By BAYLI HELMICK
The Inter-Mountain
ELKINS — A Randolph County resident was ecstatic to receive a response letter from former President of the United States Barack Obama earlier this summer.
Kevin Watson said he sent a letter to Obama in January, when the president was still in office.
Watson sent the letter of appreciation with a thank-you card directly to the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C.
“I thanked him and his wife for their service to the country and the world,” Watson stated.
He said he didn’t expect a reply, but at the end of June, Watson received a letter dated June 23.
In the reply, Obama thanked Watson for his kind message and his words of support.
“I am proud of the progress we’ve made together,” Obama wrote in his letter to Watson.
“Thanks to the participation and resolve of everyday Americans like you, our country is a better and stronger place today than it was before I took office,” Obama said in the letter.
“None of our accomplishments were inevitable — they were the result of people from every background and station in life stepping forward and embracing the important responsibilities of citizenship.
“As long as we continue working in common effort and presuming the inherent goodness in one another, I’m confident our brightest days will always lie ahead,”the former president wrote.
The letter then went on to thank Watson for taking the time to write a positive and encouraging note.
It closed with the following: “It was the honor of my life to serve as your president, and while there are many milestone moments we will always remember, it was my conversations with people like you that kept me going every single day. They’ve stayed with me and they always will. Thanks for everything — I wish you the very best.”
Obama was elected Nov. 4, 2008, taking office as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009. He was elected to a second term and served until Jan. 20, 2017.
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