 Renowned Lincoln impersonator George Buss will pose as Lincoln and
field questions about his presidency from present-day central
Illinois media personalities, including Elizabeth Wooley, WICS-TV;
Michelle Eccles, WTAX radio; Amanda Vinicky, WUIS radio Statehouse
reporter; Jim Leach, WMAY radio; Jeff Hofmann, WFMB radio; Terry
Martin, Illinois Channel; and Capital Area Career Center student
reporters Jaime Powell and Demeterius Inostroza from WQNA radio and
the Illinois Student News Network.Members of the media attending
this White House news conference will question the president about
1860s topics that are eerily similar to those you may overhear at a
presidential news conference today -- an unpopular and costly war,
individual liberties, the economy and political infighting. The
audience will also be given the chance to ask questions of President
Lincoln.
There will also be a free reception honoring President Lincoln
(portrayed by Mr. Buss) at 6 p.m. at the Old State Capitol.
Both events are sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Association and
co-sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the
Hilton Garden Inn Springfield, Old State Capitol Chorale and the
Illinois State Historical Society.
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 For 15 years, Buss and his friend, the late Rich Sokup,
interpreted Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in nearly 400
performances before local, state and national audiences. Their
presentations were based upon an original script authored by Sokup.
Buss and Sokup appeared on the stage at Ford's Theatre in
Washington, D.C., and in Gettysburg, Chicago, Atlanta, Topeka and
New Orleans -- to name but a few. They were the only pair to appear
twice in the live broadcasts of the 1994 C-Span Lincoln-Douglas
Debates. Since Sokup's passing, Buss has continued interpreting
Lincoln.
Buss' longtime friend Harold Holzer, co-chair of the U.S. Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, says of Buss' interpretation, "I
have never been as riveted by a Lincoln interpreter (at any time or
any place) as I was by your presentation."
The news conference is the first of three years of events
sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Association in Illinois to
commemorate the Feb. 12, 2009, bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's
birthday.
The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, administered by the
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency, was the seat of Illinois government from
1839 to 1876 and is where Lincoln delivered his famous "House
Divided" speech in 1858.
[Text
from Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum news release received from the
Illinois Office of Communication and Information] |
