U.S. envoy to the Vatican headlines Bishop's Dinner
Globe staff report

U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See James Nicholson will be the keynote speaker at the sixth annual Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education, announced Karen Waldschmitt, chair of the Oct. 20 event at the Marina Inn in South Sioux City.

For Nicholson, a native of Struble, Iowa it mark a return to his home diocese.

"I am really looking forward to returning to my home diocese of Sioux City to be with family and old friends, and speak about my job representing President Bush to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome," the ambassador said in a statement.

"Hardly a day goes by that I do not think about St. Joseph Church in Struble, where I was an altar boy for 10 years, and acquired the solid values of growing up in the Midwest," Nicholson explained.

"This has served me well throughout my life and is doing so particularly now," he said.

Waldschmitt, who has been a strong advocate for Catholic schools in the diocese for many years, said it is an honor to have Nicholson as the event's keynote speaker.

"We're privileged to have someone with such strong connections with the Vatican to come to our dinner, especially in these turbulent times," she said.

Waldschmitt, of Remsen, said the dinner "brings people together from throughout the diocese who care about Catholic education."

She said about 400 people will attend the $125-per-ticket dinner. Proceeds from the evening will be distributed on a per-pupil basis to all of the Catholic schools in the diocese.

Appointed by President Bush to the office last year, Nicholson became chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 1997, helping the GOP set fundraising records that resulted in a record number of election victories for his party.

The ambassador was raised on a tenant farm about 50 miles north of Sioux City and earned an appointment to military academy at West Point.

After serving in Vietnam, the decorated veteran earned a master's degree in public policy from Columbia University in New York, and a law degree from the University of Denver.

He practiced law with a major Denver firm and after two years, became a partner, specializing in real estate, municipal finance and zoning law.

Leaving the firm in 1978, he founded Nicholson Enterprises, Inc., a developer of master planned residential communities. In 1987, he bought Renaissance Homes, which has become a nationally known, award-winning builder of custom homes.

His success in business was matched by his contributions to the community. He served three years as chairman of the Volunteers of America in Colorado, which is the largest faith-based social service agency in the Rocky Mountain states.

In 1986, Nicholson was elected committeeman from Colorado for the Republican National Committee. In 1993, he was elected vice-chairman of the RNC, and later, chairman of the organization.

In 1998, he launched an education initiative called, Children First: The Republican Agenda for America's Students, which became the road map to improving basic education in America in the Bush Administration.

Nicholson was given the prestigious Horatio Alger Award in 2000, recognizing his climb from humble beginnings to a position of success.

On Aug. 10, 2001 he was sworn in as the sixth U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.