Inauguration organizers keep the ball rolling

Though the outcome of the presidential election is still unknown, preparation for the 54th annual presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 continues to move forward. Both the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC) and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) work on planning and coordinating the inauguration. The JCCIC focuses specifically on inaugural activities at the Capitol including the swearing-in ceremony and the traditional luncheon honoring the President and Vice President. The AFIC handles planning, operations, communications, logistics and personnel support for the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC). The PIC plans inaugural galas, balls and the inaugural parade, and is usually formed after the November elections. "We are conduits of information," said Lt. Colonel M. J. Jadick, a spokeswoman for the AFIC. "(The Presidential Inaugural Committee) will determine who will participate in the parade, where the balls will be held, what kind of balls they have, (and) what kind of special events they will have." The AFIC staff consists of approximately 200 people now. More staff members will be added as the inauguration draws closer. "What we do is provide ceremonial support--updated information on all of those things that they have done in the past," Jadick said. For example, AFIC staff point out roadblocks on former parade routes, like trees that have grown higher or the construction of a sculpture garden where media trucks used to park. "We provide them the most current information on the parade route based on archived material," said Jadick. The uncertainty of the election outcome has little effect on AFIC's activities, Jadick said,because the AFIC doesn't make any decisions. Even the armed forces ceremonial units, which have participated in the ceremonies since 1789, have to be invited to perform by the PIC. "We've got our ceremonial units standing by with the date on the calendar thinking, well we've played before and we might be invited to play again," Jadick said. The delay in naming a President is not critical to the planning process for JCCIC either, according to Tamara Sommerville, JCCIC's chief of staff. "A lot of things play in our favor, we've been working on this for a year and a half and the planning is 95 percent done at this point," Sommerville said. "The inaugural for the most part is pretty generic." The printing schedule for inaugural ceremony programs is one trouble spot. Inauguration tickets have remained the same for several decades, but the program depends on having a President. "We can't send those to the printer because the incoming President traditionally personalizes the ceremony," Sommerville said. Still, the biggest worry is the weather. "We are hoping for a little bit of a break between obsessing over dimples and Doppler radar," Sommerville said.