DCC staff members go to historic inauguration

Four Danville Community College staff members will travel different paths to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, but they will be among the millions to converge at the National Mall for Barack Obama’s historic inauguration.

“I want to be a part of history,” Lisa Knight, business manager at DCC, said Thursday.

She and her 11-year-old daughter, Whitney, will ride on a chartered bus overnight Monday to travel to Washington, D.C., for the event.

“A cousin of mine from Caswell County (N.C.), who is big into politics, has chartered a bus,” she said. “The buses have a designated area to park, and then we will be shuttled and have a 15-minute walk to the National Mall.”

Even though Knight’s a little nervous about the crowds, she wants to be there.

“I tell people I went to Richmond when (former Gov.) Doug Wilder was inaugurated and went to a ball,” she said. “Now my daughter will be able to tell her children that she was there in the crowd when Obama was inaugurated.”

Patricia Alderson, financial aid office secretary, has the best seats in the group because her brother-in-law is active in Michigan state politics and has a friend who is a Michigan congressman.

“My brother-in-law got tickets from his friend, so he and his wife are flying in Thursday, and we are driving to my son’s in Maryland,” she said. “We will be taking the Metro in and have to be in line by 9 (a.m.). Once we get inside the cordoned-off area, we won’t be able to leave.”

She said that every congressman got 190 tickets, which adds up to about 240,000 people in the cordoned-off area.

“Supposedly, we will have a chair, but I’m skeptical,” she said. “I’m very hopeful that I least will be able to see Barack Obama. He’s supposed to make appearances at the balls.”

They also have tickets to an inaugural ball on Tuesday night at the National Museum of American History.

“I have a new gown for that,” Alderson said, “but for the inauguration, I will wear the warmest thing I have. No one will be paying attention.”

Mary Gore, a financial aid coordinator, said she is a person who likes to be prepared. She has “just in case” bought a one-day Metro pass and bus fare and signed up for the “D.C. Alert” on her cell phone to alert her to any security problems during the inaugural events.

Gore will be on one of two buses being chartered by the Danville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. They will leave Monday night to drive to RFK Stadium and then ride the Metro to L’Enfant Plaza to join the crowds.

“I am excited about the opportunity to witness in my lifetime the swearing-in of the 44th president and first African-American president of the U.S.,” she said. “I am excited about the hope that he has given to America. That hope is that you can be whatever you want to be. All you have to do is prepare yourself, work hard and be honest.”

Gore said she started making plans the day after Obama was elected and tried to get a hotel room in Washington, D.C., that day, but they were already booked up.

“This is the most exciting, momentous thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

Lauren Graves is a Danville native working part-time at DCC as she takes a break from the cold temperatures at the University of Chicago, where she is a graduate student. She has used her contacts from previous jobs and the social networking available on Facebook to get tickets to the inauguration and several balls afterward.

“I worked on Obama’s campaign with the early voting and went to Grant Park on election night, so I decided I would either road trip from Chicago or be in Danville and go up for the inauguration,” she said. “I’m leaving Saturday and will be at a gala or party every night until I get back the next Saturday.”

Graves will be staying with the parents of a friend of hers who lives in Arlington and then walking the 10 minutes (depending on foot traffic) across a bridge to get to the ceremony.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “My plan is to finish my master’s degree and move to Northern Virginia and work for the Department of Labor before the Obama administration is over.”