Carol McCain
Encyclopedia
Carol Shepp McCain is a former model
, director of the White House Visitors Office
, and event planner. She was the first wife of United States Senator and two-time presidential candidate John McCain
.
. She first knew John McCain while he was attending the United States Naval Academy
in Annapolis from 1954 to 1958. In 1958 she married one of his midshipman classmates, Alasdair E. Swanson, who had been a football and basketball star there. She and her husband, who became a Navy pilot, had two children, Douglas (born 1959) and Andrew (born 1962), and lived in Pensacola, Florida
. The couple subsequently divorced in June 1964, after she sued him for infidelity. Five feet eight inches in height, Shepp was a successful swimsuit model
and runway model for Jantzen swimwear
in Philadelphia.
in 1964, and they began dating after her first divorce. On July 3, 1965, Shepp married McCain in Philadelphia. The following year, John McCain adopted her two children. The McCains then had a daughter named Sidney in September 1966.
John McCain was shot down and badly injured over North Vietnam
on October 26, 1967, beginning what would be five and a half years as a prisoner of war
. During his captivity she raised their children by herself in Orange Park, Florida
, with the assistance of friends and neighbors in the Navy-oriented community. She sent frequent letters and packages to him, few of which the North Vietnamese let through. She became active in the POW/MIA movement, while those around her wore bracelets with her husband's name and capture date on them.
While visiting her family in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve
1969, Carol McCain was driving alone in snowy, icy conditions. Approaching an intersection on an isolated country road, she skidded and collided with a telephone pole, was thrown from the car into the snow, and went into shock. Some time later, she was found and taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital
; she had two smashed legs, a broken pelvis, broken arm, and ruptured spleen
. She spent six months in the hospital, and over the course of the next two years had 23 operations, which rebuilt her legs with rods and pins, as well as extensive physical therapy. She did not tell her husband about the accident in her letters to him, believing he already had enough to worry about, and the U.S. State Department told a surgeon who operated upon her not to mention anything to the press, lest it worsen the treatment for John McCain. Businessman and POW advocate Ross Perot
paid for her medical care and she remained grateful to him, later saying: "The military families are in Ross's heart and in his soul ... There are millions of us who are extremely grateful to Ross Perot." Years after John McCain found out about Perot's help, he said "we loved him for it." She was interviewed on the CBS Evening News
in 1970, and said that Christmas had no meaning for her without her husband present, but that she carried on with it for the sake of their children.
The McCains were reunited upon his release from captivity on March 14, 1973. She was now four inches (ten centimeters) shorter, in a wheelchair or on crutches, and substantially heavier than when he had last seen her; he was also visibly hampered by his injuries and the mistreatment he had endured from the North Vietnamese. The McCains became frequent guests of honor at dinners hosted by Governor of California
Ronald Reagan
and his wife Nancy Reagan
, and the two couples became friendly. Carol McCain was Clay County, Florida
director for Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign
, as he sought the Republican Party
nomination. During John McCain's assignment as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the VA-174 squadron located at Naval Air Station Cecil Field
outside Jacksonville, Florida
, Carol and John led an active social life together, entertaining other naval personnel at their Orange Park home and Ponte Vedra
beach house. However, the McCains' marriage began to falter as he had extramarital affairs
.
John McCain's next assignment was to the Senate Liaison Office within the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs
. The McCains separated briefly, then rejoined. His job was aided by the social life the couple conducted, entertaining Navy, government, and other people three to four nights a week at their Alexandria, Virginia
home. During this time she worked for Congressman John H. Rousselot
. By 1979, the McCains were still living together. In April 1979, John McCain met and began a relationship with Cindy Lou Hensley, an Arizona
special education teacher and Hensley & Co.
heiress.
John McCain pushed to end the marriage; Carol McCain was described by friends as being in shock from the developments. The McCains stopped cohabiting in January 1980; John McCain filed for a divorce in February 1980, which Carol McCain accepted at that time. When asked by a friend what had gone wrong, she said, "It's just one of those things." After she did not respond to court summonses, the uncontested divorce became official in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
on April 2, 1980.
John McCain would later say, "My marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine." Carol McCain would later say: "The breakup of our marriage was not caused by my accident or Vietnam or any of those things. I don't know that it might not have happened if John had never been gone. I attribute it more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else." John McCain's biographer, Robert Timberg, believes that "Vietnam did play a part, perhaps not the major part, but more than a walk-on." According to Carol, her husband's five-year captivity in Vietnam had left him wanting to "make up for lost time," and John put it this way: "I had changed, she had changed....People who have been apart that much change." Ross Perot would later say, "After he came home, he walked with a limp, she [Carol McCain] walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona [Cindy McCain, his current wife] and the rest is history." Carol’s three children were initially upset with John McCain about the divorce, but later reconciled.
The divorce settlement accorded Carol McCain full custody of their three children, alimony, child support including college tuition, houses in Virginia and Florida, and lifelong financial support for her ongoing medical treatments resulting from the 1969 automobile accident. John McCain and Hensley were married on May 17, 1980. Carol McCain was sued by Roberta McCain
, John's mother, in 1980 for return of personal property; the suit was settled out of court in 1981.
Despite the divorce, Carol McCain has remained on good terms with John McCain, and has supported him in all his subsequent political campaigns. She refused to discuss her marriage with an election opponent of McCain's in 1982 who was seeking negative information about him, telling the opponent that "a gentleman never would have called." She supported her ex-husband's 2008 presidential campaign
, and told The Mail on Sunday
in June 2008 that she was not bitter and that, "He’s a good guy. We are still good friends. He is the best man for president."
, where she lived for several months with the family of top Reagan associate Edwin Meese
. She became a personal assistant to Nancy Reagan
in fall 1979, working with her as a press assistant on Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign
, and then worked on the 1980 Republican National Convention
. She was director of the 1981 Reagan inaugural ball, and as the Reagan administration began, she handled scheduling for the First Lady and the Reagan children.
In 1981, she became Director of the White House Visitors Office
. There she planned tours and dealt with the pleas of different groups for the limited slots available. She also dealt with demands from Washington officials, including a dispute regarding tour slots between Nancy Reagan and New York
Congressman Thomas Downey. About the pressures of her job, she said cheerfully: "I'm always in tears, but I love the job. I'm really having a ball." During the early 1980s recession
she declared that the White House tours were fully booked even when other Washington attractions saw declining attendance; her office processed well over one million visits a year. She was a presence on the Washington social scene and well liked there.
Between 1981 and 1986, she greatly expanded the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, adding participatory activities and doubling the size of the crowds attending. The Washington Post
likened her "extravaganza-loving" event style to that of Cecil B. DeMille
. She was also involved in planning South Lawn
State Arrival Ceremonies
, as well as a national Christmas
celebration.
She left the White House Visitors Office position in January 1987, to join Philadelphia-based We the People 200, Inc., which was the organization planning the celebration for the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution
that year. She was named programming director, part of We the People 200's senior management team. The bicentennial project was already troubled by lack of corporate financial sponsorship and persistent internal conflicts; the high salaries of McCain and other senior staff came under some criticism, but were defended by the organization's president as justified based upon age and experience.
By 1990, she was a spokesperson for Washington, Inc., a large event planning
company. During 1991, she was a spokesperson for the Desert Storm Homecoming Foundation, which held a $12 million victory celebration and memorial in Washington in June 1991 following the conclusion of the Gulf War
and Operation Desert Storm. She later worked in press relations for the National Soft Drink Association in Washington.
In 2003, Carol McCain retired and moved to a bungalow
in Virginia Beach, Virginia
. She has not married again, although she was in several relationships. She continues to have difficulty walking, as a result of her accident four decades earlier.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, director of the White House Visitors Office
White House Visitors Office
The White House Visitors Office is responsible for public tours of the White House, for maintaining a facility where the public can obtain information about the White House, and for other White House events such as the White House Easter Egg Roll, Holiday Open Houses, Spring and Fall Garden tours,...
, and event planner. She was the first wife of United States Senator and two-time presidential candidate John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
Early life and first marriage
Carol Shepp grew up in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. She first knew John McCain while he was attending the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in Annapolis from 1954 to 1958. In 1958 she married one of his midshipman classmates, Alasdair E. Swanson, who had been a football and basketball star there. She and her husband, who became a Navy pilot, had two children, Douglas (born 1959) and Andrew (born 1962), and lived in Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. The couple subsequently divorced in June 1964, after she sued him for infidelity. Five feet eight inches in height, Shepp was a successful swimsuit model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and runway model for Jantzen swimwear
Jantzen
Jantzen is a brand of swimwear that was established in 1916 and first appeared in the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The brand name later replaced the name of the parent company that manufactured the branded products...
in Philadelphia.
Second marriage and years with John McCain
Shepp met McCain again when he was stationed at the Naval Air Basic Training Command at Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
in 1964, and they began dating after her first divorce. On July 3, 1965, Shepp married McCain in Philadelphia. The following year, John McCain adopted her two children. The McCains then had a daughter named Sidney in September 1966.
John McCain was shot down and badly injured over North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
on October 26, 1967, beginning what would be five and a half years as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. During his captivity she raised their children by herself in Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, USA, and a suburb of Jacksonville. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern Clay County outside the town limits, covering such communities as Fleming Island, Lakeside, and...
, with the assistance of friends and neighbors in the Navy-oriented community. She sent frequent letters and packages to him, few of which the North Vietnamese let through. She became active in the POW/MIA movement, while those around her wore bracelets with her husband's name and capture date on them.
While visiting her family in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1969, Carol McCain was driving alone in snowy, icy conditions. Approaching an intersection on an isolated country road, she skidded and collided with a telephone pole, was thrown from the car into the snow, and went into shock. Some time later, she was found and taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital
Bryn Mawr Hospital
Bryn Mawr Hospital is a Pennsylvania hospital near Philadelphia that is part of Main Line Health, a community-based not-for-profit health system, comprising Lankenau Hospital, Paoli Hospital, and Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital. It is located on 130 South Bryn Mawr Avenue in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania....
; she had two smashed legs, a broken pelvis, broken arm, and ruptured spleen
Ruptured spleen
Rupture of the capsule of the spleen, an organ in the upper left part of the abdomen, is a situation that requires immediate medical attention. The rupture of a normal spleen can be caused by trauma, such as a car accident.-Function In the Body:...
. She spent six months in the hospital, and over the course of the next two years had 23 operations, which rebuilt her legs with rods and pins, as well as extensive physical therapy. She did not tell her husband about the accident in her letters to him, believing he already had enough to worry about, and the U.S. State Department told a surgeon who operated upon her not to mention anything to the press, lest it worsen the treatment for John McCain. Businessman and POW advocate Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
paid for her medical care and she remained grateful to him, later saying: "The military families are in Ross's heart and in his soul ... There are millions of us who are extremely grateful to Ross Perot." Years after John McCain found out about Perot's help, he said "we loved him for it." She was interviewed on the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
in 1970, and said that Christmas had no meaning for her without her husband present, but that she carried on with it for the sake of their children.
The McCains were reunited upon his release from captivity on March 14, 1973. She was now four inches (ten centimeters) shorter, in a wheelchair or on crutches, and substantially heavier than when he had last seen her; he was also visibly hampered by his injuries and the mistreatment he had endured from the North Vietnamese. The McCains became frequent guests of honor at dinners hosted by Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and his wife Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
, and the two couples became friendly. Carol McCain was Clay County, Florida
Clay County, Florida
Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2010, the population was 190,895. Its county seat is Green Cove Springs, Florida. Clay County is part of the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan area.- History :...
director for Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign
Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1976
The 1976 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1976 U.S. presidential election...
, as he sought the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nomination. During John McCain's assignment as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the VA-174 squadron located at Naval Air Station Cecil Field
Naval Air Station Cecil Field
Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy base, located in Duval County, Florida. NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in the Jacksonville, Florida, area....
outside Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, Carol and John led an active social life together, entertaining other naval personnel at their Orange Park home and Ponte Vedra
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located eighteen miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area. It is an upmarket tourist resort area best known for its...
beach house. However, the McCains' marriage began to falter as he had extramarital affairs
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
.
John McCain's next assignment was to the Senate Liaison Office within the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs
Office of Legislative Affairs (United States Navy)
The Office of Legislative Affairs is a United States Navy function which coordinates activities between the Department of the Navy and the United States Congress.The office reports to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations...
. The McCains separated briefly, then rejoined. His job was aided by the social life the couple conducted, entertaining Navy, government, and other people three to four nights a week at their Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
home. During this time she worked for Congressman John H. Rousselot
John H. Rousselot
John Harbin Rousselot was a U.S. Representative from southern California. Born in 1927 in Los Angeles, California, Rousselot attended the public schools of San Marino and South...
. By 1979, the McCains were still living together. In April 1979, John McCain met and began a relationship with Cindy Lou Hensley, an Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
special education teacher and Hensley & Co.
Hensley & Co.
Hensley & Co., also known as Hensley Beverage Company, is an Anheuser-Busch beer wholesaler and distributor headquartered in the West Phoenix area of Phoenix, Arizona. It markets to the Phoenix, Tempe, and Prescott Valley areas. It is the third-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the United...
heiress.
John McCain pushed to end the marriage; Carol McCain was described by friends as being in shock from the developments. The McCains stopped cohabiting in January 1980; John McCain filed for a divorce in February 1980, which Carol McCain accepted at that time. When asked by a friend what had gone wrong, she said, "It's just one of those things." After she did not respond to court summonses, the uncontested divorce became official in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2005, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach was 19,992, and as of 2010, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach is 19,507 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau...
on April 2, 1980.
John McCain would later say, "My marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine." Carol McCain would later say: "The breakup of our marriage was not caused by my accident or Vietnam or any of those things. I don't know that it might not have happened if John had never been gone. I attribute it more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else." John McCain's biographer, Robert Timberg, believes that "Vietnam did play a part, perhaps not the major part, but more than a walk-on." According to Carol, her husband's five-year captivity in Vietnam had left him wanting to "make up for lost time," and John put it this way: "I had changed, she had changed....People who have been apart that much change." Ross Perot would later say, "After he came home, he walked with a limp, she [Carol McCain] walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona [Cindy McCain, his current wife] and the rest is history." Carol’s three children were initially upset with John McCain about the divorce, but later reconciled.
The divorce settlement accorded Carol McCain full custody of their three children, alimony, child support including college tuition, houses in Virginia and Florida, and lifelong financial support for her ongoing medical treatments resulting from the 1969 automobile accident. John McCain and Hensley were married on May 17, 1980. Carol McCain was sued by Roberta McCain
Roberta McCain
Roberta Wright McCain is the widow of Admiral John S. McCain, Jr. and mother of the Republican Arizona Senator and two-time Presidential candidate John S. McCain III.-Background:...
, John's mother, in 1980 for return of personal property; the suit was settled out of court in 1981.
Despite the divorce, Carol McCain has remained on good terms with John McCain, and has supported him in all his subsequent political campaigns. She refused to discuss her marriage with an election opponent of McCain's in 1982 who was seeking negative information about him, telling the opponent that "a gentleman never would have called." She supported her ex-husband's 2008 presidential campaign
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
, and told The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
in June 2008 that she was not bitter and that, "He’s a good guy. We are still good friends. He is the best man for president."
Career from 1979 to present
Carol McCain moved to La Mesa, CaliforniaLa Mesa, California
La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 57,065 at the 2010 census, up from 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea....
, where she lived for several months with the family of top Reagan associate Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese
Edwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...
. She became a personal assistant to Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
in fall 1979, working with her as a press assistant on Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1980
The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
, and then worked on the 1980 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican National Convention
The 1980 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The 32nd Republican National Convention nominated former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California for President of the United States and former...
. She was director of the 1981 Reagan inaugural ball, and as the Reagan administration began, she handled scheduling for the First Lady and the Reagan children.
In 1981, she became Director of the White House Visitors Office
White House Visitors Office
The White House Visitors Office is responsible for public tours of the White House, for maintaining a facility where the public can obtain information about the White House, and for other White House events such as the White House Easter Egg Roll, Holiday Open Houses, Spring and Fall Garden tours,...
. There she planned tours and dealt with the pleas of different groups for the limited slots available. She also dealt with demands from Washington officials, including a dispute regarding tour slots between Nancy Reagan and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Congressman Thomas Downey. About the pressures of her job, she said cheerfully: "I'm always in tears, but I love the job. I'm really having a ball." During the early 1980s recession
Early 1980s recession
The early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
she declared that the White House tours were fully booked even when other Washington attractions saw declining attendance; her office processed well over one million visits a year. She was a presence on the Washington social scene and well liked there.
Between 1981 and 1986, she greatly expanded the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, adding participatory activities and doubling the size of the crowds attending. The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
likened her "extravaganza-loving" event style to that of Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
. She was also involved in planning South Lawn
South Lawn (White House)
The South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, is located directly south of the mansion, and is bordered on the east by East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, and on the west by West Executive Drive and the Old Executive Office Building, and along its curved southern perimeter by...
State Arrival Ceremonies
State Arrival Ceremony
A state arrival ceremony is a ceremony that takes place on the South Lawn of the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States in Washington D.C., in which a foreign head of state or head of government is formally welcomed to the United States...
, as well as a national Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
celebration.
She left the White House Visitors Office position in January 1987, to join Philadelphia-based We the People 200, Inc., which was the organization planning the celebration for the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
that year. She was named programming director, part of We the People 200's senior management team. The bicentennial project was already troubled by lack of corporate financial sponsorship and persistent internal conflicts; the high salaries of McCain and other senior staff came under some criticism, but were defended by the organization's president as justified based upon age and experience.
By 1990, she was a spokesperson for Washington, Inc., a large event planning
Event planning
Event planning is the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party, or convention. Event planning includes budgeting, establishing dates and alternate dates, selecting and reserving the event site, acquiring permits, and coordinating transportation and parking...
company. During 1991, she was a spokesperson for the Desert Storm Homecoming Foundation, which held a $12 million victory celebration and memorial in Washington in June 1991 following the conclusion of the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and Operation Desert Storm. She later worked in press relations for the National Soft Drink Association in Washington.
In 2003, Carol McCain retired and moved to a bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
. She has not married again, although she was in several relationships. She continues to have difficulty walking, as a result of her accident four decades earlier.