The candidates and delegates tend to get most of the attention during the presidential conventions,
But Delaware Public Media’s Megan Pauly found a couple of convention volunteers that went to great lengths – and distances – to attend the DNC.
Hillary Clinton officially became the Democratic Party nominee Tuesday night. Margot Lester drove all the way from North Carolina with her husband to volunteer.
“I’m definitely with her, I’m with Hillary," Lester said.
They stopped in Newark, Delaware along the way.
“We gassed up and got some refreshments," Lester said. "I’ve always had a soft spot for Delaware. And it is one of those states that’s under appreciated because you don’t see enough of it. And so you blow right through it and I’m like, no, no there’s more than the interstate.”
Lester said her family would vacation in New England as kids and when they got to Delaware, she felt like she was almost there.
On Monday, she expressed her calling to volunteer at the DNC.
“We’re going to make history today – or this week – and I think it’s really important to show up at these times for your country, and it’s a privilege to represent my party and my community here in Philadelphia," she said.
Alvin Peters is another DNC volunteer, who flew in from Florida.
He’s committed to ensuring the democrats win the election.
“I think one of the ways to do that is to encourage people to be happy and to enjoy each other and dispel some of the doom and gloom that came out of the Republican convention – so that’s what I’m working on," Peters said.
He says he’s been getting a smile out of people, juggling in a nearly complete Uncle Sam costume.
“The only thing we’re missing is the grey goatee which didn’t have quite time to grow this particular season," he said.
He volunteered at the DNC convention in Charlotte in 2012. He says this year’s event is a bit more complex.
“It’s a little bit different in the sense of here we have a little bit of a contest between Hillary and Bernie Sanders so there’s a lot more attention to issues and platforms and rules, and there’s a little bit of disappointment. So you know we have to work through that with happiness," Peters said.
