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Published on 03/09/1998 All articles from this issue

Guess who came to dinner? Al Gore pays visit to Los Altos

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

After a whirlwind trip around Silicon Valley visiting Lockheed-Martin, San Jose State University and Cisco Systems last Thursday, Vice President Al Gore stopped off in Los Altos for dinner.

Chuck and Nan Geschke hosted the event, which included cocktails for 75 and dinner for 30, in their restored, historic Los Altos home.

Geschke, chairman of the board and president of the San Jose-based software company Adobe Systems, Inc., said that never in his lifetime did he imagine he'd be entertaining the vice president.

"This is a first. We view it as a family honor," he said. "I don't know if a vice president has ever been to dinner in Los Altos."

The event, which cost $1,000 per person for cocktails or $5,000 per person for dinner, was a fund-raiser for U. S. Senator Barbara Boxer.

Boxer called Geschke months ago and asked if he'd host such a party.

"I told her she happened to call on my wife's birthday so she'd have to call Nan and ask. She called Nan and sang 'Happy Birthday' and said 'this is the singing senator,'" Geschke said.

It worked. Nan Geschke agreed to the party.

At the last minute Boxer was unable to come, staying in Washington D.C. for a Senate vote. She sent greetings by video and her husband to the dinner.

Other guests included the Geschke's adult children, spouses and grandchild; Los Altos residents John and Marva Warnock and Bob and Marian Grimm; venture capitalist John Doer; and state legislator Anna Eshoo.

Warnock, Geschke's business partner, is also chairman of the board at Adobe and CEO. "We don't use the term 'co-' for chairman," Geschke said, but they share the job.

Bob Grimm said the Geschkes were "very gracious hosts."

The decor for the evening was "California citrus," Nan Geschke said. Citrus-orange tablecloths covered three round tables, each set for 10, with bowls of polished citrus for centerpieces.

The menu theme was "rustic Italian." For cocktails, the Geschkes served California wines and mixed drinks. Dinner began with antipasto, followed by braised lamb shanks with polenta. Dinner concluded with a lemon dessert.

Gore ate one course at each table so he could visit with all the guests, Bob Grimm said. Gore happened to be at the Grimm's table for the main course, "so we had a little more time with him. He was friendly, articulate," Bob Grimm said.

Gore is known for his interest in computers and technology.

In fact, some call the vice president and his buddies the Gore-Techs.

"It's nice to have someone in the White House who values technology," Geschke said.