+----------------------------+------------------+---+-------------------+
| National Park Service      | Tuskegee Airmen  |   | 1616 Chappie      |
|                            |                  |   | James Avenue      |
| U.S. Department of the     | National         |   |                   |
| Interior                   | Historic Site    |   | Tuskegee, AL      |
|                            |                  |   | 36083             |
|                            | Use the complete |   |                   |
|                            | site name here   |   | 334-724-0922      |
|                            | (e.g. Palo Alto  |   | phone             |
|                            | Battlefield      |   |                   |
|                            | Historic Site).  |   | 334-724-0952 fax  |
+----------------------------+------------------+---+-------------------+

![](media/image1.png){width="0.5597222222222222in"
height="0.7201388888888889in"}

**Tuskegee Airmen NHS** News Release

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Use a "short-hand" version of the site name here (e.g. Palo Alto
  Battlefield not Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Site).

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March 17, 2007

For Immediate Release

Carla Graves 334-724-0922

TUSKEGEE AIRMEN VOLUNTEER INTRODUCES

SENATOR BARAK OBAMA

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site volunteer April Caddell was
selected to introduce presidential candidate Senator Barak Obama at the
Unity Breakfast Sunday morning, March 4, 2007, during the Annual Bridge
Crossing Jubilee in Selma, Alabama. April was chosen due to her
involvement in the 21^st^ Century Youth Leadership Movement. April gave
a three-minute speech on Unity from the Youth perspective, which led to
her introduction of Senator Obama. Obama spoke at Brown Chapel following
the Unity breakfast. While entering Brown Chapel, April ran into and
took a picture with presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton, who
had just spoken at First Baptist Church. April was later called upon to
speak at the pre-march rally on the steps of Brown Chapel alongside
Senator Clinton and Rev. Al Sharpton.

Her two encounters with presidential candidates, "Made it one of the
most pivotal days of my life," says April. But March 2007 was not the
first encounter April has had with notables. In March 2005 April met
Harry Belafonte at the 40^th^ Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma,
Alabama and in November 2005, she participated in a retreat held in
Epes, Alabama hosted by Mr. Belafonte. April was also present when Robin
Roberts, host of Good Morning America, visited the Tuskegee Airmen
National Historic Site in 2003.

April, 17, is a senior at Booker T. Washington High School in Tuskegee,
Alabama. She received an early acceptance at the college of her choice,
Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia planning to major in English and
Spanish. April is also the recipient of the Bonner Scholarship for
community service, and currently a finalist in the Gates Millennium
Scholarship funded by Bill and Melinda Gates. April has been in regular
attendance at the Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma for a number
of years. She also volunteered her support at the Grand Opening of the
Lowndes County Interpretive Center of the Selma to Montgomery National
Historic Trail in August 2006. April is also a regular volunteer with
the Annual George Washington Carver Arts and Crafts Festival, founded by
the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site in 1980, currently hosted
by the City of Tuskegee and the Main Street Project. Despite her many
extracurricular activities, April has served as a student
Volunteer-in-Parks at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site since
2003.

"I am blessed by my foundation in life, which includes growing up in
Tuskegee, volunteering at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site,
and participating in the 21^st^ Century Youth Leadership Movement. I
know that this is only the beginning," says April.