It’s been a year of dreams come true for Freeborn County DFL Party Chairman Art Anderson and his wife, Rose, the vice chairwoman.

Not too many people can say they’ve been able to host a district caucus and convention, to attend the Democratic National Convention, to be an elector for a president and even to attend an inauguration all during one year. But the Andersons can.

During 2008, Art and Rose, along with the Freeborn County DFL Party, became the host for the 1st District caucus and convention, where Art was elected to be an elector for the state convention.

In August, the couple got the chance to go to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver after Rose was asked to be on the credentials committee. There, they had the opportunity to see many of the country’s Democratic leaders and to see for the first time the man elected as the nation’s new president.

In December, Art became one of 10 electors for the state of Minnesota to cast his ballot for President Barack Obama. And because of that honor, he received two tickets for the inauguration.

At the end of last week, the couple came back from attending their crowning event of the year as Obama was sworn in as the country’s 44th president.

“We’ve had the most exciting year we’ve ever had,” Rose said.

“In a lifetime, I never dreamt to be able to do all this,” Art added.

The Andersons flew out of Minnesota Jan. 18, first to Philadelphia and then to Washington.

The morning of the inauguration, they received a wake-up call at 5 a.m. and left the hotel at 6 a.m. to go to the Capitol.

They said they didn’t eat or drink much because they knew they would have to stand in line for about three hours and then go through three spots of security.

When they finally got to their seats, Rose said, the third highest groundskeeper of the Capitol sat with them. He gave them some hand warmers as the weather was damp and chilly.

The couple estimated they were only about 250 feet away from the president.

Art said when he turned around to look at all of the people behind him, “all you could see was people as far as you could see.”

He said he and Rose saw the Marine One helicopter fly in with President George W. Bush and his wife, and when Obama and Vice President Joe Biden came out people jumped up and screamed.

“People were so happy everywhere we went,” Rose said. “We got so many thank yous and hugs for voting for Obama.”

Art said he thought Obama’s speech was a good one, and he likes that Obama is already following through on things he’s said.

“If we could just all get a mindset where it’s not I or me, but our,” Rose said of what she learned from his speech. “And think of it as our country.”

They said the experienced allowed them the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, not just from the United States.

Aside from the inauguration, the couple also got to attend a reception with 1st District Congressman Tim Walz and another for the Minnesota DFL Party where U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken were present.

“I hope everyone will start realizing the only way we can get out of our situation is to start working together,” Rose said. She also hopes people will get more involved with politics.

“Politics can be fun,” she said. “You meet lots of people.”

Politics aside, the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary during 2008, which was also a major achievement.

The couple said they will share some of the pictures and other memorabilia from the inauguration during a Freeborn County DFL Party meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.

Anyone who would like to come is welcome to attend, they said.

They will be fundraising for party events and for upcoming candidates. For questions, the Andersons can be reached at 373-9445.