Palin book tour coming to town
SANDPOINT — Former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin is scheduled to make a stop in Sandpoint this month to promote her autobiography.
The book-signing event is planned for Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Sandpoint Business & Events Center. It lasts from 6-9 p.m.
Palin’s plans were confirmed Tuesday through Lynda Scott, who owns the events center with her husband, Brad.
“The date and time is set,” said events center Manager Kathy Andruzak.
The event is being sponsored by Vanderford’s Books in Sandpoint.
“It just kind of blossomed,” Tom Vanderford said of efforts to include Sandpoint on the book tour.
The event will be a homecoming of sorts.
Palin’s parents, Chuck and Sally Heath, lived in Sandpoint when she was born in 1964. She lived here briefly before the family relocated to Alaska.
“From what I understand, Sarah herself wanted to come to Sandpoint because she was born here. She was the one who requested it,” Vanderford said.
Moreover, Chuck Heath used to teach school at the events center, which used to be the local middle school.
“He was teaching natural science,” said Heath’s childhood friend, Kermit Kiebert. “He was a good teacher I might add.”
Palin is on tour promoting “Going Rogue: An American Life,” a New York Times best seller. The book chronicles Palin’s 2008 run for vice president, the election fallout and the role of faith in her life.
Vanderford said sales of “Going Rogue” have been swift since it hit bookshelves last month.
“We’ve sold out of it several times,” said Vanderford. “We have 2,000 books coming in the next few days and we probably have about 50 or 60 in the store right now.”
Only books purchased at Vanderford’s will be eligible for signing. Vanderford said customers’ cash register receipts will serve as proof of purchase, although there are plans to have some copies of the book available for purchase at the event.
The Sandpoint stop coincides with with a book signing at the Fred Meyer store in Coeur d’Alene earlier the same day.
Although the Republican presidential ticket did not carry the nation during last year’s general election, it did extremely well in Idaho and Bonner County.
John McCain and Palin won 61 percent of the vote in Idaho, compared to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden, who garnered 36 percent, according to Idaho Secretary of State records.
In Bonner County, the McCain-Palin ticket won 11,145 votes and prevailed in 28 of the county’s 34 voting precincts. Obama and Biden collected only 7,840 votes and carried just six precincts, Bonner County Clerk records indicate.