Fla. Woman Is First Winner of Inauguration Raffle

Cynthia Russell, a builder from Newberry, Fla., is the first winner of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration raffle, First Lady-elect Michelle Obama announced today in an e-mail to supporters.

Russell and a guest will be flown to Washington, D.C. to attend the president-elect’s welcome ceremony, swearing in, Inaugural Parade, and Neighborhood Inaugural Ball–a ball at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center designed to host D.C. residents at a low cost.

Obama’s Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) announced last week that it would raffle off tickets Obama’s inauguration to 10 supporters.

The committee encourages donations of $5 or more, though entrants can participate without giving money. The PIC requires entrants, in the contest’s online entry form, to write a blurb about what the inauguration will mean to them. Russell wrote:

I’m a single woman who has been building homes for over 18 years. I’ve supported myself and have been able to help out my mother from time to time. Now I find myself wondering how much longer I can hold on and be able to pay my bills and keep the doors open for business. Barack gives me hope. Hope that 2009 will truly bring change to Americans who find themselves in this mess with me.

The PIC has posed the raffle as a way to give all Obama supporters a chance to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration. The entry deadline is midnight this Thursday, Jan. 8.