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February 07, 2019

Bush and Hager Headline ASI Fort Worth

By  Sara Lavenduski

Five years to the day that President George W. Bush delivered the keynote at ASI Dallas, former First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Bush Hager took the stage at the inaugural ASI Fort Worth Show. What followed during an hour of Q&A with ASI President and CEO Tim Andrews was sage advice, hard-won wisdom and deep appreciation for the opportunities they’ve had to enjoy their close-knit family and serve others all over the world.

As prominent members of one of the most famous American families in recent years, Mrs. Bush and Jenna certainly know the advantages – and challenges – of being in the limelight. They also know the joys and frustrations of working closely with family members, a message that certainly resonated with those audience members involved in managing family-run businesses.

Jenna recently co-wrote a book with her twin sister Barbara called Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life, and two children’s books with her mother. Jenna said that while working closely with family members is fun, it takes a certain variety of patience.

“Not everyone has the same working style, and that’s OK,” she said. “I think we’re harder on each other as family.”

Throughout the conversation, Mrs. Bush and Jenna alluded regularly to the profound influence that President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush had on the family dynamic that remains in place to this day, even after both passed away last year, just seven months apart.

Jenna called them the “glue” that held the family together; they were committed to each other and to building a “beautiful” family, she said, one that now includes 17 grandchildren.

“In the family business of politics, we watched them,” said Mrs. Bush. “We had examples from them on living in the White House, and we spent time with them there so we knew the staff before we moved in.”

In fact, as part of Mrs. Bush’s post-White House efforts, she’s worked to develop an educational program for first ladies of other countries as part of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Entitled “A Role Without a Rulebook,” the mentorship program helps first ladies from other countries, often thrust into a position without any prior experience, to navigate their new role.

“We help them use their positions to work on issues that will help their countries,” said Mrs. Bush.

Jenna added that all companies, whether family-owned or full of unrelated co-workers, can foster a comfortable work environment where everyone can lean on each other for support. “Create an atmosphere where co-workers can offer each other both work and life advice,” she said. “Women especially need that in their lives.”

When the Bush family prepared to vacate the White House after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Jenna and Barbara Bush wrote heartfelt letters to Sasha and Malia Obama, the new First Daughters, offering their advice.

When the Obamas left the White House two years ago, the Bush sisters wrote another letter, this one an open plea to the media and public to let them live their lives. “We wanted people to leave them alone and let them make mistakes,” said Jenna. “That’s also a real gift to your kids that we were given; teach them how to fail and bounce back.”

For instance, when Jenna was first offered the contributing correspondent job at the Today Show, her grandmother Barbara encouraged her to try it. “They were mavericks,” she said of her grandparents. “They weren’t afraid to try things. Family members should encourage each other to try and even fail.”

It’s also important, Jenna added, for parents to allow their children to have different views from them, particularly when they work closely together. “It’s harder to accept that your kids won’t have the same beliefs as you,” she said. “It’s a braver, harder way to parent than to say ‘This is what we believe in this house.’ But you have to let them disagree with you.”

While Jenna admits she and her sister didn’t appreciate having Secret Service details following them closely as they tried to lead normal college lives, they realized the importance of it after September 11, 2001. After the country came to terms with what had taken place that day, Mrs. Bush said, “Everything changed.” The White House was quiet, closed to tourists. Security around the First Family was even heavier. And President Bush had to grapple with the new reality surrounding his presidency.

“George never expected that he would be a wartime president,” said Mrs. Bush, adding with humor, “and you can now thank him for the long lines at TSA.”

For her two grandchildren (so far) and for all children, Mrs. Bush said she wishes happiness and intellectual fulfillment, which she said starts with a quality education. “We’re such a fortunate, wealthy nation,” she said. “Every generation should have the opportunity to be educated. Parents should set the expectation early that their children will go to school and stay in school. Kids deserve the chance to learn and pursue their dreams.”

Asked about their favorite promotional products, Jenna said she loved the “Jenna and Henry” mousepads sold at a store in Crawford, TX, where she and her husband married in 2008. And Mrs. Bush? A bobblehead in her likeness, of course.

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