By David Bruce Smith
Founder
The Grateful American™ Foundation

When the sun would set along the Potomac River, Martha and George Washington could invariably be found sipping cocktails on the veranda of their Virginia home. As they enjoyed a cool gin and tonic, they’d talk about the day’s events and watch the children who lived with them play on the grass.

My co-host, Hope Katz Gibbs, and I recently interviewed Curt Viebranz, president and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Viebranz (shown here) was appointed to his position by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in September 2012. An experienced media executive and entrepreneur with a passion for American history and a longstanding commitment to community service, Viebranz has more than 20 years of experience at major multinational Internet and cable enterprises.

Prior to his appointment at Mount Vernon, he served as president of HBO International, the global arm of Time Warner’s Home Box Office unit, and he was the first president of Time Inc. Multimedia. Viebranz has also helped launch and grow several media-related start-ups, and after he joined AOL in 2007 he oversaw advertising sales and strategy for all of AOL’s owned and operated sites.

Scroll down to “Is George Washington Your Favorite Founding Father?” for our Q&A with Viebranz, who shared many interesting facts about our nation’s first presidential couple.