President Barack Obama arrived at Sunday afternoon for a series of fundraising events and to attend a town hall meeting on Monday hosted by Mountain View-based at the
Air Force One landed at 5:33 p.m. and was greeted by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Mountain View Mayor Jac Siegel and NASA Ames Center Director Pete Worden, as well as around 40 guests. Chief Scott Vermeer also attended.
"This is beyond words," said Doris Thompson, a Daly City resident. "And to shake his hand was even better."
The plane arrived around 38 minutes late from Seattle, because a previous fundraiser the president attended ran late. Obama stepped off the plane at 5:42 p.m., spent a few minutes shaking hands and then left in a motorcade of about 20 vehicles.
"We are very honored," said Jossette Thompson of Hayward, "especially for my 5-year-old."
She said the president greeted her son, Jayden, with, "Hi buddy, how are you today?"
The boy responded, "Fine. Thank You, sir."
Philippine-born Patria Chung, a San Mateo resident, expressed how emotional this moment was for her.
"I have a headache from all the excitement," she said. "I have yet to see a president since arriving in the U.S., and that's over 40 years."
Obama is expected to attend two fundraisers Sunday night, one at the Woodside home of Chairman John Thompson, and the other at the Atherton home of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Monday's event, "," will be a forum for a live audience of
LinkedIn members and employees±plus online members nationwide—to ask the president about job creation and the economy, according to the White House press secretary's office.
To watch Monday's live town hall meeting, officials encourage the
public to log onto LinkedIn.com or WhiteHouse.gov/live.
Additional reporting by Bay City News Service
