A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Our community has been a buzz for several weeks once the news of President Obama speaking at the graduation of Lake Area Technical Institute was released to the public. The buzzing got louder on Wednesday when the first C-17 transport plane arrived and began delivering materials and equipment for the President's visit on Friday afternoon.

The first to arrive was the helicopter. I do not know if any other vehicles were aboard that trip. Only the helicopter was mentioned.

Hubby and I had talked about going to the airport to check things out, but one day we were busy and the public was not encouraged to go to the airport to watch the transport unloading. We stayed home. Luckily, others did go to the airport to get photos. The LATI photos are thanks to Scott Shephard and his roving camera.

The huge gray transport plan came back on Thursday.

The motorcade arrived. Cars were unloaded.

More equipment and the bomb sniffing dogs arrived on Thursday.

The cars headed to the nearest gas station for fueling.


Hubby and I planned to watch the graduation ceremony on TV. We talked about driving to a nearby hill to watch the President's plane land on Friday afternoon. But on Thursday evening about 9:30, our niece called and asked if I wanted to go to the ceremony. Sherry had a friend who had two extra tickets. Sherry wanted to know if I'd like to go with her. LIKE TO GO WITH HER???? Heck YES!

Sherry got to Watertown about 12:30 Friday. We headed to a parking lot for shuttle service, one of the school buses. The ceremony was to begin at 4:00. Most tickets were general admission. First people there got to choose their seats.

We certainly weren't the first in line. The line was a block long when we got there. Sherry found her friend with the extra tickets, and we moved up in the line, about half the distance. The wind was blowing. The air was chilly.

I AM GOING TO SEE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! 

The protestors for the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline were in the park across the street.

Bomb sniffing dogs were present, but silent.

My camera bag had never been searched so thoroughly. TSA officials were on hand for the searching and scanning.

What an honor for our community, our two-year community college, the 600+ graduates, and me!

We took our obligatory photos and then headed upstairs to find seats with a back rest. We had at least a two hour wait.

Our selfie. Sherry was one of the flower girls at our wedding. She and her husband, and the youngest of their three sons, attended and graduated LATI.

The ever present secret service gentleman near the stage. I felt I had a great view. 

Camera crews started filling in about 3:15. The doors were to be closed at 3:30. Ceremony to begin at 4:00.

4:00. No graduates. No president. We got word from other people on their phones, that the graduation was delayed about an hour. The President had not arrived. I posted this photo on FB at 4:00 and got a message from an acquaintance in OR; the President had left there. He was meeting with the folks from Nike in Portland.

We knew he had arrived when the White House press crew walked in and began to get organized.

The graduates filed in, filling the empty chairs.

And there he was...

all smiles and graciousness.

This photo is for all the comments I have seen or read how the President does not honor the flag of the United States or our national anthem. His hand is over his heart. He is facing the flag hanging on the wall and he was mouthing the words to our nation's song. (Yes, I was watching him and taking photos. I will see and honor the flag and our nation many more times. I probably will not be in attendance of a President honoring the flag or the song ever again.)

Once the President was on stage, another agent stood at the other corner. Not visible are the other 3 agents on each side who were constantly scanning the crowd. We had a woman on our side.

The Republican governor of South Dakota was the first speaker. He is not a friend of education, K-12. He shared how the state has a program to help a few students planning to attend two year colleges. Of course, that is what the President was going to talk about; helping all students wanting to attend and work for an education from a two-year college.

The audience (maybe 4000 people) was respectful, and totally into the President's speech. I think he surprised 90% of the people by sharing the personal stories of four of the graduates, and two faculty members.

He was animated, easy to listen to, humorous, complimentary and personable.

He congratulated the success of the school, the graduates and the community. The only politics was his proposal to offer free schooling to students wanting to attend two-year colleges. It most likely won't happen.  

I have read he had a teleprompter for his speech. I did not see it. He never looked down at the notebook he had at the podium. The face of the podium was covered. I was VERY IMPRESSED at how he knew the names and details of the students he mentioned in his speech. 

It was about 6:00 when the speeches concluded. The President was given gifts from the school. He left the stage wearing the jacket the students gave him. After he left the building, a man in a dark suit came on stage and removed the Presidential seal from the front of the podium, amid a dismayed audience.

We stayed while about a fourth of the students received their diplomas and then decided we were hungry and ready to head home.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of the decorated caps, usually from the women students, although I did see some not-so-creative stickers on some of the men's caps.

TV trucks and vans at the back door.

Friday afternoon was an AWESOME experience. In how many other countries of the world would the elected leader come to a small community and deliver the commencement speech? In how many other countries of the world could people sit in a high school arena and listen to their leader speak? In how many other countries would the leader actually come to the people? Whether you agree with the President or not, he is the leader of our country, voted into office by the majority of the people. He deserves respect as a person and as our President. Watertown SD did just that Friday afternoon. 

Thank you Sherry, for thinking of me Thursday night. I am honored, as I know you could have asked many others to sit with you. I enjoyed our visiting because we do not do it often enough. Friday was the start of a pretty special Mothers Day weekend, thanks to you.