the foundation you built Mount Vernon will go on bigger and stronger than ever. We thank you, we love you and for what it’s worth, I believe in miracles.”