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Clintons To Celebrate New Year In S.C.
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 30) -- President Bill Clinton, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea are headed to Hilton Head, S.C., today to ring in the New Year the way they have for over a decade: at the invitation-only Renaissance Weekend.
Not to be left behind, the Clintons' new dog Buddy will be making his first appearance at the annual New Year's celebration.
The Clintons typically attend one or two seminars during the high-brow weekend organized by Phil Lader, Clinton friend and U.S. ambassador to Britain.
The weekend of closed-door seminars and family fun started in 1981. Each year Lader invites a large group of achievers in many fields as varied as finance, religion, science and sports.
The president attended a session last year along with 1,600 people. He expressed some regret afterwards at the increase in numbers at the sessions.
Lader said those who attend the weekend gain lasting benefits. "It's wonderful to see some of the young people who we've known for almost two decades growing and the friendships that have grown between hundreds and hundreds of people," Lader said.
According to Lader, some of the topics to be discussed at this year's seminars are: medical breakthroughs, the impact of the Internet, Asia's economic crisis, spiritual values, morals and manners, the news media, investment prospectives, Hollywood and popular culture, and school testing and standards.
In keeping with a newer tradition, the Clintons will leave Hilton Head on New Year's day for St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands where they will stay for four days. They made the same trip last year at the suggestion of Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper. They plan to stay at the Sand Dollar, a private villa on the island's Peterborg Peninsula.
Buddy will also travel with the Clintons to the Caribbean and stay at the Sand Dollar with them. The hotel normally has a strict no pets policy but is prepared to break the rules for Buddy.
The resort owner said, "How can we refuse the first dog?"
In Other News:
Tuesday Dec. 30, 1997
• Federal Workers Ring In New Year With Pay Raise
• Clinton Legal Defense Fund To Be Dissolved
• Clintons To Celebrate New Year In S.C.
• Clinton Decries Desecration Of Islamic Symbols
