Utah man dons polo shirt, gets surprise meeting with Obama

SHARE Utah man dons polo shirt, gets surprise meeting with Obama
OBAMA_SURPRISE_53003907_999x629.jpg

File - In this April 3, 2015, file photo, President Barack Obama, center, participates in a roundtable about clean energy with Judy Fisher, clockwise from Obama, Marvin Lance Futch, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, Harry “Buddy” Briesmaster III, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Michelle Fisher at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Last week, Futch donned a white polo and drove to Hill Air Force Base for what he believed was a chance to be in the audience during a news conference with a “senior White House official.” Instead, he found himself sitting at a small table just one seat away from President Barack Obama, a speck of white in a circle of dark suits. | AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File

SALT LAKE CITY — Last week, 26-year-old Lance Futch donned a white polo shirt and drove to Hill Air Force Base for what he believed was a chance to be in the audience during a news conference with a “senior White House official.”

Instead, he found himself sitting at a small table just one seat away from President Barack Obama.

“If I had known it was my commander in chief, I definitely would have been wearing my blues,” said the national guardsman, referring to the Air National Guard’s dress uniform.

Futch said he was shocked but honored when the senior official turned out to be Obama.

“That’s just amazing,” said Futch, describing the experience of talking with not only Obama but U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

The White House had asked Lehi-based company Vivant Solar to send a representative with military affiliation to the base during Obama’s visit last week.

The company chose Futch, who designs solar cells and is serving his fourth year in the Utah Air National Guard.

Futch, an Orem resident, said the president personally asked him questions about Vivant Solar and whether solar energy is a career opportunity for veterans.

He told the president that it’s a growing industry and a great opportunity for a stable career path after the military.

“We’re always going to have a sun,” Futch told the AP on Wednesday.

At the Hill Air Force Base, Obama announced the expansion of solar energy training programs from the current three military bases to a total of 10.

KELLY CATALFAMO, Associated Press

The Latest
Busch found an unconventional way to score in the Cubs’ loss to the Rangers.
The acquisition of Tamarack Farms makes Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge a more impactful destination and creates within Hackmatack a major macrosite for conservation.
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”