The winning bidder plus one guest (2 people) will have the opportunity to have lunch with Peter Earnest, Executive Director at the International Spy Museum and former AFIO President and Board Chairman.

In addition to the lunch meeting at the popular Zola Restaurant, four (4) tickets to the International Spy Museum will be handed to the winning bidder during lunch for use anytime this year.

Each ticket entitles one adult admission to the Museum's main exhibit

Peter Earnest was a career CIA operations officer for 36 years and retired as an SIS (senior intelligence officer rank) in 1994. He spent over ten years in Europe and Middle East engaged in active intelligence operations. Earnest held various other senior positions including Director of Media Relations and was the CIA spokesman from 1989 to 1994. He was awarded the Agency's Intelligence Medal of Merit for superior performance throughout his career.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to an American foreign service officer and his British wife, Earnest grew up in the Washington area attending local schools and graduating from Georgetown Preparatory School. He received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1955, at which time he was commissioned a reserve officer in the United States Marine Corps. He then served a tour of active duty with the First Marine Air Wing, Fleet Marine Force, in Japan.

In 1957, Earnest began his career with the CIA as a field case officer engaged in clandestine operations in support of national security initiatives, chiefly in Europe and the Middle East, and for ten years in the Soviet/East European arena. He continued his role with the CIA as Chief of U.S. Senate Relations (1979-81), where he served as an advisor to senior management on legislative strategy and coordinated individual and committee relationships with the U.S. Senate. He also directed litigation support for the CIA’s Operations Directorate in the mid-1980s.

In his final posting with the CIA, Earnest served as the Agency’s principal spokesman, developing and implementing a strategy of greater openness with the media and the public to promote better understanding of the CIA’s vital role in protecting national security. He was recognized for his "special talent for conveying to others a sense of the Agency’s role and mission" in the Intelligence Medal of Merit award citation. He served as the Agency’s principal advisor to numerous journalists, authors, researchers, academics, and film and documentary producers, until his retirement in 1994.

Since his retirement, Earnest has worked as a principal partner in ClassAct Video Production Services, LTD, a company specializing in training and educational productions for the Intelligence Community and private sector. He has also consulted on commercial film productions with espionage-related themes. In addition, as president of Earnest Consulting, he has provided training to individuals and organizations in media relations, crisis management, and executive presentations. He also frequently conducts training for the American Management Association at its Washington center and around the country.

Earnest served as President of the national Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) from 1997 to 1999 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Earnest now serves as the first Executive Director of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, a new museum exploring the craft, practice, history and contemporary role of espionage.