"But there is something else that stands out to me about these people," Napier said. "Many of them are families or parts of families who are going to the inauguration to share an important moment in American history."
Two examples of what Napier is talking about are husband and wife Kevin and Mary McKitric of Danville and sisters Sara Givens and Barthenia Brown of Stanford.
The traveling sisters
Givens, 64, and Brown, 61, are about as close as two siblings can be. If they aren't joined at the hip, they are definitely joined at the heart.
"We have been close all our lives and are still with each other a lot," said Givens, noting that she and her sister have a brother, Gary. "In fact, a lot of people think we are twins."
Givens has been an employee of American Greetings in Danville for 30 years, and she also write a column, "Sara's Notes," in Stanford's Interior Journal.
A widow, she and her late husband, Shirley, raised four children, who now range in age from 35 to 44.
Brown is a licensed practical nurse with the crisis stabilization unit of the Bluegrass Health and Mental Retardation agency. She has two grown sons.
As far as pastimes, it doesn't matter what Givens and Brown do in their spare, they likely will be doing it together.
And a good example of the their closeness are their frequent trips together.
"We have traveled around the country and the world," Givens said. "We have been abroad often, including going to Paris, Belgium and many other countries."
But one place they have never been is Washington, D.C., and one event they have never witnessed is a presidential inauguration. They are looking forward to checking both of those things off their traveling to-do list.
"The night back in November that Obama was proclaimed the winner of the election, I said to Sara, 'We're going to Washington, even if we have to crawl there,'" Brown said.
"We have never been to D.C. and we never have seen an inauguration, so we figured with the first African-American being inaugurated and us not getting any younger, it was time to do it," she said.
Brown went to Louisville to see Bill Clinton when he was president and called the occasion "memorable."
"But being there in Washington and seeing Barack Obama being sworn in as this nation's president will be really exciting and the most memorable event I will have ever attended," she said.
Brown's excitement is based on the history Obama will be making when he takes the oath of office.
"I never thought in my lifetime that an African-American would become president," she said. "Not only is that going to happen, but Sara and I will get to witness it in person."
Brown noted that Kentucky was a slave state and blacks spent the post-slavery era under segregation.
"I mostly have been treated nicely in my life, but it is a fact of life for African-Americans that racism still exists," she said. "Maybe having a very smart and well-spoken African-American as president might help put an end to it."
Givens said she has watched on television at least part of all of the presidential inaugurations during her lifetime. The two that were most special to her were the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the 1996 inauguration of Clinton.
"I have always loved the Kennedys, including the president and Teddy, and the Clintons, both Bill and Hillary," she said.
But Givens said there is still plenty of room left in heart for Obama.
"He appears to be a super great person, very intelligent, a wonderful speaker, just an exceptional man," she said. "And while the fact that he is a black man is part of the reason I admire him so much, I also am impressed with how honest and upfront he appears to be."
Both sisters are looking forward to seeing the traits they appreciate so much about Obama up close and personal - at least as close as they can get to the podium.
"It would be nice to have a front-row seat, but it really won't matter if we are a mile away," said Brown. "Just being in the huge crowd and hearing his voice will be thrilling enough for me."
Givens agreed.
"No matter where we are, we will be part of an historic moment," she said. "And what will make it even more special is that Barthenia and I will be sharing the moment together."
