GM Manager, Holland Man To Sit With Michelle Obama
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A metro Detroit General Motors plant manager and a western Michigan wind turbine company worker are scheduled to sit near the first lady during the State of the Union address, Tuesday night in Washington.
The White House says Alicia Boler-Davis Detroit also will sit in Michelle Obama's box. Boler-Davis is manager of GM's Orion Assembly Plant and Pontiac Stamping Plant.
WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert says this comes as the President plans to use Orion as an example of how people can work together to make good things happen. The plant was originally expected to close, but it was saved by UAW concessions that now allow GM to build the subcompact Chevy Sonic there at a profit.
Obama is also expected to tout the progress of GM and Chrysler, now two-and-a-half years after their bankruptcies.
Also with an honored seat is 58-year-old Bryan Ritterby of Holland, who told the Holland Sentinel that he was surprised to get a call over the weekend inviting him to attend the speech.
Ritterby works at Holland-based Energetx Composites LLC, testing materials for wind turbines. He was laid off from his job at office furniture maker Haworth Inc. in 2009 and completed a training program at Grand Rapids Community College.
President Obama is scheduled to speak at 9 p.m. LISTEN LIVE on WXYT-AM live stream (We'll also post a link to the video from CBS News.)
(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
