WASHINGTON -- In January in the nation's capital, the State of the Union address is the biggest show in town, and tickets to it are scarce and coveted.
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Each member of Arkansas' congressional delegation can invite one guest to sit in the House gallery and watch the president's speech.
All six of Arkansas' lawmakers are Republicans. Some of them invited Democrats from their districts to hear President Barack Obama's final yearly message.
This year, Arkansas' 3rd District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack invited former University of Arkansas Chancellor Dan Ferritor.
"Dan Ferritor is a personal friend. ... He's somebody I admire," the former Rogers mayor said. "This will be a great way to honor his service to higher education and to my district."
The 7̶5̶-̶y̶e̶a̶r̶-̶o̶l̶d̶ 76-year-old* educator said he was thrilled to hear firsthand America's most famous annual speech.
Asked about his political affiliation, Ferritor smiled widely and said: "I vote for the best person. And that's almost always a Democrat."
But he made clear that he was grateful to Womack for allowing him to witness history.
"One ticket? I still can't believe you invited me," Ferritor told Womack after greeting him warmly. "It's an incredibly significant event."
Ferritor wasn't the only Arkansas educator attending Tuesday night's speech.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers offered his ticket to Jim Rankin, the University of Arkansas' vice provost for research and economic development.
"First of all, I asked my wife if she wants to go. She's in town. And she said 'No', which she always does. 'Give it to somebody that doesn't get to experience one of these kinds of things,'" Boozman said.
"What I try and do is just give [my ticket] to one of the people who's here in town that I think would enjoy the experience," he said.
Rankin, he said, was "certainly very excited. ... It's a very small fraternity of people who have actually sat in the gallery and been a part of this."
Fourth District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs invited Victor Rojas, an Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice board member and a De Queen Public School District employee.
Second District U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock gave his ticket to Col. Nathaniel Todd, chief financial officer for the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in North Little Rock.
First District U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro gave his ticket to an intern from Independence County, Hunter Biram. Biram, whose hometown is Floral, is a senior studying agricultural economics at Arkansas State University.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle invited Abby Welborn, who recently was hired as a legislative correspondent.
A Section on 01/13/2016
*CORRECTION: Former University of Arkansas Chancellor Dan Ferritor is 76. His age was incorrect in this article.