'Thrill of a Lifetime' to See Obama
Some Robbinsdale Cooper High School students performed for the president on their last day of school.
Photos
President Barack Obama greeted an enthusiastic crowd on Friday at Honeywell in Golden Valley while on a quick trip through the Twin Cities.
The crowd of at least 200 arrived with smiles and cameras in hand. The audience, which was mostly made up of Honeywell employees, waited for the President to speak from the floor they work on every day.
"It's not often you get to see the president at work," Rich Pearson, a Honeywell employee from Vadnais Heights, said with a chuckle. "There has been a lot of excitement about his arrival all week. Everybody has been talking about it."
Obama spoke to the crowd from a podium that was just feet away from heavy pieces of machinery Honeywell uses to create gadgets used to promote energy efficiency.
"It's an honor to have President Obama here," said Mary Peterson, a Honeywell employee from Anoka. The machine services worker came to work at 6 a.m. to make sure she could be in the crowd, which was determined on a first-come, first-serve basis.
She wasn't the only one willing to wait for hours to catch a glimpse of the President. A steady trickle of people filled the factory floor all morning. Media crews were on site at 4 a.m. to have live trucks set up. Once inside, people stood along metal barricades for hours to make sure they were in good picture-taking range of the president.
The Robbinsdale Cooper Chamber Singers had a good line of sight. The group of 24 singers found out late Wednesday they would sing the National Anthem at the event.
“When I found out we were singing, I couldn’t believe it,” Senior Adrian Whitney said. Friday is the last day of school for seniors at Cooper High School. “I can’t think of a better way to spend my last day at school,” she said. “It’s not just a memorable experience, it’s a thrill of a lifetime.”
Obama spoke for about 30 minutes to the tightly packed crowd. After he spoke, he shook a few hands in the crowd and was whisked away in the motorcade.
Dawn Lash
7:38 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
I am so disappointed that I didn't know President Obama was in the area. I live in St. Louis Park, MN which is right next to Golden Valley and could have easily gone also. Why wasn't this event publicized beforehand, or did I just miss it?
Kevira Voegele
10:13 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Hi Dawn. The event at Honeywell was not open to the public, so it wasn't highly publicized. Twin Cities media mentioned it, but briefly. Golden Valley Patch ran a story on Wednesday—http://goldenvalley.patch.com/articles/obama-to-visit-honeywell—and another on Thursday—http://goldenvalley.patch.com/articles/cooper-students-to-sing-during-obama-s-visit—to let people know that he would be in town.
Donna Schmitt
7:43 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Great pictures!
Jim Edward
8:30 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Just curious, did obama have his hands over his groin area as he usually does when the national anthem is played?
Terry Hassan
11:04 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
What a hater! Your mind is in the groin!
Ken Coy
3:28 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Asking a legitimate question is not hate, so stop with the name-calling.
Kimma
12:17 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
I agree with Terry! Thankyou.
And Ken it was not a "legitimate" question and you know that. It was a derogatory statement and it was imature and hatefilled, so Terry is not calling anyone names, she was simply calling an apple and apple.
Ken Coy
1:00 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Of course it was a legitimate question. You might not like it because it puts a negative light on Obama's normal actions, but that doesn't make it any less legitimate. And it sure doesn't portray hatred or racism, which is the typical BS that comes up when someone says anything about Obama other than singing his praises. I'm guessing it's a moot point anyway since they normally don't play the national anthem at those types of gatherings (R or D).
Lisa Anderson
2:16 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
He wasn't even present when the choir sang. He was touring the building. Students were disappointed.
John
10:07 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
So is Honeywell going to start hiring people. They say they hire vets. I see no sign of that.
Edward
12:56 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
The articles mention they've hired 500 vets in the past year or so, exceeding their own internal targets for vet hires.
Terry Elliott
11:08 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
So the fund-raiser circus come to the Twin Cities, after Chicago and after tip-toeing around Wisconsin (wonder why?). Why won't his deputy Harry Reid bring up the 30 bills already passed by the House to create jobs? Not even for debate? They've sat there for months; not a word from the Fund Raiser in Chief.
Edward
1:10 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Obama skipped Wisconsin, but Clinton is there as his proxy. Why is he skipping Wisconsin? What sitting national level politician (from either side), in their right mind, would want to show up in a polarized, near civil-war zone? That's political suicide, for any moderate Republicans or moderate Democrat (and Obama is a centrist).
Edward
1:11 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Note that Romney isn't showing up in Wisconsin right now either. Like I said, it's political suicide for either one of them.
bill
12:04 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
I encourage everyone to read his book, Dreams from My Father. You will learn what your president is all about. You will probably think twice about voting for him for a second term.
Jim Edward
8:20 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Just remember to check this book out from the library. If you buy it, it's money in his pocket.
Joyce Denn
10:47 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
I read it, and I found it inspiring - it is the story of a young man of mixed race trying to understand his identity. I have a mixed race stepson, and I can see how anyone of mixed race would identify with Obama's youthful struggle in our racially polarized society.
Edward
11:34 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
I read it. Great book, and it's a wonder this man got through the obstacles thrown up by society to succeed -- raised by white parent and grandparents who saw that he got the best education they could afford, even though they lived a lower middle class existence. He goes on to become editor of Harvard Law Review and Constitutional law expert among many other great achievements. An amazing man.
Yes, everyone should read it to understand the depth of his character and challenges he faced in his early formation. Wonderful story about overcoming great odds, and that is a uniquely American story. Everyone can make it here if they work hard, and Obama is proof of that.
Ken Coy
1:14 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
What other great achievements? And he's not considered to be an "expert" on constitutional law except by his sycophants, so that's not really an achievement. But if we give you that one and give that being an editor of the Harvard Law Review is a "great" accomplishment that's only two things. Being elected to political office is not really an accomplishment (lots of people have done that), so what kind of consensus great things has he done?
Edward
1:28 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
He taught Constitutional law at University of Chicago. U of Chicago is a top school, and they don't accept dog meat as adjunct professors . . . just saying'
Other achievements? Well, being a US Senator and president of the United States surely counts for something ??
Consensus great things? Well, health care reform wasn't a walk in the park, and he got that done. Come to think of it, getting Congress to agree on anything is an exercise in torture . . . take a look at the gray hair he has now vs. what he had when he took office ;-)
Larry Reynolds
8:56 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Honeywell, like Halliburton, has been part of the military industrial complex for decades, making billions of dollars from government
weapons contracts. It is, therefore, ironic that some people are thinking that Honeywell must be a pro-left corporation, simply because a Democratic president gave a speech there. Most are too young to remember that Honeywell was once the target of nationally renowned anti-war protests and hundreds of arrests.
Jim Edward
3:25 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Terry and Kimma,
How do you read any hate out of my question? Read it again, it was really quite simple. You two are the ones that are spewing HATE. I hate to admit it but I believed every word he said to get to be elected President. Probably the only person I really hate is myself for voting for him, and I've never been involved in ANY entitlement programs. Looks like I will be, in a round-about way though as I'll be paying for the health insurance for the illegal aliens out of my SS that I've worked my whole life for. Evidently it's not going to cost you anything and you can keep heaping praise on him. If you vote for him, it will only be a matter of time until you are kicking yourself in the rear just as I am doing. If he gets in again, I hope I can still afford the internet and see how much praise you heap on him after a year.
Bubbles
9:13 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Jim, you and I are already paying for health care for uninsured people who use emergency rooms as primary care. I hear a lot of FOX talking points in your 'fair and balanced' comments.
Jim Edward
10:13 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Bubbles, This is true. You can hear reports on T.V. and in the paper about how ill prepared our emergency rooms are. This is why. Got a headache? Go to the emergency room and get something for it. They can't turn you down no matter who you are. I read a couple of months ago that some emergency rooms are closing down because they can't afford to lose any more money. This is minor compared to what is coming.