First Lady Michelle Obama visits Cleveland to thank campaign volunteers and hold Obama campaign fundraiser at Progressive Field, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, State Sen Shirley Smith, retired judge and former county recorder Lillian Greene, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGraph, Cleveland Councilman Jeff Johnson, others attend fundraiser

First Lady Michelle Obama

Below, the first lady walks the Terrace Room at Progressive Field in Cleveland on May 21 to thank volunteers for the Obama for America campaign before attending an afternoon fundraiser. (Photo by Johnette Jernigan)

By Johnette Jernigan, Cleveland Urban News.Com Staff Reporter

(www.clevelandurbannews.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Slim and poised, First Lady Michelle Obama, the most photographed first lady in American and world history, thanked a group of approximately 150 Obama campaign committee volunteers from Cleveland and its surrounding suburbs before attending an intimate fundraiser of roughly 250 supporters at Progressive Field on Mon. afternoon in Cleveland.  (Editor's note: Read First Lady Michelle Obama's comments midway through this article).

    

Campaign organizers said that the volunteers, who were invited as special guests to meet the first lady, have made tons of phone calls and knocked on more than 8,500 doors in Cuyahoga County, the state's largest county and a Democratic stronghold.

Cleveland media and Obama campaign volunteers (left) wait for the entrance of First Lady Michelle Obama to the Terrace Room at Progressive Field, the stadium for the Cleveland Indians. The first lady met volunteers to thank them for their support and hard work before attending a fundraiser, also at Progressive Field, with tickets ranging from $100 to $10,000. (Photo by Johnette Jernigan)

"You guys are the backbone of this campaign," said Aaron Pickrell, senior adviser to the Obama campaign in Ohio, before introducing Mrs. Obama at the meet and greet session for the volunteers to the chant of "Fire it up! Ready to Go!" 

Cleveland Urban News.Com Reporter Johnette Jernigan (above left) and Obama for America Campaign Ohio Regional Press Secretary Laura Allen

   
Dressed in a casual sundress, Mrs. Obama, 48, entered the Terrace Room at Progressive stadium on the off day for the Cleveland Indians with a smile and to the tune of "Let's Stay Together," the Al Green classic that President Barack Obama sang during an impromptu but memorable performance at a campaign fundraiser earlier this year.

     
She then began to to walk the room, shaking hands, giving hugs, and taking pictures with vounteers.


Larsenia Cannon, a volunteer campaign worker in Obama’s Euclid office, commented at the event to Cleveland Urban News.Com that Mrs. Obama makes you feel comfortable and that she shows a lot of compassion and gratitude.

  

That sentiment was shared by others.

    
"She is an awesome first lady," said Jackie Goins, a retired registered nurse who worked on Obama's campaign for president in 2008 and now volunteers at the president's campaign headquarters in Shaker Square in Cleveland. "She is approachable, caring, and down to the earth, and when you get a hug, it is genuine."

Karolyn Isenhart, an Obama campaign organizer in the western suburb of Lakewood, said that the first lady connects with the Cleveland crowd because she is a "Midwest girl from a working class family and she shares our stories as working and middle class people."


Trichelle Connor said that she was moved by the first lady's persona, and her graciousness. 

"The first lady is a warm person and I have always been a fan of hers," said Connor, a neighborhood team leader for Cleveland's Ward 9. "She said that what we are doing is important work and thanked us."

Michelle Obama spent about 25 min. with the volunteers and managed to acknowledge nearly each and every one of them, and once she had spoken to the last one, she exited the room for the fundraising reception. 


The Rev. Ledra Bigelow, an associate pastor at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, one of the city's most prominent Black churches, introduced Mrs. Obama.

"I want to thank all of you, truly, for taking the time out of your busy lives and your busy days to join us here today," the first lady said during a speech at the fundraiser. "And we're here not just because we want to win an election -- which we do.  We're here and we're doing this because of the values we believe in. We’re doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share."


Tickets ranged from $100 to $10,000, and it sold out,  campaign officials said. 



Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, whom Michelle Obama thanked along with is wife for attending, State Sen. Shirley Smith (D-22), Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGraph, Cleveland Ward 8 Councilman Jeff Johnson, and Lillian Greene, a retired Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Court Judge and former Cuyahoga County recorder, were among a host of members of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party at the reception.

Cuyahoga County Executive                                Cleveland Police Chief 
Ed FitzGerald                                                     Michael McGraph

                             Cleveland Ward 8 Councilman Jeff Johnson


 State Sen. Shirley Smith (D-22)                              Retired Cuyahoga County 
                                                                            Judge Lillian Greene                                           

 Later in the evening Mrs. Obama hosted a campaign fundraising dinner for about 250 contributors, one that did not include the media, said Laura Allen, an Obama for America regional press secretary for Ohio and the Cleveland area. 


A Princeton University law school alumnus, Michelle Obama was once the president's boss, before er husband gave up fancy law firms to become a community organizer on the inner city streets of Chicago. He was later elected to the Illinois state senate, and then an Illinois state senator, and after that,to congress as a U.S. senator.


She is, without question, a fashion trendsetter, following in the footsteps of former first ladies like Jacqueline Kennedy, and Nancy Regan, but offering her own flavor of style and dress.


She has national approval ratings that are as high as 70 percent by some polls.


President Obama and Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney will battle for the White House for the November 6 presidential election, and Ohio, as it has been for more that a half a century, remains a pivotal state.    


Reach Cleveland area journalist Johnette Jernigan by email at jernj@aol.com. 


Reach Cleveland Urban News. Com by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com and by telephone at 216-932-3114.