President Bush, Air Force One Visit Huntsville

The wheels of Air Force One touched down at Huntsville International Airport at approximately 12:17 p.m. on Thursday, June 21. President George W. Bush traveled to the Tennessee Valley to tour the Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant – where the Unit 1 reactor was restarted after a 22-year hiatus – and speak on the importance of nuclear energy. A major reason for Bush’s visit was to push Congress to pass energy legislation that would expedite the construction of new plants.

Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer, Athens Mayor Dan Williams, and Sens. Tom Butler, D-Madison, and Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, were among a handful of people selected to greet Bush as he stepped of Air Force One. Accompanying the president during his visit were U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, along with Congressman Bud Cramer of Huntsville. Before departing by motorcade en route to Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant, Bush honored local volunteer, Don Clark, with the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Approximately 250 people saw the president at Brown’s Ferry, including some 150 of the 1,000-plus nuclear power plant's employees. Following Bush’s speech about his national energy policy, which includes significant financial incentives to build more nuclear power plants, Bush returned to Huntsville International Airport by motorcade where he traveled on Air Force One to Mobile for a campaign fundraiser for Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Bush’s visit marks the first President to visit this area since his father, former President George H.W. Bush in 1990.