Heaths to attend GOP convention

WASILLA — Sally and Chuck Heath may be accustomed to their role as part of the extended first family of Alaska, but Friday they got blindsided with news of their potential new role.

Friday morning they got a call telling them to turn on the news. On the screen their daughter, Gov. Sarah Palin, was standing before a raucous crowd in Dayton, Ohio, accepting Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain’s offer to become his vice presidential running mate.

“I didn’t know,” Chuck Heath said in an interview at his home later Friday morning. “Sarah didn’t say a word to us.”

The news has created national buzz over just who Palin is and has brought Alaska to the forefront of media reports across the country. It has also brought the media to the Heath home in Wasilla, where Palin’s parents were still adjusting to the news Friday.

“On a one to 100 scale, it’s about 101,” Sally Heath said of her excitement level.

Chuck Heath said he and a friend were on their way to go gold mining and hunting when a flooded creek in a remote part of the Mat-Su Borough changed their plans.

Arriving back at home in the early morning hours, the Heaths got a call from a friend in Atlanta telling them to check the news to hear the fast-flying rumors. That’s when their day changed — big time.

“It was a total surprise,” Chuck Heath said of learning his daughter is the first woman to land on a GOP presidential ticket.

Both Heaths admitted to shedding lots of tears of happiness when they heard the news, but Chuck Heath said the waterworks have calmed down.

“So far, so good,” he said.

Although Palin’s new role in the McCain campaign, and the fact the Heaths hadn’t heard about it before the rest of the world Friday, is a shock, her success doesn’t surprise her family.

“She doesn’t like to bother us usually,” Chuck Heath said.

It’s unclear exactly when Palin herself knew she would become McCain’s running mate. Staff members in Palin’s administration said today they had no idea about McCain’s nomination until Friday morning. Palin’s press secretary, Bill McAllister, said he didn’t find out about the VP position until after 5:30 a.m. As late as 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Palin’s office sent out notices she would be at the Alaska State Fair on Friday to help launch the new Alaska state quarter.

Back at the Heath house, Chuck Heath showed off pictures of his governor daughter from years past. He showed with particular pride a photograph of Palin shooting a caribou.

Sally Heath said the governor called home just after her acceptance speech in Dayton to tell her parents they’ll be on a plane soon to attend the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to begin Monday.

“She just told us to plan to go down there,” Sally Heath said.

As to the next few months of national campaigning, both Heaths said they think their daughter is ready to take the national stage.

“We’ll see what the next page is,” Sally Heath said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.