Girl meets Obama, Jonas brother at diabetes event

It's not every day that a 10-year-old gets to meet the president of the United States as part of a tour of the White House.

And it's even rarer when such a once-in-a-lifetime event ranks as only the second biggest moment of the day.

But that's how Katie Rhoten of Eau Claire described her big Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., as one of 150 delegates to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International's Children's Congress 2009.

The presidential encounter, which wasn't finalized until Monday evening, took place at 10:45 a.m. in the White House.

Katie, who was diagnosed last year with type 1 diabetes and was one of three delegates from Wisconsin, said President Barack Obama took time to shake hands with everyone who was selected for that honor. When it was her turn, Katie recalled saying, "Hello, Mr. President. It's an honor to meet you, and thank you very much for your support of stem cell research."

Obama thanked her and said he was pleased to meet her. He spent about 15 minutes with the group and posed for photos before leaving to hold a major news conference focusing on Iran and other topics.

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