A once in a lifetime opportunity

WASHINGTON — This past week Dan and Seena Glessing had an experience they will never forget as they attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20 in Washington.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both Seena and myself,” Dan Glessing said. “(It was) neat to be able to witness that firsthand.”

The Glessings milk 75 cows on their farm near Waverly, Minnesota. The couple were invited to attend the inauguration by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota who was the chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Klobuchar herself spoke at the beginning of the inauguration.

“The whole ceremonial aspect of (the inauguration) does bring a bipartisanship together,” Glessing said. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance (that) both political parties have certain ideologies, but the American people are the ones who make this country what it is and what we stand for. And so, there’s that sense of patriotism. … Yes, it’s bipartisan, but it also just the celebration of being in the United States of America.”

Because of the extremely cold temperatures, the inauguration ceremony was held in the Capitol Rotunda instead of its originally planned location on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. With the change of locations, the Glessings were seated in Emancipation Hall.

There, on a big screen, they watched the inauguration livestream. Following the swearing-in, President Donald Trump came and spoke to attendees in Emancipation Hall for about 15-20 minutes. The Glessings were seated in front of the podium and to the left about three rows back. 

“It is a neat opportunity to see someone who typically you only see on the television or in media … in person and know that he is the president,” Glessing said.

He said it was interesting to watch the security measures and the U.S. Secret Service’s efforts to keep the president protected. He said he also enjoyed getting to see Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Before the inauguration, the Glessings were escorted from several blocks away and brought to the Dirksen Senate Office Building where they could take off their coats, grab coffee and snacks, and get directions for the rest of the day before being seated for the inauguration.

For Glessing, one of the things he found interesting was seeing the handoff of the White House.

“The peaceful transfer of power is really a neat thing to experience firsthand,” he said.

Glessing was able to watch on the big screen the Bidens welcome the Trumps and the Trumps seeing off the Bidens.

“Some countries don’t do that,” he said. “(There) is something to be said for handling with class the wish of the voters.”

In the evening following the inauguration, the Glessings attended the Bipartisan Inaugural Ball: Celebrating American Agriculture. Glessing said he heard the attendance of the event was around 1,200 people. He said there were many familiar faces and good conversations. The Glessings were able to connect with Rep. Frank Lucas, Rep. Angie Craig and chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Glenn “GT” Thompson, among others.

“When you look at what farmers in the U.S. do, we do have a lot to celebrate,” Glessing said. “(We are) producing food that’s wholesome and safe and doing it relatively cheaply for consumers.”

Glessing is not a stranger to Washington through his agriculture policy advocacy work as the president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation board of directors. In the past two years, he has visited Washington over 10 times.

Glessing finished off the inauguration trip with visits to legislators including eight members of the House and Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith. Glessings wanted to thank Klobuchar in person for her invitation and to hear her recap of the previous day’s activities.

Glessing said they visited with the legislators about a wide array of farm policy. Some of the pieces of legislation on Glessing’s mind currently include the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expires this year, the farm bill, the Dairy Margin Coverage program, delisting the gray wolf and additional milk proccessing.

“When members hear from the farmers that are sitting in their offices telling the story of why a certain piece of legislation would help or hurt their farm that goes a lot further than any type of lobbyist,” Glessing said.

Glessing has plans for a trip back to Washington in February for a day and a half as well as two trips in March for a total of eight days along with a potential trip in July.

While the Glessings were in Washington, their children, a nephew and one of Dan’s second cousins were caring for their dairy in the cold.

“I have not gotten any calls with something that the crew back home can’t handle,” Glessing said. “There are cold mornings, and if you can get the barn clean, that’s a good thing. I haven’t heard any troubles yet, so that was kind of refreshing.”

The Glessings returned home to Minnesota on Tuesday evening.

“(It was a) once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we were able to take part in,” Glessing said. “I do enjoy the process and the history that is in D.C. and everything that it entails.”