On December 4, 2012, my seven-year-old daughter Summer got to see Bill Clinton speak on behalf of rural poor families around the world making $1/day.

Bill Clinton, at the recommendation of one of iDE’s donors who worked in his administration, chose to surprise, attend and speak for 12 minutes at iDE’s second annual Leaders In Their Fields Luncheon – because he believes in the mission.

I’ve included the transcription on my blog here, as well as the raw video comments of his speech. Here’s a news page of iDE’s site which recaps the event nicely.

Meeting Bill Clinton felt like meeting a living legend. Beyond politics, wherever you lay on the spectrum, few can refute what he’s done for humanity since his time in office.  A lucky few of us were able to meet him backstage right before he went onstage. Present here are, from left:  Stephanie Cox, Tim Prewitt, Paul Polak, Bill, Rehan Hasan and Jim Deters.

I was moved and elated that this living legend made his way to this event.  This is the second year iDE has had this fundraising event called Leaders In Their Fields which was named intentionally so iDE could award and highlight first the excellence and accomplishments of the farmers in their lives, and also to create space to bring in incredible speakers of relevance and reverence such as Bill Clinton.

One of my other special moments goes to having met and connected with Dona Linda Manueles who won the Leaders In The Fields award this year.

We instantly felt connected to each other, and I was deeply honored to meet a woman who has done so much for her family and community.  I love this photo – it shows our joy that comes with a shared purpose. On the right, one of iDE’s Ambassador’s, Michael Tracy, smiles to himself. It was a wonderful moment in time.

At iDE, for the past 2 1/2 years, we built a fundraising department focused on investments of time, money and talent from individuals and corporations.  We created the Ambassadors’ Circle for people like Michael and their families to be able to invest their time along with their money and that be valued just the same.  To create a community of change-makers with means who care about each other and our mission.

On December 4, my heart exploded with possibility for more positive impact on humanity as a result of what we were all able to pull off on that day.

With Andrew Romanoff as emcee, we had 750 people present, including Governor John Hickenlooper, (in photo along with Romanoff on right) other public officials,  the state treasurer, the city council president, heads of companies, out of town companies present, partners organizations, new family foundation donors, etc, etc..

Best of all, my mother Brigitte Cuppari and my 7 year old daughter Summer Cuppari Gould were able to be there to experience the event. When Clinton took the stage, Summer grabbed my iPhone and started filming Clinton and whispered to me with bright excited eyes:  ”When was he President, Mama?”

The joy I felt with three generations of my family – all strong women – in this room filled with potential, possibility, hope and humanity – was profound.  To inspire my daughter to both understand what I do and how I serve humanity, to share with my mother who from a young age did everything in her power to foster, encourage, and support a world vision in me – is something I never imagined could happen, and is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life.  Bridging the gap of generations and action and service is the best holiday gift, and launches me into the new year filled with hope for the future.

News Links:

Read about the event in the Denver Post here. Or, in The San Francisco Chronicle (AP) here.

Or watch a clip of the event on Denver’s CBS 4 News site here.