Many people paid big bucks to hear former President Bill Clinton speak at RiverPark Center in Owensboro Wednesday night. But a group of 9th grade students from five high schools not only got to hear his speech, they met Mr. Clinton before he took the stage.
It's not every day you get to see the President, and it's not every day you get to meet him.
"When they said it was time to go meet Bill Clinton, we all rushed back to the VIP room and we waited until they said that we could go and get a picture and we were all so like, oh my gosh, what is going on right now? I felt like I was about to faint," Sarah Hale said.
"It was great. I had butterflies in my stomach, it was just, I was like, man this really can't be happening. I'm actually here and Clinton's right in this room and it was awesome," Jenee Hardin said.
Before former President Bill Clinton gave his speech Wednesday night at Owensboro's RiverPark Center, 18 students from the Ford Leadership Program got to shake hands with him. They also took a group picture with Clinton and former Senator Wendell Ford. The students are all 9th graders and are from five western Kentucky high schools. Owensboro High School students, Sarah Hale and Jenee Hardin were selected to be in the program.
"I'm a big believer in you make your own luck. Kids who make good decisions and do the right thing and are in the right place at the right time are going to have opportunities that are going to be pretty special, and this proves that," Ford Center Education Director, Nancy Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw says the students served as ushers at the event, and showed a lot of poise. The young leaders say they feel extremely lucky to get this once in a lifetime opportunity.
"His hair was white and he was a little skinnier than I thought he was, than I'd seen in pictures, but he was very nice," Hale said.
"He was really nice and you could tell that he really cared. Like he wasn't just there because he had to be, he was there because he cared about us and about the program," Hardin said.
The event raised $449,000 which will benefit the Wendell Ford Government Education Center.
It's not every day you get to see the President, and it's not every day you get to meet him.
"When they said it was time to go meet Bill Clinton, we all rushed back to the VIP room and we waited until they said that we could go and get a picture and we were all so like, oh my gosh, what is going on right now? I felt like I was about to faint," Sarah Hale said.
"It was great. I had butterflies in my stomach, it was just, I was like, man this really can't be happening. I'm actually here and Clinton's right in this room and it was awesome," Jenee Hardin said.
Before former President Bill Clinton gave his speech Wednesday night at Owensboro's RiverPark Center, 18 students from the Ford Leadership Program got to shake hands with him. They also took a group picture with Clinton and former Senator Wendell Ford. The students are all 9th graders and are from five western Kentucky high schools. Owensboro High School students, Sarah Hale and Jenee Hardin were selected to be in the program.
"I'm a big believer in you make your own luck. Kids who make good decisions and do the right thing and are in the right place at the right time are going to have opportunities that are going to be pretty special, and this proves that," Ford Center Education Director, Nancy Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw says the students served as ushers at the event, and showed a lot of poise. The young leaders say they feel extremely lucky to get this once in a lifetime opportunity.
"His hair was white and he was a little skinnier than I thought he was, than I'd seen in pictures, but he was very nice," Hale said.
"He was really nice and you could tell that he really cared. Like he wasn't just there because he had to be, he was there because he cared about us and about the program," Hardin said.
The event raised $449,000 which will benefit the Wendell Ford Government Education Center.
