More than 250,000 Individuals from All 50 States Submitted Essays
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced the full list of ten citizens who will travel to Washington DC with a "Ticket to History." More than a quarter-million Americans from all 50 states submitted essays for a chance to attend the Presidential Inauguration.
"This is an Inauguration for all Americans, and we wanted to include a group of people from across the country who otherwise might not have been able to join us," said PIC Communications Director Josh Earnest. "We're thrilled at the overwhelming response. It demonstrates the very real sense of excitement, unity and shared purpose Americans feel at this moment in our history."
In keeping with its goal to make this the most open and accessible inauguration ever, the PIC asked Americans across the country to submit short essays answering the question, "What does this Inauguration mean to you?" Based on the strength of their essays, these ten individuals will be flown to Washington, D.C. with one guest, accommodated in a local hotel, and invited to attend the Opening Celebration, the swearing-in ceremony, the Inaugural Parade, and the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. The deadline to submit an essay was midnight on Thursday, January 8th.
Cynthia Russell, from Newberry, Florida, was previously announced as the first person invited to be part of the Inaugural festivities. Russell wrote of her dream that 2009 would be a better year for her homebuilding business. "Barack gives me hope," she wrote. "Hope that 2009 will truly bring change to Americans who find themselves in this mess with me."
The ten Americans traveling to the nation's capital next week include a firefighter who left his job in the financial sector to join the New York City Fire Department after September 11, a member of the United States Army whose husband is serving in Iraq, an inner-city school teacher in Baltimore, a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, and a small business owner from California.
The ten Americans invited to receive a "Ticket to History" include:
William Tandey (Price, UT)
Bill Ferguson (Baltimore, MD)
James Bryan (Loganville, GA)
Spirit Trickey-Rowan (Little Rock, AR)
Aleia Jones (Chicago, IL)
Christopher Cuneen (Bronx, NY)
Cynthia Russell (Newberry, FL)
Stacy Freiwald (Coronado, CA)
James Riviere (Arlington, VA)
Amelia Nuñez (Long Beach, CA)
The 56th Presidential Inauguration promises to be the most inclusive in history, and the PIC has planned a list of inaugural events that reflect that commitment:
• The President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will journey to the nation's capital via train on Saturday, January 17, holding events that are free and open to the public along the way. They will be joined by a group of everyday Americans they met along their road to the White House.
• Sunday, January 18, an inaugural kick-off event at the Lincoln Memorial featuring the incoming First Family and special musical guests will be open to the public and broadcast live on HBO free of charge to all cable and satellite customers.
• On January 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President-elect Obama will call on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. A new website, USAservice.org, makes it easy for Americans to organize service events or find existing events. To date, more than 10,000 events have been organized across the country.
• Monday evening, January 19, Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and their families will host a free "Kids' Inaugural" concert to honor military families, broadcast on the Disney Channel and Radio Disney.
• For the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public on Inauguration Day, January 20, so that more Americans than ever before can come together to witness the swearing-in of the President from a vantage point near the Capitol.
• Local D.C. students have been given the chance to receive tickets for the Inaugural Parade for themselves and family members based on the best essays answering the question, "How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?"
• On the evening of Inauguration Day, the first ball President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend will be the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. The ball will be broadcast live on ABC and over the Internet, bringing together neighborhoods across the country in the spirit of unity and celebration.
The sum of these public events is an Inauguration that allows more Americans than ever before to come together as one nation and one people, united in our resolve to tackle our greatest common challenges and move this country forward together.
For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org.