Published: January 21, 2009 10:08 am      

JHS grad Marshall attends inauguration

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

A former Cuney resident was in Washington, D.C. to see history in the making first-hand Tuesday. Allan Marshall, who now works for the Greater Waco Chamber of Com-merce, attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

He said he felt blessed and honored to be able to witness America’s first black president’s swearing-in ceremony.

“It’s really kind of ironic for me,” he said of participating in the ceremony, which was also on the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. “Abraham Lincoln has always been my favorite president. I remember looking him up in elementary school and being struck by his hat and beard. That’s what got me first.

“Then as I got older I learned more about him and his presidency, in Mr. Waller’s history class, and I just admired him all the more,” Marshall said.

The theme of the Capitol Inaugural Program and Luncheon was “A Rebirth of Freedom,” from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address.

Marshall attended the event in conjunction with the Presidential Inaugural Conferences, which provided student scholars with the first-hand experience of witnessing the inauguration of the president and vice president of the U.S. The conference also enhanced a student’s professional and educational experience by touring various Washington, D.C., sites and hearing from renowned politicians, public officials and professionals in the nation’s capitol.

Marshall served as a faculty advisor for an assigned group of high school students in the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference, facilitated discussions with the students, gave informational tours and disseminated and discussed educational materials related to the conference.

“As part of the conferences, I’m also going to hear Colin Powell, Al Gore and (other notables),” Marshall said last week. “I’m really looking forward to that as well as the ceremony and the parade.”

Marshall graduated Baylor University in 2007 with a political science degree, and he manages the One Book, One Waco communitywide reading program, Business Leadership in Schools program and Career Start Waco program. He also provides committee leadership for the Waco Education Summit, serves as a regional director of the Baylor Alumni Association Board of Directors and is involved with many local community organizations. In the past, Marshall served as a congressional intern for former U.S. Congressman Jim Turner and as legislative intern for State Rep. Chuck Hopson.

“I’m always grateful for my upbringing in Cuney, and it is this upbringing that has always prepared me for the next stage of my life,” Marshall said. “There is always something good that can come out of a small town, and I’m just fortunate and blessed to be able to do great things. I’m always proud of the great gifts of my parents — Walter and Phyllis Marshall — siblings and relatives who have given me hope, a desire to serve, and to dream of always wanting more in my life. This will be a great thing to impart to these inaugural scholars.”