The Holland Society of New York’s 134th Dinner Dance at the Lotos Club
Honoring Ahmed Dadou, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to New York
October 26th, 2024
This past Saturday night, the Holland Society of New York held its annual Dinner Dance at the Lotos Club. The Holland Society was founded in 1885 as a historical and genealogical society to honor and preserve the history of New Netherland, the Dutch settlement which became New York. The Dinner Dance is one of the Society’s signature events and the 134th edition kicked off the social season in style.
The Holland Society annually awards a Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement to recognize achievement by those who are not members of the Society, but who have made an outstanding contribution in some field of human endeavor. The Society’s 2024 medalist is Ahmed Dadou, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to New York, who received the medal for diplomatic contributions to the City of New York.
Ahmed Dadou has been the Dutch Consul General in New York since 2022. As Consul General, Ahmed represents the government of the Netherlands in the north-east United States. His office promotes Dutch art and culture in the US and supports Dutch entrepreneurs doing business on the East Coast. As Consul General he is the personification of the deep common values of the Netherlands and the United States. The Society also highly values his current leadership in the Future 400 program marking the 400th year since Dutch settlers’ arrival in what is now New York City.
The Society welcomed over 70 guests to the Dinner Dance, including honored guests Ahmed Dadou, Sietze Vermeulen and Mandana Kooijmans, Rob Snyder and Clara Hemphill, Tessa Dikker, Courtney Chartier, Matthew Rimi Von Barton and Geoffrey Von Barton, Anne Teasdale, Sara Champion, Katherine Johnson, and Len Berman and Lori Zeltser.
In advance of dinner, Executive Director Sarah Bogart Cooney welcomed the guests and the traditional toasts were made following the Dutch and American national anthems.
77th Holland Society President, Sally Quackenbush Mason, presented Ahmed Dadou with the Society’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Contributions to the City of New York. As the Society’s first female President, Sally was pleased to follow in her late father’s and 61st President James E. Quackenbush’s footsteps to present the medal.
Mr. Dadou thanked the Society for the honor to be recognized for his commitment to building bridges and fostering understanding among communities. He commended the Holland Society in his acceptance speech for keeping Dutch history alive and promoting a nuanced understanding of New Amsterdam’s past, including its complex aspects.
During coffee and dessert, Sarah Bogart Cooney thanked the evening’s sponsors, First Manhattan and Heineken, and talked briefly about upcoming Society events, including a Grolier Club lecture on the Holland Society’s rare book collection, on loan at Columbia University. She then introduced the long-running Holland Society tradition of the Parading of the Beaver, the mascot of the Society in honor of the beaver trade that supported New Netherland. Guests were invited to follow the beaver into the Library for dancing, with music by the Peter Duchin Orchestra.
Pictures from the Holland Society’s 134th Annual Dinner Dance, held on October 26th, 2024, at the Lotos Club in Manhattan. Photography by Joanna Garcia.