UPDATE: Albuquerque Native in Michelle Obama’s Box for President’s Speech Tonight

A couple of hours ago, I blogged that Armando Arzola of Bayard would be in the U.S. House tonight for President Obama’s speech as a guest of Rep. Harry Teague. Well, it turns out there will be a couple of other New Mexicans there, as well.

Shannon Kendall, an Albuquerque native who graduated from New Mexico State University in 1999 and now lives in Texas, will be at the speech as a special guest of First Lady Michelle Obama.

According to the White House: Kendall is the wife of MAJ Ryan Kendall. For the past ten years, Ryan has served with units in Korea, Colorado, Texas, and Alabama as an Apache Helicopter Pilot. He has served twice in Iraq, once as a Platoon Leader, and most recently for 15 months as a Troop Commander. Ryan is currently serving in the Army on Active Duty at Fort Hood, TX, with the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment as a Troop Commander. Shannon and Ryan were married in Albuquerque, NM, in September 2004 and have been together since November 2000 when Ryan was assigned to Korea. Shannon and Aidan spent the past 15 months in Albuquerque, NM, to be close to family while Ryan was deployed.

You may know that Michelle Obama has repeatedly said she’d like to use her powerful platform – at least in part – to advocate for the nation’s military families.

Rep. Martin Heinrich – at the last minute – managed to get Albuquerque’s Nanette Marie Cocotelli confirmed to attend the president’s speech as his guest. Cocotelli, a pediatric pulmonary social worker at the University of New Mexico medical school, got her ticket through good old fashioned resourcefulness – and big-time luck.

“She came in (to Heinrich’s office) and asked if she could go,” Heinrich spokesman John Blair just told me.

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And here’s what I posted earlier:

Retired Air Force veteran Armando Arzola of Bayard, N.M. will be in the U.S. House tonight when President Obama speaks to a joint session of Congress.

Arzola, who is also a Bayard City Councilman, is a guest of Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M. It’s a longstanding tradition for members of Congress to invite a guest when the president addresses a joint session, although many choose not to.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M, will attend with his wife, Jill.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is flying solo at the speech tonight, as are Reps. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, also Democrats. I’ll be at the speech, so look for reaction from New Mexico’s congressional delegation – as a well as Republican or two back home – in tomorrow’s Journal.

Teague said he invited Arzola because “he is the type of person it is going to take to turn this country around.”

“He served his country for 28 years and when he retired and returned to his hometown he saw that there was a need for leadership and he stepped up,” Teague said in a statement. “Since he was elected to the city council he has been working to improve his community”

Arzola, naturally, said he was excited to attend President Obama’s first major speech to Congress.

“I’m honored that Congressman Harry Teague thought of me to attend the Presidential Address as his guest,” Arzola said. “Like a lot of communities across New Mexico, Bayard has been hit very hard by the recent economic downturn. We have high unemployment, infrastructure, and education needs. Right now, we’re doing the best we can to help ourselves but we need some help. I am eager to hear what President Obama has to say about how we can work together from the local level on up to turn our communities around.”
Bayard is a community of 2500 located in south western New Mexico.