Steve Dunford- franklincounty-news.com
Travis Clem, President of South Porte Bank in Marion attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington, on Friday, January 20. You might be familiar with him from the bank ads, as they advertise heavily on WPSD-TV.
Clem is a lifelong resident of Thompsonville. He also is the president of the Thompsonville CUSD #174 Board of Education.
Travis Clem at the inauguration, with the US Capitol building in the background.
The trip to Washington DC came about in an indirect, way from an invite from Paul Miller, who him and his wife Phyllis, were invited to be the guests of Congressman Mike Bost. Phyllis had to cancel at the last minute, so Travis had the opportunity.
The first question I asked was if this was a hoax. Yes I have seen the pictures online from that day, but Paul, Travis, and another one I can throw in there, Jody Kilburn and I have been known to play some pranks in the day. I had to make sure the pics from the inauguration wasn’t Photoshopped.
He said because it was a last minute arraignment, the only event they attended was the inauguration itself. The news media has tried to convince the American people the crowd was way down. He said it was packed on that rainy day in the nation’s capitol.
The story of the day were the protesters. I asked him about them. He said, There were lots of protesters the morning of the inauguration. They had pretty much clogged the entrances along the north side of the Mall area, thousands of them.
It was a thrill for him, as Clem has been in the Trump camp in the beginning. He helped covert this Never Trumpper shortly after the Illinois Primary.
It was an awesome opportunity and experience he had the privilege in participating. Honestly, as I was preparing this there was a little jealousy of the guy who was the best man in my wedding. Seriously, I think it is awesome he was able to be there for this once in a lifetime experience.
