Craig Hockenberry: SHHHH it is the First Lady!
My first
year as Principal of Oyler
School in Cincinnati Public I received a phone call from the Office of the
First Lady of the United States. The
caller simply asked if I was Craig
Hockenberry [C1] and then proceed to inform me that
he was calling on behalf of the first lady of the United States of
America. My first thoughts were that
someone was joking with me, however it was clear within a few minutes that this
was not a joke. They asked me to keep
this quiet and that a secret service agent would arrive soon and give me
details.
Sure enough
I left my office and went outside to process the news and before I even opened
the door I received a call from the United States Secret Service. It was official, the First Lady of the United
States would be arriving at my school in less than three days. The secret service set-up some times to
arrive at Oyler and I immediately began a checklist of everything that need to
be done to prepare for her visit.
The
first area that needed addressed was getting the building clean. It was summer time so the cleaning schedule
was different. I turned this over to Bob
Walters our plant operator who worked around the clock. He did everything from cleaning the ceiling to
power washing the outside of the building.
In 15 years I had never seen the building look so good. He did one heck of job.
Then we
had to prepare the kids as she was scheduled to read them a book in the school library. I turned this over to two of the most talent
teachers I have ever worked with Wanda Neville and Bonnie Roe. They practice everything with them. They had the entire day planned out from a
child’s point of view. We were in great
shape.
We
worked with the Cincinnati Police, Cincinnati Public Schools, community members,
Oyler partners, and the media.
The
first lady was coming to Oyler School in
Lower Price Hill!
On the
day of the arrival all of my staff was dress in red, white, and blue as we anxiously
awaited her arrive. About three hours before
she arrived six black suburban’s pulled-up on the sidewalk and out came five of
the largest men I had seen since my college football days. All of them were dressed in black suites and
sunglasses.
I
greeted them and turned the entire facility over to them so they could begin their
work. They put snipers on the roof, they
hide several armed men on different floors and turned loose bomb dogs
throughout the building. I just watched
in awe at the level of security.
Now,
the work is done. All is quiet. We waited and waited.
The
kids looked out the windows of the library their faces smashed against the
window. Crowds were forming
outside. I could hear the Secret Service
radio going off with coded messages. Then
I heard on of the students said….
SHHHH!!! It is the First Lady!
Everyone
turned and she got out of the car in a perfectly pressed turquoise suite and
walked straight to the door of the school.
When she entered she reached her hand out and she you must be Craig Hockenberry
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