By invitation, chance, locals see the president

Tahoe Daily Tribune

July 29, 1997
By Greg Risling
Tribune Staff Writer

Dayle Tomich was glowing on Saturday as she entered the Lakeside Lodge at Incline Village. The master gardener had one of the most sought-after tickets in the Tahoe Basin, and she wasn't giving it to anyone.

The 27-year resident of Incline Village had a stroke of luck last Tuesday when she was informed that she would attend the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum. It turned out that constant calls to the presidential coordinating center paid off at the right time.

"They had two cancellations ... it was a little bit of timing and perseverance." said Tomich. "It's very special to have a president here and I don't care what his politics are."

There were only 250 seats to spare at the weekend summit and a select few were extended the exclusive invitations. The meeting room was jammed with dignitaries, average citizens and media for the historic event. Volunteer staff and latecomers were standing wallflowers as President Clinton and Vice President Gore contributed to Lake Tahoe's future. The room was buzzing with anticipation of meeting the executives afterward.

"I've met Gore once but this is really exciting," said Allan Brown, who was with his wife, Marilyn. The Browns were representing the Sierra Club in place of Adam Werbach, the 23-year-old whiz kid who is the club's president. Brown, a trustee of the environmental group, told Werbach he would be in Tahoe for that weekend. "He (Werbach) had a trip already planned, so he asked if we could go," said Brown. "We'll give him an informal report of what happened here."

The selection of invited guests took nearly two months. The prospective list was in the hands of Tom Tuchmann, western director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He and others whittled the list down last Monday amid hundreds of requests by the public.

Besides national and local elected officials, the forum's steering committee and members of the Washoe Tribe, organizers had the tough task of representing the entire community without offending anyone. The general public was given one shot to see the president on the Village Green, following the two-hour meeting.

"Attempts were made to represent a wide cross-section of the community," said Linda Massey, public information officer for the U.S. Forest Service's Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Jesus Posada was wide awake the morning of the event. Manager of the "Everything For You Store," which is designed to give aid to local service agencies, Posada said he's grateful that the powers that be included him. "It's a great honor to have been considered ... my head is barely fitting through the doors," he chuckled. "There should be summits like this somewhere in the world every month."

Probably the most stunned guest of the afternoon was Tere Tibbetts, a bilingual teacher at South Tahoe High School. She would have been content with a seat in the audience but wound up on the 26-member panel, sitting next to esteemed politicians. She nervously answered Gore's question about the environmental awareness of children.

"My heart was pounding so hard, I couldn't hear my voice," she said. "You could have probably seen my heart through my suit."

Staff Writer Cory Fisher contributed to this article.