--- title: See Special Guests at the State of the Union Address description: 31 years of skutniks, from Rosa Parks to Tim Cook. canonical: https://time.com/4175328/special-guests-at-the-state-of-the-union-address/ author: TIME Photo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-01-24T05:01:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:37.763Z article:section: Politics og:title: See Special Guests at the State of the Union Address og:description: 31 years of skutniks, from Rosa Parks to Tim Cook. og:url: https://time.com/4175328/special-guests-at-the-state-of-the-union-address/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt861fcb04ed3dc545/698878915f570f1b49b1f234/special-guests-state-of-the-union-address-4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1700 og:image:height: 956 og:image:alt: US First Lady Hillary Clinton(R) exchanges kisses og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Special Guests at the State of the Union Address twitter:description: 31 years of skutniks, from Rosa Parks to Tim Cook. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt861fcb04ed3dc545/698878915f570f1b49b1f234/special-guests-state-of-the-union-address-4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 31 Years of Skutniks: A Brief History of Special Guests at the State of the Union Address > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Jan 24, 2012 5:01 AM UTC  First Lady Hillary Clinton exchanges kisses from Rosa Parks prior to President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill, Jan. 19, 1999, in Washington. Clinton invited the Civil Rights icon as a guest while he sought support for his Initiative on Race. First Lady Hillary Clinton exchanges kisses from Rosa Parks prior to President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill, Jan. 19, 1999, in Washington. Clinton invited the Civil Rights icon as a guest while he sought support for his Initiative on Race. Luke Frazza—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Jan 24, 2012 5:01 AM UTC Named for Lenny Skutnik, the savior of a drowning jetliner passenger whose aircraft crashed into the Potomac River in 1982, these (mostly) heroic folks have been mainstays of the annual State of the Union address since Ronald Reagan started the tradition with Skutnik three decades ago.  Lenny Skutnik, who jumped into the Potomac River to save one of the passengers aboard an Air Florida jetliner that had crashed there on January 13, 1982, receives applause during Ronald Reagan's State of the Union address on Jan. 27, 1982. AP  Nancy Reagan attends the State of the Union Address with Trevor Ferrell, Richard Cavioli, Shelby Butler and Tyrone Ford on Feb. 2, 1986\. With the help of his family and local churches, 13-year-old Ferrell delivered food and blankets to the homeless in Philadelphia. Terry Ashe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Kristin Tanner, an eight grader at Field School in Northbrook, Ill., stands after being introduced during President Clinton's State of the Union Address Tuesday, Feb. 4, 1997, at the Capitol. Tanner was among several Illinois students who tested near the top in the Third International Math and Science Study. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  First Lady Hillary Clinton exchanges kisses from Rosa Parks prior to President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill, Jan. 19, 1999, in Washington. Clinton invited the Civil Rights icon as a guest while he sought support for his Initiative on Race. Luke Frazza—AFP/Getty Images  First Lady Hillary Clinton (L) applauds major league baseball player Sammy Sosa, Jan. 19, 1999, during President Clinton's State of the Union address. Months earlier, the Cubs slugger broke Roger Maris' record for the most home runs. Luke Frazza—AFP/Getty Images  Hermis Moutardier, at right in a sling, attends President Bush's State of the Union address, Jan. 29, 2002\. In December 2001, Moutardier and another flight attendant subdued Richard C. Reid, who tried to detonate a shoe bomb aboard their Paris-to-Miami flight. Susan Walsh—AP  First lady Laura Bush, right, applauds as Safia Taleb al-Suhail, leader of the Iraqi Women's Political Council, back to camera, hugs Janet Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 2, 2005\. Norwood's son, Sgt. Byron Norwood, was killed in Iraq in Nov. 2004. Gerald Herbert—AP  Houston Rockets center and Congolese native Dikembe Mutombo acknowledges the crowd during President Bush's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 23, 2007\. Mutombo raised $29 million to build the African country's newest hospital in 40 years. Susan Walsh—AP  Irvin Mayfield (2nd row: 2nd from left) attends President Bush's State of the Union speech on Jan. 28, 2008\. After losing his family in Hurricane Katrina, the jazz trumpeter was named cultural ambassador for the City of New Orleans by Congress. Ron Edmonds—AP—ASSOCIATED PRESS  The Ambassador to Haiti, Raymond Joseph (center) attends President Obama's State of the Union speech on Jan. 27, 2010\. Joseph helped Haiti with its first democratic election in 1990 and championed post-earthquake reconstruction. Toni L. Sandys—The Washington/Getty Images  Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' intern, Daniel Hernandez, listens to President Obama's State of the Union Address on Jan. 25, 2011\. Hernandez is credited with saving Giffords' life after she was shot in the head during a constituent meet-and-greet at a Tuscon grocery store. Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images  First Lady Michelle Obama receives applause prior to the start of President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech Jan 24, 2012 in Washington. Among the attendees is Admiral William McRaven who commands the Joint Special Operations Command and is credited with executing Operation Neptune's Spear, the specials ops raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and her husband Mark Kelly listen to President Barack Obama deliver his State of the Union address to Congress in the House chamber on Feb. 12, 2013\. Giffords was among 13 people wounded in a Jan. 2011 shooting rampage as she met with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket. Six people were killed. Tom Williams—Roll Call/Getty Images  Apple CEO Tim Cook is pictured before the State of the Union address by U.S. President Barack Obama on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 12, 2013\. Cook announced at the end of last year that Apple will invest $100 million in domestic manufacturing to produce some Macs here. Jason Reed—Reuters  Desiline Victor, 102, of Miami is applauded by White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, right, and others, during President Barack Obama's State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 12, 2013\. Victor is being hailed as a champion voter after heading to her local polling place twice and waiting more than three hours in line to cast her vote. She was reportedly cheered by her fellow voters as she emerged from the polling place, her “I Voted” sticker firmly in hand. “I wanted to vote for my guy, my son, President Obama,” she told the Miami Herald. Jacquelyn Martin—AP  First Lady Michelle Obama hugs Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton as Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr., left, look on before the start ofthe State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Feb. 12, 2013 at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Pendletons are the parents of Hadiya, a fifteen year-old who was gunned down in Chicago's South Side just days after she performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 21. 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