Palin-mania touches close to home; Shawn Ramsey styles ex-governor's hair, and sister Shana Canada sings for her
By MARVIN HAMLETT/Editor
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 10:30 AM EDT
Appomattox sisters Shawn Ramsey and Shana Canada got more than they bargained for recently as they were able to experience Palin-mania during the Extraordinary Women Conference in Lynchburg.
Canada sang an praise-and-worship set that preceded an impromptu visit from former vice-president candidate Sarah Palin to the sellout crowd at Liberty University, and she later shook Palin's hand as she exited the stage. Ramsey, however, got a lot more than that, thanks to President of Extraordinary Women Ministries and Melissa Small, who is the director of the Extraordinary Women Ministry.
Small, who is married to Rev. Rusty Small of Appomattox's Liberty Baptist Church, helped organize the weekend conference at LU and needed a lot of volunteers.
So Ramsey stepped up, and shortly thereafter, she was asked to style Palin's hair before stage time.
"When I arrived at the conference, Sarah Palin was not on my to-do list," said Ramsey, who is a hair stylist from Genesis Beauty Salon in Appomattox. "I knew no one would be able to get close to her."
At around 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, Ramsey was notified that Palin needed a hair stylist for the event.
Ramsey nearly stopped in her tracks, then prayed as she made the trek to Palin's hotel room.
"I graciously accepted and was escorted to her hotel room to spend almost an hour with her and her husband, Todd," Ramsey recalled. "
The experience was definitely eye-opening for Ramsey, who was thrilled to get so close to a celebrity figure such as Palin.
"It was very exciting," Ramsey said. "Sarah Palin was charming and beautiful."
Palin has been a galvanizing figure since her emergence during the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign. Her quick wit and cover-girl smile made her an immediate darling among conservative Republicans, and those same traits also seemed to equally annoy her political opponents.
For Ramsey, it was not just another haircut, because Palin is in fact one of the most sought-after subjects for photographs.
Ramsey blow-dried, straightened, styled and curled Palin's hair, and she said Palin seemed very pleased by it.
"She was very kind and grateful that I took the time to do that for her," Ramsey said.
Palin was extremely likable and talkative during the hair-styling, Ramsey said.
"I found out that she loved God, she loves her family and after hearing her speech, she loves America," Ramsey said.
What was especially interesting was how interested Palin was in Ramsey's life, she said.
"She initiated the conversation the whole time," Ramsey said. "And her husband (Todd) was so cool. He mostly sat right with us, but he also took part in our conversations."
When the hair styling concluded, Sarah and Todd Palin thanked Ramsey for her time and complimented her work. Then, they were off to LU for the women's conference, where Canada was concluding her praise-and-worship set, which would be an intro to Palin's arrival at Thomas Road Baptist Church.
Palin first made the surprise stop at Thomas Road Baptist Church, where folks there were anticipating Palin to speak via a satellite feed.
Palin then shook hands with many backstage as she spoke to the TRBC crowd. Canada was one of those who shook Palin's hand.
Amazingly, Canada was unaware that her sister had been styling Palin's hair moments earlier. Nonetheless, Canada certainly took notice when Palin hit the stage.
"I immediately thought about how great her hair looked," Canada said.
But Canada thought nothing more of it, having just concluded her set with The Shana Canada Band.
When Palin hit the stage, the electricity was riveting.
"Everybody just screamed (in excitement as Palin walked onto the stage)," Canada said. "It was a surprise actually that she was able to show up there and speak."
With an overflow crowd at the Vines Center, the energy and excitement of the moment was fantastic, Canada said.
Canada said Palin spoke for about five minutes, and let the crowd know how important they were for her.
"Then she said she would finish the conversation through the satellite," Canada said.
"It was one of the neatest experiences of my life," Canada said. "It was so neat because God was answering so many prayers in my life that day. My brother J.R. (Harvey) was playing guitar for me, and that was as much of a thrill as meeting her."
The thrill was equally as strong for Ramsey.
"I was glad to get to do it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything," Ramsey said. "... I would like to add that as great of an experience as it was for me, God did much greater things in the lives of people, through the course of that weekend, and yes, Sarah Palin was present, but so was God, and he alone is worthy of our honor and praise."
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