As the Democratic National Convention wraps up, two familiar to Athens have completed their roles as delegates.

Chad Brock and Jara Butler, both of who, graduated from the University in May, said they were honored to serve as at-large delegates.

“It’s like Disneyland for political junkies,” Butler said Thursday before Barack Obama spoke at Denver’s Invesco Field stadium. “It’s really surreal. You’re not watching this on TV, which didn’t hit me until yesterday. We’re a part of history.”

Butler, who said she didn’t know what to expect while at the convention, recounted the many recognizable faces she saw.

“Jimmy Carter sat with the Georgia delegates the other day, and in my mind I was going ‘oh my gosh,’” she said. “With the roll call vote, I felt like that was what being a Democrat is really about.

There was a sense of pride when our state was announced, and tears come to your eyes.”

Butler was executive coordinator for Georgia Students for Barack Obama last semester and worked with Obama supporters and the Young Democrats on campus.

“You realize the convention is not just a convention but a place where things happen,” she said. “Deals are made, coalitions form to work for a common cause and legislative members network. It’s like what lobbyists have but for free. I’ve already seen even first-time delegates call out legislators on votes they’ve made.”

Butler also said the number of media present prevented delegates from moving around at times.

“It’s like a traffic jam on the floor,” she said. “With 4,000 delegates and 16,000 media, we can’t get down there. When Jamie Foxx was there last night, we couldn’t even move.”

Brock, who works for Sen. Jim Martin’s campaign, said he decided to attend the convention after working as a state coordinator for the Obama campaign between April 2007 and April 2008.

“It was an honor to be part of the campaign and is an honor to see the nomination process carried out,” he said Thursday. “The week has been filled with exciting and riveting speeches, and both Bill and Hillary Clinton did a fantastic job of reaching supporters and really uniting the party.”

“All of the great speeches lead up to tonight – one of the most historical nights in American politics.”

As Brock and Butler return, Kristin Bernhard, a senior from Roswell, and Jade Morey, a junior from Smyrna, will head to Minneapolis and St. Paul on Sunday for the Republican National Convention.

Bernhard, past officer of the College Republicans and now a member of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, will be a page. Morey, chair for the Georgia Students for McCain, will serve as an alternate delegate.