Lynchburg firefighter reflects on meeting Obamas, watching address

On Tuesday night, Lynchburg firefighter Abbey Meacham was sitting in the gallery of the U.S. Capitol with first lady Michelle Obama and two dozen other guests selected to watch President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress.

On Wednesday afternoon, she was back to work at her fire station at Miller Park, where she reflected on the previous 24 hours and what she called “a once in a lifetime experience.”

After an unexpected invitation Tuesday morning, Meacham was rushed to Washington, D.C., and immediately taken to the White House where she was introduced to the first lady.

“You couldn’t have smacked the smile off my face,” Meacham said.

“She was just a class act. Very welcoming. Very grounded lady,” she said.

Meacham was then escorted by Secret Service motorcade to the U.S. Capitol, where she sat two rows behind the first lady and the vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, to watch Obama’s nationally televised address.

“It was awesome. I thought it was incredible,” she said of the speech.

The whole time, Meacham said, she was awed by the presence of judges, legislators and government executives. But it was the presence of the other guests that made her question why she was there.

“To sit amongst people like that and to think ‘What in the world am I doing here? … ’” she said, trailing off.

“It was kind of emotional to think that there’s 290,000 firemen in our union, and other than the U.S. military,” she said, “I don’t respect anybody in the world more than I respect them.”

After the address, Meacham had her picture taken with both of the Obamas and got them to sign her ticket to the event.

“I just told him how proud I was to be representing the (union) and my hometown,” she said. “And he was pretty excited about the support that he got from the firefighters, and that was it.”

Meacham, of Forest, has been a firefighter and paramedic with the Lynchburg Fire Department since 2004, working out of Station No. 6. She was representing the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

The whole experience was a bit of a whirlwind, Meacham said. She didn’t receive word that she was invited until late Tuesday morning.

Meacham said she received a phone call at 11:30 a.m., informing her that she had less than two hours to drive from Lynchburg to Roanoke to catch a plane to Washington, D.C.

Meacham, who was teaching a trauma class, called a firefighter friend, who packed her bags for her.

“I went to the station and got my uniform and prayed to God my hair looked nice, and hit the road,” she said.

After spending the night in Washington, Meacham returned home Wednesday.

And despite the hurried departure and the inspiring experience, Meacham said she didn’t want to miss any more work because of it.

“They were nice enough to give me the full day off,” said Meacham. She didn’t take it.

“I just got back here and had three quarters of a 24-hour shift left,” she said. “It was the right thing to do.”

Her shift was to conclude at 7:30 this morning.