As President Barack Obama prepares to give his inaugural address on Monday, two women from the valley are in Washington D.C. ready to hear him speak.
Doctor Gwendolyn Stewart has been an educator for more than 30 years and Gloria Brown is president of Madera’s chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.. Both says it’s a dream come true getting a chance to see the first African American president sworn in on Martin Luther King day.
“Just real excited about going,” said Dr. Gwendolyn Stewart.
“It's all worked out. Everything just fell in line and we thank the lord for it,” said Gloria Brown.
Late last year, these ladies from Madera discussed how great it would be to attend president Barack Obama’s swearing in ceremony. So they booked their trip after finding a flight at a bargain price.
“$399 round trip, so we snatched those up,” Brown explained.
They contacted some of our local representatives from congress asking for passes to the ceremony. Then two weeks ago, they received an email granting their wish.
“We were screaming on the phone,” said Brown.
Congressman Jim Costa of Fresno is the man who issued the tickets. Brown and Dr. Stewart are forever grateful to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity.
“Personally this means a lot to me in terms of living history,” said Dr. Stewart.
“We're excited, overwhelmingly excited. This is just an amazing event for us to go to,” said Brown.
An interesting moment happened shortly after Costa gave the women their tickets. They received a second offer from Senator Barbara Boxer. They of course let someone else have those passes.
