White House Butler Rochon

1. EBONYJET.COM/
RearAdm.Stephen W.Rochon couldpossiblyhave the mostenviablejob
inWashington—witnesstohistoryandprivateaccesstothefirstfamily.
As the White House director of the executive residence, also known
as the chief usher, Rochon manages the White House, including the personal
residenceofthefirstfamily.
Infact,itisRochonwhoisthefirsttogreetPresidentObamaeveryday.
“I greet him at his elevator and say ‘Good morning, Mr. President,’” Rochon
said as he gave JET magazine an exclusive tour of the White House. “We have
LIFE LIFE
18 2/22/2010 - 3/1/2010 19
BY//KEVIN CHAPPELL
THEWHITEHOUSE
TAKINGCAREOF
CHIEFUSHERHASVIEWFROMTHEINSIDE
Surveying the grand
hallway, Rear Adm. Ste-
phen W. Rochon goes
through his checklist.
“I like to say that I work
half days around here,”
he said. “That’s 12
hours a day.”
EBONYJET.COM/
PHOTOGRAPHY BY//MARVIN JOSEPH
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2. 20 2/22/2010 - 3/1/2010
a casual walk to the Oval Office. I clearly stay
in my lane. We don’t discuss anything that
wouldbeconsideredOvalOfficeoperations.”
With a reassuring smile that could com-
fortamanwiththeweightoftheworldonhis
shoulders, Rochon often engages the presi-
dent in small talk. “If I see him concentrating
on that BlackBerry or thinking about that
next big meeting, I might just say something
to pick up his day,” Rochon said. “It’s very ca-
sual. He’s a conversationalist. He likes to talk.
AndIdon’tmindwalking.”
Other times, the
two talk about home
life. “I’ll ask him if
everything is OK up-
stairs. He will usually
say, ‘Just make sure
my wife and kids are OK.’ He doesn’t require
much,” Rochon said. “It’s only a couple of
minutes, so you really have to practice your
‘elevator speak.’ If there is a pressing issue
that you know is in your lane that the presi-
dent needs to know, you have to get it in dur-
LIFE
“It’s the people’s house, but it’s also the
president’s home, which is priority.”
//REAR ADM. STEPHEN W. ROCHON
Rochon supervises a
staff of 95 full-time
workers at the White
House.
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3. ingthattime.”
When it comes to the first family’s life in
the White House, it is Rochon who knows it
best. “I provide for the care and comfort of
the president and his family,” Rochon said.
“It’s the people’s house, but it’s also the
president’s home, which is priority. Every-
thing that we do around here is around them
andtakingcareofthem.Notjustthepersonal
needs, but setting up for the events that put
agreatfaceonthishouse.”
Rochonsupervisesastaffof95full-time
workers, which includes the chefs, house-
keepers, ushers, butlers, calligraphers, cu-
rators, plumbers, carpenters, electricians,
engineers and florists—just to name a few.
His staff ensures that the beds are made,
the food is cooked to perfection and that
White House rooms are properly set up for
the day’sevents.
That’s the easy part. After all, the former
Coast Guard commander of maintenance
and logistics had an extensive background in
personnelmanagement.
It’stheupkeepofthemorethan200-year-
oldhousethatprovidesdailychallenges.“With
a house this old, there are always repairs,” he
said. “Something’s going to fall down, or you
aregoingtohavetodealwithsomemechani-
cal issue, the plumbing or the HVAC system.
There are a lot of things behind the scenes
that people never think about that really
makeupalion’sshareofourday.”
Rochon’s day consists of briefings with
staff and making rounds to ensure that ev-
Small, but historic: Rochon’s office is on the
mezzanine level, below the first lady’s salon. In
his office is his prized coin collection and Franklin
Delano Roosevelt’s Oval Office chair. He personally
sits in the Oval Office chair used by Bill Clinton
during the last two years of his presidency.
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LIFE
Rochon, who is preparing for a luncheon, su-
pervises dining room preparations before heading
to the kitchen to see what’s on the menu.
eryone and everything is in order. It is his job
to make sure the White House runs as flaw-
lessly as possible. “When the first family
comes into their house, I want everything to
beperfect,”hesaid.
PresidentGeorgeW.BushhiredRochonin
2007, about 90 days before the grandfather
of eight was to retire from the Coast Guard
and move back to his hometown of New Or-
leans. Rochon, who had joined the Coast
GuardduringtheheightofVietnam,hadplans
to begin writing a book on Pea Island, an Afri-
can-AmericanstaffedlifesavingCoastGuard
stationthatmadedaringrescuesin1896near
theOuterBanksofNorthCarolina.
“I wasn’t looking for a job,” he said. “I got a
phonecalloutofthebluefromsomeoneinthe
White House personnel office, asking me if I
wantedtoapplytobechiefusher.Isaid,‘What
the heck is a chief usher?’ I had spent all of
my life working to become rear admiral and
nowsomeonewantstocallmechiefusher.AllI
couldthinkofwasaguy with a little round cap,
a flashlight, a little tight-waist jacket and tight
pants,showingpeopletotheirseats.Butwhen
Ifoundoutmoreaboutit,Irealizedthatthetitle
wasmisleading,andthatIwouldbe,inessence,
runningthemosthistorichouseinthecountry.”
After going through about nine inter-
views, including an Oval Office interview by
PresidentBushandaseparateinterviewwith
first lady Laura Bush, Rochon was hired as
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the eighth chief usher, the first Black. Then
he was handed an immense challenge: the
Queen of England was visiting in less than
two months and everything at the White
House had to be perfect. “It was white tux
andtails,”hesaid.“Itwasawildtimebecause
Ihadn’tyetfullylearnedmywayaround.”
But Rochon pulled it off. In fact, the
queen was reportedly so impressed that she
invitedRochonandhisfamilytoBuckingham
Palace,anofferhetookheruponin2008.
Rochon keeps certain personal details
about the lives
of the first family
private. But he ad-
mits he was emo-
tional on Election
Night 2008, when
it was announced
that Obama had
won the presidency.
He says that working so closely with the first
African-Americanpresidentis“prettysurreal.
“When there’s no one else around, I often
stop and say, ‘Look where I am. This is pretty
amazing.’”//
ROCHON ADMITS THAT HE “hadnoideainmywildestdreamswhenItookthejob
twoyearsagothatIwouldbeservingthefirstAfrican-Americanpresident.”
LIFE
The laundry room is
always humming
with activity. Rochon
watches as the first
kids’ bedsheets are
dried and pressed. The
first family gets fresh
bed linen every day.
Married with four adult children, Rochon holds
a bachelor’s degree in business administration
from Xavier University of Louisiana and a master’s
degree in national resource strategy from the
National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
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