by JoBeth Wampler
Staff Reporter
     For one former Buchanan County resident, his strong ties to his hometown earned him a once in a lifetime experience with the President of the United States.
     Danny G. Mullins, who currently resides in Norton, said it was the unique circumstances through which he found himself standing side by side with President George W. Bush, former President George H.W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush that made the meeting even more special.
     In April, Bush hosted a barbecue supper at his Crawford, Texas ranch, honoring some of the Republican Party's biggest supporters.
     Of the approximately 500 attendees the barbecue drew, according to some reports, Wise County native Thelma White was also invited to attend.
     Knowing she could bring one guest, White chose Mullins.
     And, while Mullins prepared for his trip to Texas, he said he received a copy of the Virginia Mountaineer in the mail just before the event.
     The April 3, 2008 edition of the Mountaineer contained a feature article, penned by staff reporter JoBeth Wampler, about eight-year-old Hayley Davis.
     Davis wrote to the President during her Christmas break in 2007 while visiting her grandparents, Richard and Debby Ward, of Slate Creek.
     Around three months later, she received a response.
     "When I got that paper, I thought it was great that a little girl would be recognized by the President of the United States," Mullins said.

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