Mindi Davidson was "quite nervous" at the thought of meeting Sarah Palin on Friday night, but she wasn't daunted long.

"Once you start talking to her, it's like talking to someone that you've known forever," Davidson said.

Sharing the head table at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, Davidson found she has a lot in common with Palin, despite her being a national Republican icon, former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate.

Before Palin took command of the packed Salina Bicentennial Center arena -- with about 6,000 in attendance -- she engaged in "mainly just family" talk with Davidson, the marketing officer and human resources administrator at First Bank Kansas in Salina. She was at the head table with her husband, Todd Davidson, an attorney with Hampton and Royce law offices in Salina. Todd is chairman-elect of the chamber board.

Mindi Davidson sat next to Palin's 8-year-old daughter, Piper, one of Palin's five children.

The Davidsons have three youngsters.

"We compared kid stories," Mindi said. "She's a very down-to-earth person, very easy to talk to."

A spunky child

Piper was "spunky ... kind of like I would imagine the governor would be like at that age," said Kendra Neuschafer, a Salina teacher who flanked Palin at the table.

"Neither one of us ate our food. We talked pretty much the whole time. I've always admired her, and to hold a normal conversation with her was thrilling to me," Neuschafer said of Palin.

A third-grader, Piper drew Kendra Neuschafer a picture and autographed it for Neuschafer's third-grade class at Meadowlark Ridge Elementary School in Salina.

Kendra's husband, Daran Neuschafer, owner of an American Family Insurance agency in Salina, is past chairman of the chamber board of directors.

Few were able to visit much with Palin, including those at a "very quick" pre-banquet reception, Mindi Davidson said.

She's flat-out Sarah

Mindi learned there's not much difference between Palin the star and Palin the person.

"She is flat-out Sarah Palin. What you see is what you get with her," Davidson said.

Palin spent time jotting down notes on her prepared speech as the other speakers brought up local highlights and tidbits of Salina information.

During the dinner, there was time for two moms to chat.

"She thought it was amazing that I work out of the home most of the time," Davidson said of Palin. "She has five kids and does more than I do. Her youngest is 2 and her oldest is in the military. She said the older they get the easier they get."

The Davidson kids are ages 6, 4 and 2.

"I have a louder house right now," Mindi said Monday night over the phone as her children voiced some youthful exuberance in the background.

"I'm not political by any means. (Palin) was completely wonderful, and I have the utmost respect for what she does," Mindi Davidson said. "She's just amazing, whether she speaks about politics or kids."

Palin was greeted Thursday at Salina Municipal Airport by local officials who commented on her friendliness. She spent the night at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in south Salina.

The call never came

As a buzz circulated about the celebrity in town, Jennifer Caldwell was preparing for a call that never came.

The owner of Signature Salon, 645 E. Crawford, Caldwell had been called by chamber senior vice president Don Weiser, earlier in the week.

"He just said Sarah Palin's people had contacted the chamber, and they needed all their bases covered," Caldwell said. "He asked that if she needed someone to do her hair, would we like to do it. I said 'absolutely.' "

The call never came. Caldwell admitted she would have been nervous but was confident she could have handled the job.

"She's got a pretty simple hairstyle," Caldwell said.

She regretted being unable to attend Palin's speech.

"It would have been great," Caldwell said.

It went very well

All in all, the Palin visit was a big success, said Dennis Lauver, chamber president and CEO.

Rather than wait on eight free shuttle buses that kept running from spillover parking at Salina Central High School to the Bicentennial Center, some people opted to walk, he said, but that was about the only issue.

"From a logistics point of view, I think everything went very well," Lauver said. "We had, certainly, some challenges associated with the largest chamber of commerce meeting ever held in America."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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TW says....
Trig is not 2 years old, he turns 2 April 18th.
Did Sarah tell Mindi he was 2?
I wonder what type picture Piper drew. She sure misses a lot of school, I wish a teacher would ask about that.
2/13/2010

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mom says....
I wonder if Piper would be happier at home at school with her friends rather than these rallies with her mom.
2/10/2010

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Go into the Light says....
And how much did this preaching to the choir cost the "normal" Salina citizen? I have seen reports on CNN etal that personel appearance fees are at $50,000 and up to get Palinized. Seems to be a large expense for a known quantity considering the state of our economy. You could have just stayed home and made up stuff yourself rather than pay this poor excuse for a leader to expound on her false propaganda.
2/9/2010

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says....
Can we report on anything else besides Palin? It's scary to see the following she has.
2/9/2010

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