Looking back on President Bush’s Cheyenne ties

“Air Force One pulls up while I’m waiting at the National Guard site with all of these dignitaries like former Gov. Mike Sullivan and some former senators,” he said. “He got off the plane and said a few words to people, but then he comes up to me and says, ‘So, you’re my Point of Light honoree? Tell me more about your project.”

It was an incredible moment for Smith, who couldn’t believe that a sitting president wanted to hear about the gardens, a place he’d spent his life cultivating and making bigger and better.

According to an article published in the Wyoming Eagle, the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens received the distinction of being the 83rd “Daily Point of Light” in March 1990, the first one to be honored in Wyoming. It was recognized “for providing food and work for low-income people, disabled individuals, senior citizens and juvenile offenders in the Cheyenne community,” the article said.

The “point of light” was a phrase popularized by Bush during a speech he gave while accepting his presidential nomination at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans.

It reiterated Bush’s love of American clubs and volunteer organizations, likening them to “a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”

During his presidency, Bush began handing out “Point of Light” awards six days a week to citizens and organizations that were aiding their communities through volunteer work.

It was a major honor for the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens to be one of the first 100 honorees, Smith noted.

“As best as I can remember, it was a surprise for us to be designated like that,” he said. “I don’t think we had to do anything to get nominated. I had a certificate hanging in my office that was signed by President Bush, which was something I was very proud of. It added to our credibility, locally and nationally.”

During his father’s eulogy at the State Funeral on Wednesday, former President George W. Bush discussed his father’s passion for public service.

“He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived,” he said. “He recognized that serving others enriched the giver’s soul. To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.”

The Point of Light distinction wasn’t the only tie President Bush had to Cheyenne in 1990, though.

He also visited for the state’s centennial celebration, arriving on July 20, one day before the start of the 1990 Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Former CFD General Chairman Jerry Jessen and his wife, Kay Jessen, can remember the day distinctly.

“We were contacted in early spring about him coming out for the centennial, and he was supposed to be here on the first day of Frontier Days,” Jerry Jessen said. “There were so many details we had to get finalized, plus we all had to have background checks.”

Planning for CFD is a full-time job in and of itself, so adding a presidential visit to the mix heightened the sense of urgency that the Jessens and the CFD volunteers were already feeling.

But once he finally arrived on the morning of July 20, it was like a weight had been lifted.

President Bush had a full schedule planned: First, he was going to participate in a small parade in his honor, then he would speak at the Capitol, followed by a talk at F.E. Warren Air Force Base and ending with a short fishing trip out at former gubernatorial candidate Taylor Haynes’ ranch.

While the president’s trip to Cheyenne was short, it was a memorable day for everyone, especially the Jessens. His passing on Nov. 30 made them reflect on the precious moments they spent with him.

“He was such a gentleman,” Kay Jessen said.

“You wouldn’t have thought he was a president from the way he acted,” her husband agreed. “He was so down-to-earth and kind. That was an opportunity of a lifetime to get to meet a sitting president.”