Norton Gets D.C. National Guard Members to Select Names for Inauguration Tickets Through a Lottery
Norton Gets D.C. National Guard Members to Select Names for Inauguration Tickets Through a Lottery
January 12, 2009
Washington, D.C. - As promised, the Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that 100 inaugural swearing-in tickets were randomly chosen by two members of the D.C. National Guard. The names, drawn by Maj. Millard Pooran, M.D., of the Air National Guard, and Sgt. Edward Weldon III, of the Army National Guard, both D.C. residents who have served in Iraq, were drawn from residents who contacted Norton's office before 6 p.m. on Nov. 7 when Norton's office was compelled by the huge demand to cease taking names. Residents whose names were drawn will be contacted by Norton's office no later than 6 p.m. today. Norton's office asks that residents refrain from calling the office to avoid jamming the phones. That office will notify all ticket holders. Residents will be asked to personally pick up their tickets, show identification, and sign for them, or give written permission for an authorized person to receive the tickets and not to sell these free tickets. Only stand-up tickets are available.
"The drawing was held this morning to avoid delay to residents who have been anxious for tickets since Obama was elected," Norton said. "On Nov. 5, the morning after the election, before we could announce the availability of tickets and set a date and method to apply, our phones and computers were overwhelmed with requests. Our residents have been justifiably excited because we are thrilled that the President-elect and his family will be living in our city. My only regret is that, despite our efforts to get additional tickets, particularly from other members of Congress, the numbers were limited for us, and for other members. Fortunately, however, there will be many residents who will gather to share the great joy of the election of the President-elect at sites around the city with friends and neighbors." After several days of overwhelmed phones and computers, Norton's office stopped at 10,000 names because only 198 tickets would be made available by the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC).
"I am especially pleased that two D.C. residents, Iraq veterans and active members of our own D.C. National Guard, chose the ticket recipients," Norton said. "They will be on duty at the inauguration, but they each also will receive two tickets. We are proud, as well, of Errol Scwartz, Commanding General of our D.C. National Guard, who will command all the military on duty at the inauguration," she added. Maj. Pooran is a fight surgeon in the 121st Fighter Squadron and a surgical critical care doctor at Washington Hospital Center; Weldon, of the 275th Military Police Company, also is a physical security specialist in the National Guard Bureau. Pooran was deployed to Iraq in 2006; Weldon was deployed in 2007. They selected the names this morning in the Office of the Congresswoman about 10 a.m.
The Office asks that lucky ticket holders accept tickets only if they are prepared for the weather and other conditions that PIC and Metro authorities say residents will find: 1) cold weather; 2) walks of two miles or more; 3) necessary early arrival, bearing in mind the time needed to get through possibly record-breaking crowds; 4) security gates open at 8a.m., but no guests searched after 11:30 a.m., when the ceremony begins; 5) long periods without use of restroom facilities, most of which will be out doors; 6) subways that will not stop for safety reasons at overcrowded stations, causing some perhaps to have difficulty getting on the subway or having to disembark at a different stop and walk to destinations. Residents are advised to bring only children accustomed to or old enough to accept these conditions. No tickets are needed for most of the Mall where large jumbotrons will show the swearing-in.
When ticket holders receive their tickets, they will be provided with a list of PIC rules, regulations, and restrictions, such as the prohibition on carrying coolers. The best information concerning the inauguration can be found at the Norton website at www.norton.house.gov, which also will be linked to the website for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, at www.senate.gov, and to the District's official site for inauguration activities at www.inauguration.dc.gov.
The Congresswoman has been promoting off-Mall alternatives that will allow the public to feel that they are a part of the event without enduring the crowds on the National Mall. She specifically asked the many churches located in the downtown area to open their doors and has been pleased that many churches and entertainment establishments will be hosting viewing parties and other activities to engage and accommodate the public. The Congresswoman's plans to host an open house in her Capitol Hill Office had to be changed because of security and traffic concerns.