Over 1200 people were on hand last Saturday for the official opening of the Louisville, Kentucky, Obama for America headquarters. Fourth District Councilman David Tandy was the Master of Ceremonies, and Congressman John Yarmuth was the special guest, along with a number of Kentucky state senators and representatives, local activists and grassroots supporters.

After the event, over 500 volunteers signed up to phone bank, canvass, and organize in their neighborhoods. Many of them loaded up on Obama gear, and one woman used her new Obama bumper stickers to cover the worn Bush stickers on her car.

In Convington, local supporter Wellington Lee described Obama's campaign as a "true grass-roots movement."

"I've never seen anything like it, and I've been around this a long time," Lee said.

"It is a campaign that attracts such a cross-section of the population. It really is a movement, and we're hoping to connect like-minded people and empower them to become part of it."

At the Louisville headquarters opening, former Kentucky Congressman Romano Mazzoli made a surprise appearance where he announced his formal endorsement of Barack. Mazzoli explained:

“In the 1960s, Helen and I were inspired to enter public service because of President John F. Kennedy's youth, vigor, optimism and rhetorical eloquence. If we were in our 20s once again, we would be similarly inspired by Sen. Barack Obama. His own idealism, energy, imagination and soaring oratory will revitalize the presidency and give to this generation the same chance to change the nation and the world that President Kennedy gave to our generation. For those of us who wish our national leaders to be oriented toward the future and not the past, for those of us who deplore the cynicism, stratagems and expediency of today's politics, and for those of us who wish to be part of an effort whose goal is to inspire and unite people and not divide and destroy them, Sen. Barack Obama offers us this chance.”

The Louisville Obama for America headquarters is the first of any of the presidential campaigns to open in Kentucky ahead of the May 20th primary. If you live in the Louisville area, you can stop by the new headquarters at 900 East Market Street.

Photos by Jose Neil Donis