The Holland Society of New York’s 135th Dinner Dance at the Lotos Club
Honoring Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of The New York Historical
October 25th, 2025
On Saturday October 25th, 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 135th edition was again a wonderful black-tie event starting with cocktails in the Lotos Club Library, dinner in the Ballroom, and the Society’s traditional parading of its Beaver mascot.
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 2025 medalist is Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of The New York Historical (formerly the New-York Historical Society), for her contributions to the City of New York.
The New York Historical is New York’s first museum and under Dr. Louise Mirrer’s guidance, the institution has reinvigorated its commitment to greater public understanding of history and its relevance today, as well as to the support and encouragement of historical scholarship, and the education of young people. During her tenure, The New York Historical has launched groundbreaking exhibitions such as Slavery in New York, Nueva York, Chinese American: Inclusion/Exclusion, The Vietnam War 1945-1975, and Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow. Dr. Mirrer oversaw a $100 million capital campaign completed in 2011, and the inauguration of the first-ever Center for Women’s History within an American museum in 2017. She has also initiated special projects on Citizenship and the Presidency, and has overseen the expansion of the institution’s visitorship to nearly 500,000 annually. Dr. Mirrer also guided the museum through its first ever rebranding, where the New-York Historical Society became The New York Historical, helping to encourage accessibility to the 220 year-old institution.
Louise Mirrer thanked the Society for the honor, stating, “I am really thrilled to be here this evening with fellow New Yorkers who appreciate our city’s Dutch history.” She shared her experiences with The New York Historical, recent trips to the Netherlands, and the diversity of the settlement of New Netherland that makes New York the incredible place it is today. “Our city was at its core a multicultural crossroads with eighteen different languages identified as spoken in New Amsterdam in 1643, likely not even counting many of the African and Native American languages spoken.” Dr. Mirrer also shared that The New York Historical would open a new exhibit in May 2026, “Old Masters and New Amsterdam.”
The Society welcomed over 70 guests to the Dinner Dance, including honored guests Louise Mirrer; Kathryn Curran; Deborah Hamer; Pamela Alvich; Genevieve Wheeler Brown and Peter Brown; Sietze Vermeulen; Ashley and Steven Ganz; Tessa Dikker; and Simon and Erin Porter.
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. She also thanked the evening’s sponsors First Manhattan and Heineken and Patrons Veronica Atkins; Sally Quackenbush Mason; Jonathan Doucette; Kelly VanWormer; Carol Springsteen; Ashley and Steven Ganz; Heidi Mathey; and Louise Mirrer. Watch the speeches here.
In addition to Louise Mirrer receiving the Society’s Medal for Distinguished Contributions to the City of New York, 77th Holland Society President, Sally Quackenbush Mason, presented Holland Society Treasurer David Nostrand with the Society’s Member Medal for Distinguished Achievement. David’s commitment to the Society and his assistance in renovating the Society’s new library and office, our first permanent home, has been invaluable.
After presenting the medal to David Nostrand, Sally Quackenbush Mason 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 135th Annual Dinner Dance, held on October 25th, 2025, at the Lotos Club in Manhattan. Photography and videography by Joanna Garcia.