Swearing In Ceremony

When we arrived at the Capitol we were told to find a seat anywhere we could. We scrambled around looking for any available chair. Once all the seats were filled the Speaker of the House swore us in. We were sworn in by former Speaker Bruce Newcomb, because the newly elected Speaker Lawrence Denny had not been sworn in yet. Next we started the process of seat assignments. Seats are selected by seniority. The most senior member selects which seat they want to occupy and so on until they get to the freshman class, then they draw names out of a bowl, and you select your seat when your name is called. It was an intresting process. I was very fortunate because I was able to secure a seat in the front row and my best friend Rep. Raul Labrador was able to secure the seat to my right. I choose to sit in the front row because on my left was a senior member George Eskridge, who I knew would be very helpful if I had any questions. I loved my seatmates, they were the best.