Mr. Obama's Visit to Rays Country

 

As President Obama says goodbye to the White House on January 20, following two historic terms as the first African American president of the United States, Commissioner Sharon McCollum recalls the time that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama visited the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.

The year was 2007 and candidate Obama was in the middle of a tough campaign seeking election to his first term as president. To take a break from the exhaustion of the campaign trail, Mr. Obama visited St. Thomas for a little R&R. During his stay, Mr. Obama, an avid basketball player, desired to shoot some hoops. Commissioner McCollum, who was principal at IEKHS at the time, was contacted and granted Mr. Obama and his team use of the school's gymnasium. And, as they say...the rest is history!

We wish President Obama, First Lady Michelle, and Sasha and Malia a warm farewell.

 

Candidate Barack Obama visits IEKHS in 2007 to shoot some hoops. Here, he is presented with a Devil Rays jersey

by Commissioner Sharon McCollum, who was Eudora Kean's principal at the time.

 

 

   

Following a game of basketball at Kean High School in 2007, Candidate Obama takes a snapshot with Peter Seipel, current territorial director of athletics.