Denver Woman Who Wrote President Letter Invited To State Of The Union Address
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Two people from Colorado will be guests of the White House during Tuesday's State of the Union address.
Medical student William Elder, Jr., 27, of Englewood was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 8 and has benefited from medical innovations. CBS4's Howard Nathan talked with the other guest, Carolyn Reed, a small business in owner in Denver.
RELATED: 2 Coloradans To Be White House Guests At State Of The Union
The president's State of the Union address is a time to cheer fellow Americans going above and beyond.
"I think that my letter really resonated with him," Reed said.
Reed owns seven Silver Mine Subs shops from Cheyenne to Denver. She wrote a letter to President Obama three years ago telling him the government's small business loan helped her grow her business.
"I wanted him to know that what he did was making a difference, it was helping out business people like me and that we appreciated it," she said.
Reed even raised her employees' salaries from minimum wage to above $10 per hour.
"We can put more money in the pockets of our employees so that they can spend more money," she said.
This summer the White House asked if she would like to meet senior White House officials in Denver. What she didn't know is she would have pizza and a beer with the president.
"We did know Obama was coming to town, but who would think we'd be having dinner with the president?"
Reed isn't sure how she'll feel when Congress stands to applaud her, and she also wonders about the millions watching.
"I just hope my story resonates with them. That you can do it on your own, that you can do it on your own and that anybody, if you work hard enough, you study hard enough, you can do it."
CBS4 will have live coverage of the president's State of the Union address starting Tuesday at 7 p.m. It will be followed by the Republican response.
LINKS: More About William Elder, Jr. | More About Carolyn Reed
