Local Man Meets President Clinton For The Second Time
By: Casie Mason
Updated: March 10, 2013
It's a once and a lifetime opportunity for many, and Parker Johnson of Owensboro got it twice. He meet former President Bill Clinton as a third grader years ago during Clinton's first visit to the Tri-State, and last week he got that same chance when Clinton spoke at the River Park Center.
Johnson owns his own detailing business located at the Owensboro Daviess County Regional Airport. After hearing the former President was coming back to town, he wanted to grab some pictures of the plane. But, Johnson got way more than that chatting with Secret Service, sitting on the President's Plane, in his seat, and even talking with Clinton about local issues on behalf of his community. Parker Johnson has done something many will never get the chance to do, and its happened twice. As a third grader at Audubon Elementary in Owensboro, Johnson remembers meeting President Bill Clinton. "I said, I know who you are. I'm not stupid. "The President did not interest me at the time," says Johnson. Now several years later, with a much stronger appreciation for the former President, he finds himself shaking hands with him once again. "Well, I kind of stumbled across, sort of where I was not supposed to be at the time. Just a back road at the air port." Johnson owns his own detailing business at the Owensboro Regional Airport, and says he wanted to grab some pictures of the President's plane. He got more than he bargained for. "The next thing you know I got caught. I thought either I was going to jail, or I was going to get shot," says Johnson. But, things went much different than he ever expected. "We just all got to talking about how I met him the first time, and I said I would really like to meet him again. They said all right, we can make that happen." While Clinton gave his speech downtown at the River Park Center, Johnson sat in the former President's seat. After hours of chit chat with staff and crew, the time finally came to meet Clinton once again. "I reached out and shook his hand. We started talking about detailing, school, and the homeless shelter in town, different things to improve the community."He still hasn't lost his since of humor he first displayed to Clinton as a third grader. "He asked me if have ever been around a plane as nice as his, and I said yeah, i've probably been around nicer planes than his."
Johnson says another highlight of the visit, getting to actually help service the former President's plane after discovering a minor problem before take off.
Johnson owns his own detailing business located at the Owensboro Daviess County Regional Airport. After hearing the former President was coming back to town, he wanted to grab some pictures of the plane. But, Johnson got way more than that chatting with Secret Service, sitting on the President's Plane, in his seat, and even talking with Clinton about local issues on behalf of his community. Parker Johnson has done something many will never get the chance to do, and its happened twice. As a third grader at Audubon Elementary in Owensboro, Johnson remembers meeting President Bill Clinton. "I said, I know who you are. I'm not stupid. "The President did not interest me at the time," says Johnson. Now several years later, with a much stronger appreciation for the former President, he finds himself shaking hands with him once again. "Well, I kind of stumbled across, sort of where I was not supposed to be at the time. Just a back road at the air port." Johnson owns his own detailing business at the Owensboro Regional Airport, and says he wanted to grab some pictures of the President's plane. He got more than he bargained for. "The next thing you know I got caught. I thought either I was going to jail, or I was going to get shot," says Johnson. But, things went much different than he ever expected. "We just all got to talking about how I met him the first time, and I said I would really like to meet him again. They said all right, we can make that happen." While Clinton gave his speech downtown at the River Park Center, Johnson sat in the former President's seat. After hours of chit chat with staff and crew, the time finally came to meet Clinton once again. "I reached out and shook his hand. We started talking about detailing, school, and the homeless shelter in town, different things to improve the community."He still hasn't lost his since of humor he first displayed to Clinton as a third grader. "He asked me if have ever been around a plane as nice as his, and I said yeah, i've probably been around nicer planes than his."
Johnson says another highlight of the visit, getting to actually help service the former President's plane after discovering a minor problem before take off.
