Newspaper Page Text
The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 11
Inauguration Tickets... Continued from page 1
The Eagle Has Landed
The United States Capitol. Credit: www.inaugural.senate.gov
in the front seat of the White
House or the back seat of the
airplane or bus, we will find a
way to see and make history,”
wrote “Trisha” on a Nov. 8
blog about the swearing-in on
www.aolblackvoices.com.
Only a few days after
Obama trounced erstwhile
rival Sen. John McCain, R-
Ariz., to win the 2008 presi
dential contest, demand for
tickets have already exceeded
supply. Though free, inaugu
ration tickets are limited in
number—240,000—and dis
tributed through members of
Congress about a week before
the event.
The day after the elec
tion, District Del. Eleanor
Holmes Norton said she set
up a special telephone line
and e-mail address to take
requests, but her office was
inundated with so many calls
that it stymied other urgent
non-inauguration related calls
and she had to stop taking
names.
Norton said she is wor
ried this foreshadows even
worse conditions to come.
“I share the excitement
and enthusiasm of my con
stituents, but I am concerned
that even the few who obtain
tickets will not be able to get
through the crowds at the
Mall,” Norton said in a state
ment. “The only people sure
to get a view of the parade
and the swearing-in are the
people who watch it on tele
vision in the comfort of their
homes.”
Officials say with peo
ple determined to partici
pate—whether they have
tickets or not—they expect
the crowds to surpass the 1.2
million that attended
President Lyndon Johnson’s
swearing-in in 1965. Norton,
a member of the Homeland
Security Committee, said she
plans to meet next week with
security officials to discuss
the ramifications.
“An entirely new game
plan will be needed to cope
with an inauguration like
none the country has ever
seen,” Norton said.
Already, officials have
had to deal with fraudulent
Web sites and others exploit
ing people’s desperation by
selling them “free” tickets.
“Any Web site or ticket
broker claiming that they
have inaugural tickets is sim
ply not telling the truth,” said
Howard Gantman, staff direc
tor for the Joint
Congressional Committee on
Inaugural Ceremonies. “We
urge the public to view any
offers of tickets for sale with
great skepticism...An entirely
new game plan will be need
ed to cope with an inaugura
tion like none the country has
ever seen.”
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Most remain hopeful—
even adamant—about partici
pating in the days-long cele
bration. People have already
booked airline and bus tickets,
even before inauguration tick
ets became available. And
hotel rooms are filling up
quickly.
William Hanbury, presi
dent of Destination DC, the
District's convention and
tourism arm, told The
Washington Post, the area's
95,000 hotel rooms are filling
up faster than for previous
inaugurations. "There are still
a lot of rooms available, but
people need to be doing trans
actions now if they are serious
about coming," Hanbury said,
adding that people may soon
have to resort to "innovative
accommodations."
"The church group from
Atlanta, the high school from
Chicago — they're all trying to
find places to stay. You're
going to have people sleeping
in church basements and high
school cafeterias," Hanbury
predicted.
The unprecedented
interest in the 56th inaugura
tion is a testament to the man
and his message but also the
historic overtones.
Celebrated under the
theme, "A New Birth of
Freedom," Obama's inaugura
tion commemorates the 200th
anniversary of Abraham
Lincoln's birth. And for
African-Americans, especial
ly, the day is equally auspi
cious since it falls on the day
after Dr. Martin Luther King
Day.
The Rev. A1 Sharpton,
civil rights leader and presi
dent of the National Action
Network, said he plans to
move his annual King Day
celebration from New York to
Washington and to stick
around to celebrate Obama.
"We're going to have
tens of thousands of people
there," Sharpton told the New
York Daily News. "It's going
to be a four-day civil rights
weekend."
Col. Bobby W. Jones
Recently promoted
Colonel Bobby Wayne Jones
is the fourth of seven chil
dren bom to the late Arlee
and Eamestine Jones. He
grew up in Altheimer, AR
and graduated as salutatorian
from Altheimer High School
in 1979.
He earned a bachelor's
degree from the University of
Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR in
1984 and doctorate of medi
cine from the University of
Arkansas for Medical
Sciences in 1990. He com
pleted an internship and resi
dency in internal medicine at
the Dwight David
Eisenhower Army Medical
Center at Fort Gordon,
Augusta, GA.
Subsequent assign
ments included Walter Reed
Army Medical Center in
Washington, DC., and Tripler
Army Medical Center in
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Operational assignments
included brigade surgeon and
flight surgeon duties for the
famous "Rock of the Marne"
Division. Deployments
include the National Training
Center, Joint Readiness
Training Center, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
His next assignment
was with the 67th combat
Support Hospital in
Wurzburg, Germany. He is a
board certified internist and
currently assigned a the
Director of the Tuttle Army
Health Clinic on Hunter
Army Airfield, Savannah,
GA.
Col. Jones maintains
life memberships in the
Arkansas Alumni
Association, Alpha Phi
Omega National Service
Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, Inc. and the King-
Tisdale Cottage Foundation.
In 2006, he was one of ten
African-American alumni
selected by the University of
Arkansas to receive the inau
gural Silas Hunt Legacy
Award. He is a member of
the Thankful Missionary
Baptist Church in Savannah,
GA where he serves as a
Sunday School Teacher and
Co-Director of the Youth and
Teen Ministry. He delivered
his initial sermon in August
of 2006 and will be ordained
in December of this year. He
is married to the former
Corine Ackerson and they
have one son, Bradley.
Junior League.
i Continued from page 10
Sale was the busiest ever,
breaking records for both tick
et and floor sales.
"The proceeds from this
year's event will fund projects
in 2009," Edenfield explained.
"The funds from last year's
event were allocated to com
munity partners such as
Habitat for Humanity, Oatland
Island Education Center,
Coastal Children's Advocacy
Center and Union Mission, as
well as going towards the
League's Kid Who Care
Ceitury
Investors
Modern Conveniences - Well Maintained
One the Bus Line - Friendly Service
IKOS Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Savannah, Georgia 31405
912-136-7563
416 W 3416II.
SIS W. Sltfe 11.
5isw.33risi,
520 W. 33rd 11.
Til W. 33rd SI.
311/1525.00
311/1525.10
311/1525.10
311/1525.00
311/1925.01
Scholarship Program."
"We are immensely
appreciative of the support
this community has shown to
the League and our endeav
ors," Edenfield noted. "This
event could not have been a
success without the efforts of
hundreds of League members
and community partners, par
ticularly our platinum spon
sors, Publix Super Markets
Charities, Levy Jewelers and
SunTrust."
The funds raised from the
2008 Thrift Sale will go
towards community funding
that furthers the goal of advo
cacy for women and children
in need throughout the Low
Country, Coastal Empire and
Golden Isles. Non-profit
organizations whose missions
align with this goal are encour
aged to apply to the Junior
League for funding considera
tion. Applications for 2009
Community Assistance
Funding will be accepted
through Nov. 15. For informa
tion, call the Junior League of
Savannah Headquarters at
(912) 790-1002 or visit
www.jrleaguesavannah.org.
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