Rick Schroder, Clinton Portis, Ambassadors & DC's Young Do-Gooders Hang Out At The Mall Together

Be sure to checkout all of our photographs from this event HERE and tell us what you were wearing that night!

The National Mall -- Most Washingtonians take for granted the scenic backdrop that they pass on their way to work each day provided by the monuments surrounding the National Mall and adjacent Memorial Parks. However, with more than 30 million annual visitors, these protected landmarks suffer from enormous maintenance and beautification requirements.

Indeed, the Trust for the National Mall -- the official non-profit partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring and improving the National Mall -- estimates that the current deferred maintenance budget alone for the park is a staggering $400 million. And this figure doesn't even include the additional $300 million that the Park Service believes it will need to fund basic visitor improvements moving forward in order to ensure that the National Mall remains a world-class outdoor space.

Founded in 2008 as an auxiliary of the Trust, the L'Enfant Society seeks specifically to engage Washington's rapidly-growing community of young professionals to support its parent organization's mission to help restore and improve the National Mall. The "Ball on the Mall" -- an annual black-tie dinner and dancing affair nestled in between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building -- represents the L'Enfant Society's biggest event of the year attracting more than 700 guests.

Now in its second year, the 2010 ball exceeded the non-profit's original fundraising goals by $130,000 for a total of $350,000 raised. Contributions from corporate sponsors Time Warner and HBO and ticket sales to the general public helped the L'Enfant Society achieve such a successful turnout of support this year. To date, the Trust for the National Mall has raised more than $5 million with nearly $500,000 of that amount directly attributed to the hard work of the L'Enfant Society.

Saturday's event brought VIP guests to the Mall, near the base of the Washington Monument, at approximately 6:30 p.m. With parking valets ensuring a hassle-free arrival and a mariachi band infusing the air with a festive spirit (no doubt inspired by Ambassador to Mexico Arturo Sarukhan's role as one of the evening's co-chairs), the well-dressed invitees were quickly ushered by an army of ear-piece wearing event organizers into a sunshine-filled white tent for a special cocktail reception and dinner.

The menu for the evening consisted of Spicy Pork Enchiladas with Veracruz Mole followed by a Pepita Crusted Halibut entree with Black Bean Corn Jicama Chutney and a Cilantro Cream Sauce. Yum!

TV Star Rick Schroder of 24, NYPD Blue, and Silver Spoons fame served as the dinner's special guest of the evening pledging to "rope other celebrities in and bring other people to the table...to get the word out" about the enormous financial need that exists with respect to the restoration and beautification of the National Mall.

And Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan followed with a brief speech (and a few well-received jokes) explaining why the country of Mexico supports such an event in D.C.:



Other notable guests in attendance that night were Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis, Washington Capitals player Mike Green, Grammy-Nominated Saxophonist Ski Johnson, and MIX 107.3 radio DJ Tommy McFly.

With dinner out of the way, VIP guests were then invited to join other ticket holders in the adjoining main tent for dessert, cocktails, and dancing. A silent auction table was also on display throughout the evening as philanthropically-minded revelers bid on items, including tickets to a taping of NBC's Meet the Press, a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes donated by Neiman Marcus, and VIP tickets to the NASCAR Dover 200 race.



Alas, all good things must come to an end and at 11:30 p.m. the curtain fell on this year's Ball on the Mall as a happy crowd danced and sang-along to Journey's Don't Stop Believin':


Until next year!