The Holland Society of New York’s 132nd Dinner Dance at the Lotos Club
Honoring Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York
October 29th, 2022
Our 132nd Dinner Dance was a wonderful event. Annually we award a Medal for Distinguished Achievement for civic, cultural, or social contributions to New York. The Society’s 2022 medalist was Whitney Donhauser, currently the Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. Ms. Donhauser will shortly join the Metropolitan Museum of Art as their Deputy Director and Chief Advancement Officer.
This year we welcomed 84 guests to the Dinner Dance, including the Consul-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York, Ahmed Dadou; Sophie van Doornmalen, Senior Press and Cultural Officer, Cultural Heritage, Dutch Old Masters, Music, Public Diplomacy at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York; Tessa Dikker, Spokesperson and Election Officer at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations; Deborah Hamer, Director of the New Netherland Institute; Edward Reed, Photographer for the Mayor of the City of New York; and Rob Snyder, Manhattan Borough Historian.
During the cocktail hour in the Library, Ms. Donhauser gave the first public presentation of the Museum of the City of New York’s plans to celebrate their centennial in 2023. In advance of dinner, the traditional toasts were made. Following the toasts, the Reverend Paul Lent read the invocation. President Adrian Bogart III greeted the guests and thanked the evening’s sponsors: First Manhattan, Heineken, Bols Genever, Heinen Delfts Blauw, and Paperless Post. After dinner, Holland Society president Colonel Adrian Bogart III (Ret.) presented Whitney Donhauser with the Society’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Contributions to the City of New York. Ms. Donhauser thanked President Bogart, Executive Director Sarah Cooney, and the Holland Society of New York. Following Ms. Donhauser’s acceptance speech, President Bogart shared his plans for the Society’s future, including greater collaboration between organizations that focus on the history of New York. He then introduced the long-running Holland Society tradition of the Parading of the Beaver. Guests were invited to follow the beaver into the Library for dancing, with music by the Peter Duchin Orchestra.
