|
By Scott Nicholson, in the Watauga Democrat, 01/12/09:
A Watauga County
man planning a future in politics was among those selected to receive highly
sought tickets to the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama.
Jesse Presnell was among 1,900 people who requested tickets from U.S. Rep
Virginia Foxx’s office for the event. Of those, about 50 people were selected
in a random drawing.
Presnell, of Sugar Grove, is a self-described “political junkie” and Caldwell
Community College & Technical Institute student and will be attending the
inauguration with other young Democratic leaders.
Presnell was president of CCC&TI’s Student Government Association last year
and moved to Watauga
County this year to
continue his education at CCC&TI’s Watauga branch.
“I got involved with the Young
Democrats of North Carolina,” he said. “I was president of the chapter. I am a
bit of a political science junkie, and I watch C-SPAN five or six hours a day.
After getting involved in the Democratic Party, I became really interested in
the Senate and the Administration and the candidacy of Obama.”
Presnell will go to the capital with Andrew Ball, the president of the Watauga
County Young Democrats, and Zack Hawkins, president of the North Carolina Young
Democrats. Presnell said he worked in a number of 2008 campaigns “under the
radar” for several Democratic candidates, and that helped give him a stake in
the new administration.
“Honestly, being there with all the people witnessing a historical moment,” he
said, giving his reason for wanting to attend.
“I’m the first member of my family to go to an inaugural event and, since I’m
20, this was my first presidential election, and I’m actually getting to travel
to see it.”
Presnell foresees a future in politics, though he’s not sure which side of the
legislative aisle he’ll be working, since he sees some potential as a lobbyist.
“My goal is to eventually work towards becoming a state senator and eventually
even a governor. I’ve always been interested in public service, and I was
interested in lobbying. I enjoy working with the legislation and advocating for
the people,” Presnell said.
Presnell said he’d submitted a request even before Foxx announced the lottery.
He will travel to Washington,
D.C. on Jan. 19 to pick up his
tickets, then stay through Jan. 21.
He will be staying with friends on the first night, then traveling with a bus
tour the remaining two days.
Presnell said there were a number of events he’d like to attend, though he has
no fixed itinerary yet. He has the Rock the Ball concert on his list, though.
“I’ll probably just end up traveling back and forth and seeing what’s going on
in Washington,”
he said....
Presnell plans to continually update his blog during the inauguration weekend
at www.jpresnell.blogspot.com.
|
