By Mike Copeland

Tribune-Herald business editor

Reports have surfaced about a high-level meeting in May at President Bush’s ranch near Crawford, and the participants are not foreign dignitaries or heads of state.

One of the president’s daughters, Jenna Bush, will marry fiance Henry Hager on May 10, according to a posting on the People magazine Web site that other news outlets are now reporting.

Local restaurants, hotels and retail shops already are buzzing about the exposure and economic benefits the conjugals could create.

The wedding will attract politicians and their support staffs, security people and a media horde — not to mention the guests.

“I’m anticipating the hotel rooms filling up and a lot of media people trying to get a view,” said Liz Taylor, who oversees the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Bill Johnson, who owns a souvenir emporium in Crawford, said his 91-year-old mother, Margaret, couldn’t wait to call him Thursday with news she’d heard about the Bush wedding.

“The Yellow Rose is always busier when the president is in town, and this wedding ought to get some ‘busy’ going,” said Johnson, adding that the wedding “had been rumored a long time.”

Bush, 26, and Hager, 29, a former Commerce Department staff member now pursuing an MBA, announced their engagement in August. First Lady Laura Bush told People magazine in November she fancied the idea of a White House wedding, “but I also know it wouldn’t be very private. And of course we want to do what Jenna wants to do.”

The White House press corps and paparazzi would have reduced access to a wedding and reception held at the Bushes’ 1,600-acre ranch.

Crawford abuzz

Kenneth Judy, branch manager for Security Bank in Crawford, said the bank’s tellers excitedly told him about the wedding when he arrived Thursday morning.

“I said, ‘Well, I guess it’s going to be at the White House,’ and they said, ‘No, it’s going to be here,’ ” Judy said.

He added that news of the wedding is creating talk in this community of fewer than 1,000 people about 25 miles west of Waco.

Crawford has gained international attention as President Bush’s preferred location to host international leaders like former Mexican president Vicente Fox and former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Media members and staffers who follow Bush to his ranch typically stay in Waco hotels and eat in local restaurants.

“We usually feel it pretty well when the Bushes are in town. We see a lot of press and general support staff, which is fun for us,” said Patricia Honea, general manager of the Ninfa’s restaurant in downtown Waco. She said she probably will keep more staffers on duty two days before and two days after the Bush wedding.

“This should be great for Waco, but a lot will depend on the size of the guest list. I’m sure there will be security people for the president and his family and for his father and his family. There could be 100 to 400 people in town for the occasion,” said Sterling Sherrill, president of the Waco Hotel/Motel Association and manager of Weston Inn Suites & RV Park in McGregor.

Shelly Campbell, director of sales and marketing for the Waco Hilton, said she “wouldn’t be able to comment” on calls the Hilton may or may not be getting from those wanting rooms in May.

“At this time, we just don’t have any information to share,” Campbell said, adding, “We think it’s a wonderful celebration, and I’m sure it will bring business to Waco, just as the president always has.”

The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce is ready to help if asked, said Steve Smith, senior vice president of sports and special events.

“Obviously we would love to be involved, but we’re in kind of a wait-and-see position due to the private nature of the event,” said Smith. “We are always on-call, and this is no different.”

For visits by dignitaries to the Bush ranch, the chamber has provided an array of services, from providing vans and drivers to ferry people around to entertaining the media at local restaurants.

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

757-5736