Local Woman To Attend President's Address

BETHLEHEM, Pa. A local woman will be in the audience in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night when President Obama delivers his State of the Union address. And you might even say she has one of the best seats in the house.

It all started with a letter written by 10-year-old Allison Dixon of Northampton, Northampton County to President Obama.

She said mom, can you please give this to Mr. Obama, said Tina Dixon, Allison's mom.

Allison's wish came true days later when her mom was picked to meet the president during his visit to CareerLink in Allentown in December.

"Basically what she had said to him was we're going through a really tough time right now," said Tina. "Just know that whenever you have a bad day that I'm going through something 10 times worse right now, and we're praying for you. Could you please pray for us?"

Tina and her three daughters have had an especially tough time in recent months.

Tina said her husband left in September. After 13 years as a stay-at-home mom, Tina turned to CareerLink and landed a job with the Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Almost two months after her meeting with the president, Tina wasn't expecting to get another chance to see him. Then she received a phone call from a White House aide Saturday night.

"He said how would you like to be a guest alongside Michelle Obama for the State of the Union address on Wednesday?," said Tina. And there was dead silence. And he said Tina, are you still there? And I said I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to wear!"

Tina said she's still trying to wrap her head around her recent stroke of luck. As she looks forward to Wednesday night, Tina said she continues to tell people to work hard when the odds are against you.

She hopes her hard work will eventually land her a job as a nurse.