ELKHART COUNTY — Last night, Tuesday, May 24, The White House announced that President Obama will be visiting Elkhart on Wednesday, June 1. Elkhart was one of Obama’s first visits during his presidency, just three weeks into his first term.

The email read, “It was the first city I visited as President. Folks there had been hit harder by the recession than almost anywhere else in America. The unemployment rate was on its way to nearly twenty percent. Companies that had sustained that community for years were shedding jobs at an alarming speed — and hardworking families were losing their homes and health care along with those jobs.

When I spoke to the people of Elkhart in February of 2009, I promised them that if we worked together, we could pull that community and this country out of the depths of recession — that we could not only recover, but put ourselves on a better, stronger course.

Today, thanks to the hard work of people in Elkhart and in communities across the country, America has recovered from crisis and we’re on the cusp of resurgence.”

The email went on to state, “Today, Elkhart’s manufacturing industry is back, and the town has regained nearly all of the jobs it lost during the downturn. The unemployment rate is lower than it was before the recession, and lower than the national average. In Indiana, more people have health insurance, and fewer homeowners are underwater.”

Obama will make his first stop on Wednesday, June 1, at Concord High School. After that he will hold a town hall meeting hosted by PBS at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart. At this meeting, Obama will have an opportunity to hear from Elkhart residents.