The Washington Press Club Foundation's 66th Annual Congressional Dinner

WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Power players from the House and Senate will team up at the Washington Press Club Foundation's 66th Annual Congressional Dinner on Wednesday, April 21 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC, for an evening of bipartisan banter and barbs that benefits one of D.C.'s premier journalism organizations.  A representative who calls himself "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order," will face off with a self-described "no-nonsense" Senate Democrat for Washington, D.C.-style off-the-record fun -- as off-the-record as possible in a room full of reporters and pundits.

The speakers for the 2010 dinner are Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana, the chairman of the Republican conference, and Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, the first woman ever to be elected to the Senate from Missouri. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander join them as a special guests. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski serve as the masters of ceremonies for the evening.  

More than 700 distinguished guests will gather for the invitation-only dinner, Washington's premier media affair, where members of Congress, elected officials and the diplomatic corps mix and mingle with members of the press corps. Inaugurated by the Women's National Press Club in the early 1940's the event is among the oldest of the year's media galas.

In addition to the two prestigious awards presented at the dinner, the David Lynch Prize and the Washington Press Club Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, the evening's program gets to the heart of the workings of Capitol Hill, as interpreted—with a wink and a nod—by those who serve there.

The 2010 recipient of the Washington Press Club Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award is Dorothy Gilliam. Dorothy was the first black woman to report for The Washington Post, she founded the Post's young Journalist Development Program and the George Washington University Prime Movers program, which partners established journalists with student journalists to start and revitalize high school media.  

Sponsors for the 2010 dinner include The Boeing Company, The Hill, CQ-Roll Call Group, Ford Motor Company, Edelman Public Relations, Evelyn Y Davis Foundation, AARP, Honeywell, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Education and George Washington School of Media and Public Affairs.  

The Congressional Dinner is the major fundraising event for the Foundation, supporting these and other programs.  For more information contact Executive Director, Suzanne Pierron 202-393-0613.

SOURCE The Washington Press Club Foundation