Business Education and Training

Of all the times in Lee Grief’s life, he probably looks on the years in which he served in Washington DC as being his most fascinating. It was during this time that he spent five years as chief of staff for Peter Peyser. Peyser was a republican congressman who represented the suburban county of Westchester in New York State. He had recently won the election against Daddario and chose Lee Greif as the perfect person to assist him in his new job. The duties that Lee Greif would undertake during this time working for Peyser were many and Grief always undertook them with confidence and success. His proudest achievement during this time was getting Peyser reelected twice by aiding him in his campaign.

Peter Peyser was an interesting and successful man himself. He was a longtime friend and political associate of Nelson Rockefeller for one thing. Peyser’s political ties to Rockefeller and other notorious politicians of the era won Greif some particularly special projects which he undertook with pride. These and the other projects he was assigned when working for Peyser were always challenging, but the prestige of his office and the respect he had for his superiors kept his eye always on the goal and he always accomplished his tasks with honor and within the bounds of satisfaction.

Serving under Peyser when he did meant that he was in office during the tumultuous times of the early 1970s during the Watergate scandal. This was an exciting time to serve however. One of the most fascinating events to occur when he served under Peyser was when the two of them and some fellow congressmen had dinner at the Whitehouse with President Richard Nixon. Also of interest were the many briefings he had with Secretaries Of State and Defense which were confidential and always enlightening.

Lee Greif worked for a democrat during the Vietnam War and for a Republican during the Watergate scandal so this meant he had to defend some pretty unpopular policies. Particularly the policies of President Nixon were always difficult to support, but he always did a very professional job. He was often at odds with his fellow politicians, but he did his best to convince them to support the policies of his colleagues.

During the five years that Lee Grief served as chief of staff for Peter Peyser, he met his first wife, Randee. She was working as a staff agent for the US senator Thomas Eagleton at the time. Soon after meeting Eagleton, they both became fans of one another and while Eagleton provided Greif with continued support throughout his career, he also provided his with a large source of inspiration and acted as his political mentor. Eagleton was a democrat from Missouri, but the difference in party did little to damper their friendship. Both Lee and his new wife found Eagleton to be a dedicated professional and a terrific guy whom they respected dearly. Lee learned a great deal from his experience in Washington and took away a lot of knowledge and expertise when he finally left politics to pursue other long time plans.