Gallaudet University
09/20/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/19/2024 20:52
Alumnus Neil J. McDevitt, mayor of North Wales, Pennsylvania, introduces President Biden at White House Disability Pride Month event
Alumnus Neil J. McDevitt, mayor of North Wales, Pennsylvania, introduces President Biden at White House Disability Pride Month event
Neil J. McDevitt, '96, had the honor of introducing President Biden at a Disability Pride Month event on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, September 9. McDevitt had already accepted an invitation to attend this event the week before. In a moment of inspiration, he contacted the White House's Senior Advisor on Disability and offered to say a few words. Subsequently, he was asked not just to say a few words, but to introduce the President!
This triggered for McDevitt and his wife Sarah a flurry of activity leading up to the event - writing his remarks, rearranging their schedules, selecting attire, and planning their drive to Washington on Monday morning. They spent their afternoon and evening at the White House, where an ASL interpreter and a military aide were assigned to them. Surprisingly, the military aide was the ASL-fluent brother of a Gallaudet alumnus.
Photo credit: The White House
After several rehearsals, walk-throughs, and a receiving line, they had the opportunity to engage in conversation with President Biden. Sarah McDevitt told the President that she, like First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, was a teacher, and they engaged in animated conversation for several minutes thereafter. Biden then turned to Neil McDevitt and said, "You and I have something in common - we both married way up!"
McDevitt and the President then walked out of the White House together, and McDevitt delivered his remarks flawlessly.
Read and watch Neil McDevitt's and President Biden's remarks at the Disability Pride Month event.
McDevitt is the elected mayor of North Wales, Pennsylvania, a borough 25 miles north of Philadelphia with a population of 3,400. He is believed to be the first deaf person to be elected mayor of a municipality in modern times. He is also executive director of Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre (DHCC), a nonprofit organization that provides communication access services, education, and advocacy throughout the greater Philadelphia area.