White House Liaison

Virginia Federation of Republican Women

VFRW White House Coordinator
February 6, 2009

I must say this election was the longest and hardest one that I can remember in all of my 44 years of voting. The preparation leading up to it and the long day standing in the cold and rain were equally daunting.

The last days of President Bush’s administration were hard for everyone at The White House Volunteer Office; so many items to find, identify, sort, log, and send to storage to be put in the President’s Library. Even down to the last day of work, many volunteers came to work and helped to close the Volunteer Office. So many names, phone numbers and addresses were exchanged that day. There were many tears and hugs for everyone as you can well imagine.

I would like to take a minute or two to say thank you to President Bush.

Thank you for your leadership!
Thank you for keeping us safe!
Thank you for your courage!
Thank you for your commitment to God and our country!
Thank you for being yourself!
May God bless you and your wonderful family, and may God bless America!!

Now, on to what is presently happening at The White House Volunteer Office. Many of the volunteers were told to re-apply, if they would like to continue working there. Nearly all have returned. This administration realized that The White House volunteers are very valuable people, and a strong asset to reaching the citizens of this country. It really is not that anyone is changing sides or views. They feel that they are serving the people of this great country.  Please understand and accept their decision. It is that they are working to take calls from people from all over America, and the entire world; to listen to what concerns they have; to get a call from someone who needs help because of losing their home; and to take a call for a family member who is very ill and they do not have the money nor the resources to get the help needed in their time of great need. Someone who calls in and wants to commit suicide, and you stay on the lines to get them help that they need desperately. Someone who has lost their job and looking for some type of help finding a place that might fit the field for which they are trained. Someone who is hearing impaired who wants to express how they think an issue should be handled, or some lonely person on the line who has no one to talk to because all their family members have passed away.  It brings tears to your eyes to hear of someone who has no one, and yet joy to your heart that you may have cheered them up that day just by being there and listening.  You can only imagine the happy faces of people who received the birthday, anniversary, wedding, and baby cards that were sent out on behalf of President Bush. All types of congratulations as well as condolences, and I could go on and on. The readers of the mail, bless their hearts, doing the daunting task of sorting out the thousands of letters that came in daily and the Greetings Office volunteers who painstakingly  took special time writing each envelope out using their beautiful handwriting skills. What a task that was as well! Oh… and I cannot forget the volunteers who worked on email, logging in thousands of names and addresses. I’m sure that with that job, everyone needed computer glasses! There are so many other tasks that were accomplished by the volunteers who worked in the First Ladies Office, the Liaison Office, as well as the Presidential Personnel Office.  It all was rewarding no matter your job!

Don’t get me wrong. There were times that we ALL laughed out loud from comments made on the lines, or what someone mailed in! We shared lunches together, stories from other administrations, and stories of our families, along with many pictures of weddings and grandchildren. Memories we will all cherish. What fun we all had!

As you can well see, The White House Volunteers are, in my opinion, the backbone of The White House outreach to citizens at the personal level. I ‘m so proud and feel very honored to have worked beside these wonderful people; coming in once or many times during the week to fill these tasks, and knowing that they were appreciated so much by President Bush!  Thank you to President Bush for giving me that opportunity.  Growing up, I would have never imagined that one day I myself would have the opportunity to  work for the greatest office in the entire world. Bless President Bush for giving all of us that opportunity!

Many volunteers were given the opportunity to attend the Departure of President Bush from Andrews Air Force Base.  It was quite cold with the event being held in a hangar.  I, as well as many others, were so impressed when the doors of the hanger parted with the music in the back ground.  President Bush delivered an uplifting farewell, which everyone appreciated, with the President’s 747 ( known as Air Force One when the current President is aboard) behind him.  It was an impressive image.  Lots of pictures were taken of the event, and are still being traded among the participants.

President Bush’s Transition Team is continuing to respond to the backlog of correspondence received at the end of the Bush Administration. I received a call from Jamie Carroll (her number is 202-395-1649) requesting assistance.  If anyone would like to help them read, sort, and address letters, please give her a call. She is a wonderful young lady to work with. The days that they need the most help is Wednesday through Friday at this point. Their office is located at 736 Jackson Place, Washington, DC. For those who know where The White House Historical Society is located, it is right next door. If you need more information, please contact Jamie.

A heartfelt thank you to Nancy Theis, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Correspondence for all her years of service to President Bush. Let’s never forget the special prayer she would say to all of us after a meeting. “ May God’s blessings rich and rare, guide your footsteps everywhere. Amen”. She is one that will be truly missed! I would like to thank Tim Giblet, Deputy Director of The White House Comment Line. He was a delight to work with and I, as well as many others, will sorely miss him. I also want to say thank you to all the wonderful staffers with whom we all had the pleasure to work alongside over the years. What a great group!

A huge thanks to all of the VFRW members who volunteered their time and efforts to ensure the success of the White House Volunteer Office.

Just one more quick note. Here are the numbers/websites that you might find valuable in the near further.
 

Contact Cheryl Snyder, White House Liaison for more information.

White House Web Page 

May God bless and keep you all safe. Until we meet again dear friends….

Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Ann Snyder
VFRW White House Coordinator

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