Iowa Governor-elect Sand Names Lanon Baccam Inauguration Director: Inauguration Events Set for January 15-17, 2027
In Des Moines, the capital of Iowa in Polk County, Governor-elect Rob Sand announced on November 12 that Lanon Baccam will serve as Inauguration Director for the official Sand-Muhlbauer inauguration, overseeing the planning and coordination of inaugural events ahead of the new administration taking office in January. Inauguration services will be held on January 15 through January 17, 2027.
"I am proud to have Lanon Baccam leading our inauguration efforts as we prepare to begin a new chapter for Iowa," Sand said. "Lanon is a dedicated public servant who understands the importance of bringing people together." Baccam said it was an honor to serve, adding that his career in the Army and in public service taught him that leadership is about bringing people together, regardless of party, to serve their communities.
The announcement follows Sand's selection of Abe Rakov as his Chief of Staff, former Republican Party of Iowa chairman Mike Mahaffey and independent state Representative Brian Lohse as co-chairs of his tripartisan transition steering committee, and Elisabeth Buck and Morgan Miller as Co-Directors of the transition.
Baccam is a combat veteran and the son of rural Iowa. His parents came to Iowa as Tai Dam refugees from Laos in 1980, and he was born and raised in Mount Pleasant. He enlisted in the Iowa National Guard at 17 and, in the wake of 9/11, was activated and deployed to Afghanistan as a combat engineer, focused on explosive demolitions and force protection in and around Kandahar. After his Army service, he graduated from Drake University and served in both the Obama and Biden administrations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Secretary Tom Vilsack, working to support veterans, expand pathways to jobs in agriculture and help implement investments such as expanding high-speed internet across rural America. He was the 2024 Democratic nominee for Congress in Iowa's third district and lives in Des Moines with his wife and daughter.
(Source: Transition Office of Iowa Governor-elect Rob Sand)
Source: Transition Office of Iowa Governor-elect Rob Sand
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Des Moines 的艾奥瓦州议会大厦。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
