List of Lenny Skutniks

"Lenny Skutniks" are notable people who are invited to sit in the gallery at a State of the Union address or other joint meeting of the United States Congress.^[1][2] Lenny Skutnik was the first such guest, who was celebrated for his act of heroism following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 on January 13, 1982. Skutnik dove into the icy Potomac River, saving the life of a passenger. For this act he was commended by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the annual State of the Union speech held later that month.

Since then, the term "Lenny Skutniks" has been used to refer to individuals invited to sit in the gallery, and often cited by the President, during the speech.^[1] President Reagan's invitation, and the reference to Skutnik's heroism within his speech, may have been an attempt to include a human interest story within the speech. The practice fell out of favor during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. Bill Clinton restored the practice upon assuming the Presidency which has continued under George W. Bush and Barack Obama.^[3]

List of "Lenny Skutniks"

1982 

Lenny Skutnik was indicated as an example of the American ideal;^[4] immediately before noting Skutnik, Reagan first pointed out Jeremiah Denton, a Senator who had formerly been held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

1984 

Reagan pointed to Sergeant Stephen Trujillo, a medic during the Invasion of Grenada in October 1983.^[5]

1999 

Clinton pointed out Rosa Parks for her role as an icon of the American Civil Rights Movement. Sammy Sosa, a right fielder in Major League Baseball who (along with Mark McGwire) was also pointed out for having surpassed Roger Maris' home run total of 61 in a single season.

2000 

Clinton pointed to a number of people. Tom Mauser, father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser and anti-Gun Advocate; Lloyd Bentsen, former United States Senator from Texas and former Treasury Secretary; Tipper Gore, then Second Lady of the United States; Carlos Rosas, a father from Minnesota; Captain John Cherrey, airman who served during the Kosovo Conflict; and William Cohen and Janet Langhart, then-Secretary of Defense and his wife, were all mentioned by Bill Clinton.

2002 

Lisa Beamer, widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who possibly led the charge against that aircraft's hijackers, was pointed to by George W. Bush. Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was also pointed to by the President.^[6]

2003 

Two members of the new Afghan government, interim leader Chairman Hamid Karzai and Minister of Women's Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar, were welcomed and mentioned by George W. Bush. Shannon Spann, widow of CIA officer and Marine Michael Spann who was killed in Mazar-e-Sharif, was also pointed out by the President. Finally, George W. Bush thanked Hermis Moutardier and Christina Jones, two flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 63, aboard which an attempted suicide bombing was prevented by their actions.^[7]

2004 

Adnan Pachachi, the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, was pointed to by George W. Bush.

2007 

Four individuals were pointed to in the heroes box: Dikembe Mutombo, a basketball player originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who had recently helped fund the building of a hospital in Kinshasa; Wesley Autrey, a New York City construction worker who saved a man who had fallen onto subway tracks; Julie Aigner-Clark, creator of the Baby Einstein toy line; and Sergeant Tommy Riemann, injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2010 

Leonard Abess was the long time owner and CEO of City National Bank of Florida and was cited by Barack Obama for distributing the $60 million sale price of his bank to over 400 current and former employees in the form of bonuses. Although not mentioned in the address, Chesley Sullenberger (who, like Skutnik, saved the passengers of his jetliner which he had ditched in the icy Hudson River) was a noticeable guest of the President.

2011

Daniel Hernandez, the man who saved Gabrielle Giffords's life during the 2011 Tucson shooting was a guest of President Obama.

2012

Jackie Bray, a single mom from NC who has lost her job and re-trained in a program created by Siemens and Central Piedmont Community College was pointed to by President Obama.^[8] Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs was shown when the president mentioned Steve Jobs. Bryan Ritterby who was hired by a wind turbine manufacturer was also pointed to. Richard Cordray, the director of the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was also mentioned. Debbie Bosanke, the secretary of Warren Buffett, was also mentioned by the president when he mentioned the Buffett Rule.^[9]

2013

Bobak Ferdowsi, a systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who gained media fame in August 2012, when he wore an unusual mohawk hairstyle during the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity landing. Ferdowsi's father was an immigrant to the United States from Iran, and his presence was meant "to highlight President Barack Obama's call for more visas for skilled immigrants in the fields of math, science and engineering."^[10]

2014

Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, who was almost killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and suffered a three-month coma and partial paralysis as a result.^[11]

References

1. Wiggin, Addison (2011-01-25). "Small Business Owners Should Be Obama's Lenny Skutnik". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
2. Clines, Francis X. (1996-08-24). "Bonding as New Political Theater: Bring On the Babies and Cue the Yellow Dog". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
3. O'Keefe, Ed (2012-01-24). "Three decades of ‘Skutniks’ began with a federal employee". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
4. Politics and Technology: The "Skutnick": How I learned to stop worrying and love the blog
5. "Two Clashing Symbols". Time. 6 February 1984.
6. White House Press Release, 20 September 2001. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html URL last accessed 16 June 2007
7. White House Press Release, 29 January 2002. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html URL last accessed 16 June 2007
8. 2012 State of the Union Address transcript http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/state-of-the-union-2012-obama-speech-excerpts/2012/01/24/gIQA9D3QOQ_story_3.html last accessed 26 January 2012
9. By David Nakamura, Published: January 24. Warren Buffett's secretary to sit with Michelle Obama during State of the Union http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/warren-buffets-secretary-to-sit-with-michelle-obama-during-state-of-the-union-address/2012/01/24/gIQAAwObNQ_story.html last accessed 26 January 2012
10. Kitty Felde (February 11, 2013). "JPL's 'Mohawk Guy' to sit with First Lady at State of Union". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
11. Weissman, Jerry (January 29, 2014). "Two Big Takeaways from Obama's State of the Union". Forbes.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.

External links

• Video of every American named in a State of the Union, 1982-2010