Obama in Ferndale? White House calls about presidential visit

SAM TAYLOR - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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FERNDALE - It was a hopeful letter sent to a president who campaigned on that very feeling.

Now, that one letter from staff at the Ferndale Boys & Girls Club might bring President Obama to the town for a ceremony at its soon-to-be new facility.

In January, Christine Destry, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County director of Organizational Advancement, decided to let the president know about the fire that ripped through the former club on New Year's Day 2007 and how federal stimulus money was helping build a new place to serve the more than 1,400 kids who hang out there. Why not invite the president to a ceremony to acknowledge the success story, Destry said.

On Tuesday, June 30, a White House scheduler called and said they were considering coming in spring 2010. There are, of course, no guarantees of getting Obama here.

"It's really exciting," Destry said. "I understand now what it means when people say at the Academy Awards that 'It's an honor just to be nominated.'"

Destry said on Thursday, July 2, that a scheduler called back to say that they'll be contacting her again in a few months because they're not scheduling events that far in advance. Destry added that the schedulers do appointments for four people to potentially make visits: President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden.

Staff members of the local clubs have been working on a capital campaign to raise $5 million for the new facility in Pioneer Park.

So far, they're at about $4.6 million, Destry said. The club received two different stimulus grants for more than $800,000 from the federal government.

They're still working to raise more.

"We're in the home stretch, but it's like when you're running a marathon, the last mile is the hardest," Destry said. "We're especially feeling that what with the economy."

Lynn Templeton, executive director and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County, said they don't want to get anyone's hopes up because the president likely gets thousands of similar requests, but they were still surprised.

"It might be a one in 1 million shot," Templeton said, "but we were stunned to receive a phone call from the White House."