Who is Saria Gwin-Maye? Cincinnati woman gets shoutout from Biden in State of the Union

President Joe Biden gave a shoutout during his State of the Union address Tuesday to a Cincinnati ironworker who will work on the long awaited Brent Spence Bridge project.

Saria Gwin-Maye, a member of Ironworkers Local 44, was among the guests invited by the White House to sit in First Lady Jill Biden's viewing box. Gwin-Maye introduced Biden when he visited Covington last month to tout bipartisan infrastructure funding that made the project possible after years of gridlock.

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The infrastructure deal, spearheaded by former Sen. Rob Portman, will provide about $1.6 billion in federal grants to repair the Brent Spence Bridge and build a new one next to it.

"For 30 years, (Saria has) been a proud member of Ironworkers Local 44, known as the 'cowboys of the sky' who built the Cincinnati skyline," Biden said Tuesday. "Saria said she can’t wait to be ten stories above the Ohio River building that new bridge. God bless her. That’s pride."

Presidents tend to invite guests who reflect their key messages. The Brent Spence Bridge has been used repeatedly by Biden to underscore the importance of repairing outdated infrastructure. During a town hall in Cincinnati in 2021, the president pledged to "fix that damn bridge of yours."

"This law will help further unite all of America," Biden said. "Major projects like the Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio over the Ohio River. Built 60 years ago. Badly in need of repairs. ... Folks have been talking about fixing it for decades, but we’re finally going to get it done."

Landsman invites 12-year-old Cincinnati boy

Gwin-Maye wasn't the only Cincinnatian who attended the State of the Union.

U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Cincinnati, invited 12-year-old Isaiah Gentry and his aunt, Hillary Long, to join him for the event. The seventh-grader's family has struggled with the high price of insulin, according to Landsman's office, and his mother took a lower-paying job to guarantee Medicaid coverage for her son.

Isaiah went to school with Landsman's daughter, who suggested her father bring him along for the speech. The congressman plans to introduce legislation that would cap insulin costs for people under age 26 at $35 per month.

During his speech, Biden called for a universal $35 cap on insulin.

“I know (Isaiah) well enough to know that he wants to be part of this change," Landsman said. "He’s the kind of kid, and his family is the kind of family, that’s excited about being part of something significant for the country."

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati ironworker Saria Gwin-Maye attends State of the Union