(This article is part of President Obama: A Commemorative Section of the Winston-Salem Journal)
When Barack Obama visited Charlotte in September, his campaign office scanned its list of volunteers in search of someone who could help load some of his luggage onto his plane.
Ivory Paysour, a Winston-Salem native and 2008 graduate of West Forsyth High School, was delighted to be chosen.
Paysour, 18, knew that the job would include a brief, one-on-one chat with Obama.
On the day of the event, Paysour, now a freshman at UNC Charlotte, went to Wilson Air Center in Charlotte and nervously waited.
Soon, the motorcade approached, and Paysour watched Obama step out of a black SUV sporting a pair of sleek Ray-Ban sunglasses.
As he approached, Paysour blanked out on what she should say to him. So, she said the first thing that popped into her head:
"Those sunglasses look nice on you."
"Huh? Thanks," Obama said. Then, he chuckled.
Paysour said that the words left her mouth before she could stop them. She regained her composure and told him: "I'm Ivory Paysour, and I've worked hard for you this summer."
Indeed, she did.
As one of 4,000 Obama Organizing Fellows, Paysour helped lay the groundwork for Obama's surprising win in North Carolina. She organized house parties, registered voters, called former Hillary Clinton supporters and knocked on doors in Winston-Salem, King and Kernersville.
When she started at UNCC, Paysour moved her campaigning to Charlotte.
"I was not going to quit on Obama," she said.
Paysour reflected on her volunteer stint during a holiday break from school, where she is studying history with an eye toward law school. Despite working long hours for Obama, she said she decided not to travel to the inauguration.
"It's the beginning of the semester and I haven't been absent from class," she said. "I think he'll forgive me."
The September meeting with Obama was actually her second. She met him in April at East Carolina University after registering more than 120 people, most of whom went to West Forsyth.
She has also met Michelle Obama and Joe Biden. She told Biden that she wants to be a senator.
"Once you get there," he told her, "don't forget about me."
Ira Jackson, Paysour's grandfather, said he is proud that his granddaughter played a small role in getting Obama elected.
"It's unbelievable about Barack," said Jackson, who lives outside of Raleigh. "I thought it was almost impossible."
■ Lisa O'Donnell can be reached at 727-7420 or at lo'donnell@wsjournal.com.
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