43
Many from Mahoning Valley trek to inaugural
WASHINGTON
Dozens of Mahoning Valley residents will travel to the nation’s capital to witness the historic inauguration of Donald Trump.
For Ruth Nabb of Boardman, who worked as a volunteer for the Republican president-elect and has been involved in GOP politics for about 20 years, this will be her first inauguration.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been as pumped up for a candidate as Trump,” she said. “It’s been such a rewarding experience working to get him elected. I’m very excited about the inauguration.”
Nabb has invitations to all of the big events Friday: the parade, the swearing-in ceremony and an inaugural ball.
When the invitation arrived Jan. 7 in the mail, Nabb said her husband Vernon – who also volunteered for Trump – was napping.
“I’m pumped up and ready to go,” she said she told him, adding, “and he went back to sleep.”
Although Nabb’s husband isn’t going to Washington, D.C., for the inaugural celebration, she has a number of friends who are traveling with her. Among them is Tracey Winbush of Youngstown, who served as chairwoman for Trump’s campaign in Mahoning County and will be attending her third presidential inauguration. The other two were for George W. Bush in 2005 and Barack Obama in 2009.
“The first one was extremely exciting and extremely cold,” she said. “I went to Obama’s even though he’s a Democrat because of the historic aspect of him being the first African-American president. I wanted to be there because I’m African-American and I never thought I’d ever see an African-American male sworn in as president.”
This will be Winbush’s first presidential inaugural ball. Tickets were $60 per person.
“Its the cheapest thing in D.C. I’ve seen,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the ball. I’m very excited. But if it’s too cold, I’m watching the swearing-in from a restaurant.”
Winbush said she doesn’t know what to expect at the Trump inauguration.
“In 2009, everyone was skipping down the street, and everyone was happy,” she said. “I don’t know what it will be like with this one. There is still opposition. I don’t see it being as exuberant” as eight years ago.
Bruce Zoldan, chief executive officer of B.J. Alan Co. in Youngstown and a prominent political donor who met Dec. 13 with Trump, is co-hosting a fundraiser for football legend Jim Brown’s Amer-I-Can inner-city outreach program at the request of Trump and the president-elect’s transition team. Tickets are $1,000 each for the Thursday afternoon event at the law office of K&L Gates that overlooks the White House. The office can hold about 150 to 200 people with Amer-I-Can getting all of the proceeds.
Among those being honored at the event is Omarosa Manigault, a Youngstown native and reality TV personality who was recently selected by Trump as an assistant to him and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison.
The guests being honored and attending include former college basketball coach Bobby Knight, retired NFL player Ray Lewis and Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle.
“Hopefully this will be the catalyst to bring a program the new president will bring to Congress to fund this nationally to help inner-city blight and violence,” Zoldan said. “Jim Brown’s organization has proven itself, but like all foundations, it needs money.”
This will be Zoldan’s fifth inauguration, and he will be at the inaugural ball.
“You can work with Donald Trump and get something done,” Zoldan said. “I’m getting negative comments from friends who aren’t Donald Trump fans, but truthfully, I’m a believer. I love to network and I love to make friends on both sides of the aisle. It’s a healthy thing to bring people together from the Democratic and Republican sides. We might have different opinions, but we can work together.”
U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, an early Trump supporter, will attend his second inauguration. He was at Obama’s in 2013.
Unlike the inauguration of four years ago, Johnson said Trump’s will be a “scaled-back event. The parade will be done fairly quickly.”
This will be Johnson’s first inaugural ball.
“There will be a lot of pomp and circumstance,” he said. “My wife [LeeAnn, who was a member of the Electoral College] is a classically trained dancer, and she’s guiding me on the steps to ballroom dancing. I’m not that good at it. I’m out of practice.”
More than the inauguration, Johnson said he’s excited about getting down to work with the incoming president and Congress.
“There’s a certain level of excitement about being able to move on some issues we’ve felt very passionate about: job creation, energy production, repealing and replacing health care,” he said. “But watching the transition of one president to another is a fascinating and humbling experience. It is an unbelievable sight to see the tens of thousands of people coming to our nation’s capital to watch.”
The election didn’t go the way U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, wanted, but he said he’s looking forward to attending his fourth inauguration. His first was Republican George W. Bush in 2005.
“I’ll be participating in the peaceful transition of power,” he said. “I’ve come full circle from a Republican to Democratic twice [Obama] and now Republican. It’s tough when your preferred candidate doesn’t get it, but it’s still awesome to be at the Capitol with the Senate and the House and the Supreme Court justices and all the living presidents. It’s an impressive day to be an American.”
Mary Theis of Howland, who served as Trumbull County chairwoman of Women for Trump, is among a group of women from the organization going to the inauguration.
“It will be quite an affair,” she said. “It’s going to be enjoyable. I’ve been involved in politics for many years, and this is the first time I’ve been invited to a presidential inauguration. I would have voted for Trump regardless of his party affiliation. He said it the way it was. People promise everything, and do nothing when they get to Washington. I hope he will be different. If not, four years will come fast.
Going with Theis is Cathy Lukasko of Brookfield, along with her husband Alec and daughter Kelly.
“It’s my first inauguration and I’m excited to be a part of history and see a new direction for our country,” Lukasko said.
Lukasko’s husband had hip replacement surgery Monday but is still going.
“They drop you off at your location for the inauguration, and you stand for eight hours,” she said. “But his surgeon said he could go.”
There will be plenty of high school students from the Valley making the trip to experience the inauguration.
Seventeen students from the Lordstown High School Political History Club and 10 adult chaperones will be at the swearing-in. Club members spent 2016 traveling to various political rallies, the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and the Iowa caucus.
The group leaves Tuesday and will visit various historic landmarks in D.C. and meet with elected congressional members, said Terry Armstrong, Lordstown schools superintendent, who is one of the chaperones.
“I can’t tell the students enough about how great the experience is to go to the inauguration,” said Armstrong, who’s attended two.
Lindsey Burns, a high school junior and Democrat, said while she doesn’t support Trump, “it will be cool to see a president get inaugurated. It’s going to be a great experience.”
Blaze Miller, a high school sophomore who backed Trump after Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic primary, will be going to Washington for the first time.
“I’m most excited to see the inauguration,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Addison Wilson, a high school sophomore and Trump supporter, said the president-elect is “the change that America needs. I’m looking forward to watching the inauguration and seeing the monuments. I feel very privileged to know I’ll see him get sworn in and see the passing of power in America. I have high expectations for a Trump administration.”
Courtney Gibson, the club’s adviser and a Lordstown High School teacher, is also attending her first presidential inauguration.
“I’m very excited, but I’m more excited to see the faces of the kids,” she said. “We’re so lucky to be able to go. I can’t wait for our kids to experience this. It bring the lessons we teach them to life.”
Also, 37 students from Columbiana County high schools, accompanied by three adult chaperones, will attend the inauguration.