Michelle Obama

The guest list for First Lady Michelle Obama’s box at tonight’s State of the Union address includes a Central Florida woman whose family, according to the White House, was denied coverage in 2008 because of preexisting conditions and can’t afford to buy insurance now.

Cindy Parker-Martinez of Belle Isle, near Orlando, is one of 26 people who will be seated near Michelle Obama for tonight’s speech, according to the White House.

Read the White House’s bio of Parker-Martinez after the jump….

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First Lady Michelle Obama will give out awards at the Florida Campus Compact annual gala in Miami next week.

The fundraiser and awards ceremony takes place Oct. 15 at the Landmark Freedom Tower in Miami.

Florida Campus Compact is a coalition of 50 colleges and universities, including Florida Atlantic University, that gets students involved in community service.

“It’s a huge deal for us,” said Florida Campus Compact executive director DeeDee Rasmussen, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

It may be a huge deal for the coalition of 50 colleges and universities throughout the state but one that apparently is top-secret.

There’s no mention of the First Lady’s presence at the annual gala and luncheon on the Florida Campus Compact home page on its website.

But a little persistence and clicking on the “speakers”
tab on the gala’s page reveals that Mrs. Obama will be joined by Palm Beach County home town celebrity: Frank Brogan.

In July, the state Board of Governors Brogan to be the chancellor of the state university system. Prior to that the former Martin County schoolteacher served as president of Florida Atlantic University.

Michelle Obama was involved in similar campus efforts at the University of Chicago, where she developed the university’s first student community service program.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to come and give kudos and congratulations to the people who are in the trenches every day. She used to work in this field in Chicago and I know it’s something near and dear to her heart,” Rasmussen said.