January 11, 2009 - With just eight days
away before the existing president makes the official transfer of U.S. power, rehearsals for both the swearing-in ceremony
and Inaugural parade found reporters and onlookers freezing in thirty-two degree temperatures on Sunday morning just
to get a glimpse at what all the pomp and circumstance will officially bring, come January 20, 2009.
On the East and West sides of the capitol,
media viewed the marching of the U.S. Navy band, the launching and take off of the Marine 1 helicopter (that will officially
seat the outgoing president), and view the stand-ins for President-elect Barack Obama.
Army Staff Sgt. Derrick Brooks, (741st Military Intelligence, Fort Meade, MD) was the official stand-in for President-elect. Staff Sgt Brooks said of the honor, “This is a great opportunity to be a part
of this historic moment.”
The stand-in for First Lady, Michelle
Obama was Navy Yeoman 1st Class, LaSean McCray. McCray is part of the
OPNAV Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education Command. McCray said of the
opportunity to stand in as First Lady that she was, “Very excited and honored, even if it’s for a drill.”
Ms. Dominique Sewell, (age 14) daughter of Army St. 1st Class, Natalie
Sewell-Johnson, was the stand in for Malia Obama, while Gianna Justic Samora-Nixon (age 10), daughter of Navy Yeoman Chief
Petty Officer Kenneth Nixon was the stand in Sasha Obama.
Spokesman for the Armed Forces Inaugural
Committee (AFIC), Major Andra (an-dray) Higgs
tells us that the historic nature of the inauguration “makes your heart warm”.
“When you think about where our
country has come, how far our country has come, and where things can possibly go in the future, it's a momentus occasion."
Higgs, who worked on the Clinton inauguration
in 1997, said that this inauguration, after thinking his first inauguration was a “once in a lifetime event”,
said he was truly honored to participant in this year's inaugural.
Later that morning, Pennsylvania Avenue
gave way to the rehearsal for the big inaugural parade.
A
few of the organizations invited to perform in the parade are T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria,
VA; the Dunbar Crimson Tide Marching Band; the VMI Corps of Cadets, and the Howard
University Showtime Marching Band.
We caught up with Howard's band director,
John Newson, to get his take on what this historical occasion means to the band and Howard University.
“I’m elated, and it’s
historical not only for Howard University, but also for the band itself. It’s been plenty of excitement, plenty of enjoyment,
number one with Barack Obama being the President, and above all with Howard being part of the inaugural parade”, Newson
said.
Mr. Newsom added that he did not have
tickets for himself for any of the inaugural events and said that after the band performs in the inaugural parade that “we’re
pretty much calling it quits.”
All-in-all, the rehearsals went well. The only news
of any real issues came from the parade officials who had this to say about the space in between the parade performers...
"Tighten up the space!"
The parade begins at 2:00 pm (get there
early) on January 20, 2009.
Our advice: Dress warmly.
Layer your clothing, wear heavy coats, hats, and earmuffs, thick gloves (my fingertips were freezing!), cover your
face with a scarf. Wear comfortable walking shoes. (My pedometer logged in over five
miles just covering the swearing-in ceremony and the parade rehearsals).
For more on the 2009 Inauguration of
the 44th President, visit http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/.
For
photos of the rehearsal click here. For our top picks of inaugural events, click here.
