You gotta love a little presidential shout-out every once in awhile.

President Obama was in Seattle last Friday and spoke at an evening fundraiser for Senator Patty Murray’s re-election campaign.

My friend and fellow Islander Jessica Apodaca was in attendance, and her Facebook post around dinner time that evening caught my eye.

She wrote: “Mercer Island just got a HUGE shout-out by the president, as his mother graduated from MIHS. Very proud!”

As he began his speech, Obama said: “I love Seattle … the place where my mom went to High School. Mercer Island … Way to go, Mercer Island.”

Obama’s Mother: Stanley Ann Dunham

Obama’s mother Stanley Ann Dunham moved to Mercer Island with her family in 1956 and graduated from Mercer Island High School in the class of 1960. Her family lived in the new Shorewood Apartments, where they rented unit 219.

If you’re curious to learn more about her four years here and impressions on her Mercer Island classmates, be sure to read this Seattle Times article, Obama’s Mother known here as “uncommon.”