Letter: 5th-grader’s letter to President Obama

Publisher’s note: The following letters are from 10-year-old South Lake Tahoe resident Rosie Friedrich and her father, John, to President Obama.

Dear President Obama,

We’re excited for your visit to Lake Tahoe next week. I was one of your elected 2008 national convention delegates from California, and have been a strong supporter ever since.

During your first campaign, I made “Babies for Barack” buttons, which I gave to you and Michelle at events in Iowa, my home state. Our daughter Rosie was one year old at the time, and her future was my deepest motivation to get involved in your campaign.

Flash forward, and Rosie, now 10, will be in her first week of 5th grade when you visit. She’ll be attending the Lake Tahoe Summit to hear you speak.

Thinking about your visit, Rosie decided to write a letter to you. She also wanted to share the speech she wrote when running for the 4th grade student senate last year about getting solar panels for her elementary school.

She wrote her letter to you by hand, but I’m typing it for her. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next Wednesday!

Sincerely,

John Friedrich,  South Lake Tahoe

August 24, 2016

Dear President Barack Obama:

I would like to talk about some of the things that I think should improve in South Lake Tahoe since you are coming to speak here.

First, our town is very spread out — there is no place for locals to come and hang out. So I think we should build a town center.

Next, I think, and as many scientists have proven, the problem of climate warming needs to be solved. Many people focus on the melting glaciers, but in many little towns there are major effects. For example in Tahoe, drought is causing less snow to fall every year.

Tahoe is a beautiful place, but there are many problems occurring here too. Thank you for taking time to visit.

A proud citizen,

Rosie, age 10