In New York, Gov. Shapiro urged the Pennsylvania Society gathering to continue the weekend’s bipartisan vibe back in Harrisburg

NEW YORK — From a glamorous ballroom in Manhattan, Gov. Josh Shapiro boasted about his administration’s successes in his first 11 months in office and emphasized that Pennsylvania’s annual weekend of bipartisanship doesn’t have to end back home.

Continuing a long tradition of governors speaking to the sold-out Pennsylvania Society crowd that his predecessor Gov. Tom Wolf avoided, Shapiro said the weekend represented a pause in polarization, recalling some of his administration’s highs and excluding its lows.

“It doesn’t just last a weekend, and it can happen in Pennsylvania, not just in New York City,” Shapiro said. “We have proven that we can work together and deliver great results for the people of Pennsylvania.”

Shapiro described his first 11 months in office as proof that his administration’s motto, “Get Stuff Done,” is possible. (He refrained from using a more colorful word for “stuff” while speaking to the crowd of ball gowns and bow ties.) He listed his proudest accomplishments so far, such as reopening a collapsed section of I-95 in Philadelphia in just 12 days, and implementing a money-back guarantee for state applications, among others.

However, Shapiro has struggled so far to reach bipartisan agreement on some of the state’s most contentious issues, like school choice and energy policy. Still, Shapiro urged his colleagues in the split legislature to come together and find bipartisan solutions, in an otherwise polarized world.

The 125th Pennsylvania Society dinner was commemorated by a video of former governors and past society members to recall the progress the society has made over the last 125 years. Former Gov. Ed Rendell said in the video that he tried to bring the annual weekend back to Pennsylvania when he was in office, but realized that leaving the state had its advantage.

”We’d all lose something,” Rendell said, adding that the lack of a home-field advantage for any Pennsylvania leader makes everyone “be more frank, be more honest and more forthcoming.”

Attendees ranged from university presidents, corporate CEOs, state and federal lawmakers, and wealthy Pennsylvanians trying to find their place in the mix.

A single dinner ticket cost $600, or $350 if the person was under 35. Attendees had lobster with a side of filet for their entrée.

The Art Deco theme, featuring potted faux palm trees, was chosen to commemorate the past and future of the society’s annual dinner, the society’s executive director said. Nonprofit Impact Services in Kensington will receive a donation from the society, as the beneficiary of the night’s event, which also supports several college scholarship programs for Pennsylvania students.

Philadelphia philanthropists Jeannette Lerman-Neubauer and Joseph Neubauer were award recipients, acknowledged for their many years trying to solve Pennsylvania’s most complex problems.