The nation's direction changed the world’s politics on Jan. 20 when Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the President of the United States for the second time.

Millions watched on television worldwide, and Clay County had a front-row seat for the festivities.

A contingent including commissioners, school board representatives, county officials, civic leaders and residents paid their way to Washington, D.C., to be emersed in history.

“Think about it: this has happened only 47 times in our country’s history,” Sheriff Michelle Cook said. “To be part of something like this was amazing. The energy was palatable. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”

With the help of U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean and Rhonda Jett, an executive board member of the Clay County Republican Party, many of the Clay County contingent got tickets to the inauguration and the Liberty Ball. When the inauguration was moved inside by bitterly cold weather, nearly 25 people turned disappointment into a golden opportunity.

The group had tickets to the Liberty Ball. They arrived early, and for some reason, they were admitted early.

“We happen to be able to get in (early) with some of the VIPs,” Jett said. “(I) don't know how that happened. It just happened. We were (an) arm’s length from the stage. We were right there, yep. So that made it all worth it. It was icing on the cake for us.”

“I mean, the only thing separating us was the railing and Secret Service,” said school board member Erin Skipper.

The group from Clay came in separately with different itineraries. They stayed in different hotels and formulated a schedule on the run.

“It was worth the investment,” Cook said.

“We were up very early and stayed up very late,” Skipper said.

The group visited many of the tourist sites in Washington, including the only state with an embassy in the District – Florida.

They visited with Bean and saw the Capitol and the Holocaust Museum. They were frozen out of the outside inauguration ceremonies, but they could don their evening gowns and rub elbows with the nation’s political and social elites.

“Clay was well represented,” Jett said.

All were amazed by the reception outsiders received in Washington for the inauguration — many expected pushback from those who opposed Trump’s revolutionary approach.

“It was emotional. We were very blessed to be there,” Jett said. “You could feel the American pride. I will say all through D.C., anywhere we stopped, everyone was very welcoming. We never had a bad experience with anybody barking at us or anything like that. Everyone was coming. Everyone was very USA and was really cool.”