As others have mentioned, you’ve had to grow up quickly over the last year. As your city manager, Mark Rohr, has said, the people here chose to define the tragedy “not by what happened to us, but by how we responded.”Ĭlass of 2012, that story is yours. And all the days and weeks and months that followed. It’s the story of what happened the next day. The first contact, the first phone call you had with somebody you loved, the first day that you woke up in a world that would never be the same.Īnd yet, the story of Joplin isn’t just what happened that day. It took Lantz Hare, who should’ve received his diploma next year.īy now, I expect that most of you have probably relived those 32 minutes again and again. It took a classmate Will Norton, who had just left this auditorium with a diploma in his hand. In just 32 minutes, it took thousands of homes, and hundreds of businesses, and 161 of your neighbors, friends and family. Just hours after the Class of 2011 walked across this stage, the most powerful tornado in six decades tore a path of devastation through Joplin that was nearly a mile wide and 13 long. Last year, the road that led you here took a turn that no one could’ve imagined. But as I look out at this class, and across this city, what’s clear is that you’re the source of inspiration today. (Laughter.) But the other job is to inspire. Chloe, they’ve given me more than two minutes. Now, the job of a commencement speaker primarily is to keep it short. (Applause.) Congratulations on your graduation, and thank you for allowing me the honor of playing a small part in this special day. (Applause.) To the faculty, the parents, the family, friends, the people of Joplin, and most of all the class of 2012. (Applause.) Somebody who doesn’t get a lot of attention but does amazing work all across the country, including here in Joplin, the head of FEMA, the administrator, Craig Fugate, who spent an awful lot of time here helping to rebuild. (Applause.) Your mayor, Melodee Colbert Kean. I want to acknowledge Senator Claire McCaskill who is here. First of all, you have an outstanding governor in Jay Nixon, and we are proud of all the work that he’s done. Here are the full remarks from Obama’s speech at Joplin High School in Joplin, Missouri in 2012.
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