Meeting President Jimmy Carter In Gastonia, North Carolina
I just heard the news that former President Jimmy Carter is preparing to be called Home. The 39th President of The United States has entered hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia. I will never forget when, as a young broadcaster, meeting former President Jimmy Carter working in this North Carolina town. I got to work alongside him in Gastonia, North Carolina.
It comes in handy to save interviews and I am terrible at it, this one sure would be great to have right about now. I was just a couple of years out of college in 19 hundred and eighty something, when I got the assignment to interview President Jimmy Carter at a Habitat for Humanity building project in Gastonia, North Carolina. To say I was nervous is an understatement. I did not feel I was ready to interview a world leader in any kind of meaningful way. But I did my research, I put on my best dress and heels and off I went to the site in Gastonia.
No matter your politics, no one can question this 98 year old man’s passion for helping other people. When I got there, he and his wife Rosalynn Carter were working. I mean they both had hammer in hand, and they were building a home for a stranger in need in our Gaston County town. He was expecting me and when his people told him I arrived he came over to me right away with that famous smile and a friendly hand out. The President put me at ease, and he said, “young lady I will be happy to talk to you about whatever you want to talk about, then I want you to give us an hour building this house”. I had my jeans in the car, and I happily accepted the offer.
While I don’t remember all the details about the interview, I remember how the President made me feel; capable, valued and aware of situations other than my own.
To learn more about President Carter and his current health status, get details here from Channel 9.
