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Today's Featured Biography

 
Greg Andrews

I had planned to attend our 50th Reunion, but unfortunately I am recovering from surgery and regrettably won't be able to make it. I look forward to hearing a few tall tails that I suspect will occur. Have fun and know that I am there in spirit.


After high school, I attended WCC, worked summers digging ditches for the phone company (something my mother said on occasion “if don’t get an education you will dig ditches as your life’s work). It wasn’t that bad and I probably spent time I most of your backyards. My dad died of complications from brain surgery in the summer of 69, which needless to say was a traumatic episode in our lives. On a positive note my mom Kay is still kicking, although slowing down with heart disease==she’s 93. Th Wallace women age well. My grandmother died of cancer at 94, my aunt is 95 and Kay is 93.

I want to Mankato State and studied urban planning, in the Spring of ‘72 I engaged in politics for the first time by engaging in the McGovern campaign’s MN Caucus, I recruited Al Swanson to chair our effort. Later that Spring, I pulled a tag on the McGovern recruitment for come to work the Wisconsin primary during spring break—hello Green Bay. As our effort was winding down the organizer asked if I’d be interested in going on MA for the battleground. Went home convinced my mother and my faculty. Advisor that this was the thing to do—Kay agreed and Dr. Shields arranged for me to get intern credit. Drove from Milwaukee to Boston, was sent Fall River MA as an organizer, from there to CA on a charter flight with a couple of hundred kindred spirits. Was sent to Orange County where I ran the operation in Westminister & Garden Grove. From there to upstate NY, I then was recruited in the fall to IL where I coordinated the collar counties SW & S of Cook County. It was a lot of fun, learned a lot and despite the outcome was the kickoff of my career.

I went back to MSU the winter of 73 to finish my degree and graduated that spring. After briefly considering moving to Denver with a semi-job offer in the planning department, I decided to move East to DC. I arrived as Watergate was breaking news every day. For a couple of years I was a traveling political consultant, working on campaigns in VA, IL, OH, NY. I went to work for the Governor of IL in 1975 and was there about a year before I was recruited to Mo Udall’s Presidential campaign on the National Advance staff, setting up events,coordinating trips and devolving briefing materials. This was a fabulous experience, made a ton of friends many of whom I’m friends with to this day. After President Carter was the Democratic nominee and he had picked Senator Mondale, I joined the Mondale side of the campaign doing advance, worked in about 15 states. After the campaign I was offered a job at USDOT as a Congressional Liaision Officer (highways/transit & energy issues).

I meet my wife Susan, who was from Andover, MA, thru mutual C/M friends while she was one of President Carter’s speech writers. We lived together for a couple of years and got married in June of ‘79. Smartest move I ever made and I clearly married up.

While at DOT I continued to do some International advance work for the White House, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, Indonesia, American Samoa. Pretty eye opening for a kid from Worthington.

In the Summer of ‘80, we sold our condo in DC and moved to the Back Bay in Boston to be the Federal Highway Liaison on the Big Dig project—alas, the Reagan victory ended that assignment and I went to work for a PR/Crisis management firm Clarke & Co, where I worked on a number of issues, including the Tylenol tampering case, a number of environmental and banking projects. In the Summer of ‘84 we moved back to DC and I traveled on the Mondale campaign. Later that year,I joined two former DOT colleagues in a firm they started in 1981, it was re-named Smith Dawson & Andrews and I’ve been there ever since. We lost our partner Tom Dawson in 2009. We’re a small (15 people) lobbying firm working for state and local government, non-profits, education institutions, companies and trade associations. I specialize somewhat on aviation issues, airport financing—I’ve reprinted SFO for 20 years.

Susan and I bought a house in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of DC in 1986 and were blessed with a daughter Caroline in August of ‘88. Caroline is the light of our lives, she went to primary school in DC and went to the Sacred Heart College prep for High School. She graduated from the College of Charleston (SC) in 2010 and lives in DC and currently works for the American Association of Justice (trial lawyers). We see her often and she’s elated her boyfriend is moving back to DC after being in Seattle for a couple of years.

A couple of other highlights of work and politics is that I have been part of the Podium Operation team at the National Democratic Conventions (88-2016) where I’ve been responsible for coordinating speakers —best described as being a Sherpa. I’ve worked with scores of US Senators, Representatives, Governors, etc. I’ve had an eyewitness view of back stage machination for almost 40 years.

I'm still working, although not quite as hard as I used and am looking forward to getting back to to it post surgery recovery. I continue to play a lot of golf which has been source of joy and frustration for more than 60 years. My handicap seems to be on a pattern of going up rather than down for the last year and I don't seem to win the long drive contests any more. I'm continuing to pursue my goal of playing as many top 100 courses as possible --approaching 30.

Take care old friends and classmates and lift a glass of cheer for me.

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