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Lucky turkey chosen to meet president

Janet Nguyen Nov 20, 2015

Surrounded by security guards and a motorcade, one San Francisco resident will begin a perilous trek to the White House on Monday.

The Northern California local is a turkey named Tom One, and he’s the latest bird President Obama will save from becoming Thanksgiving dinner in this year’s annual turkey pardoning ceremony. Tom One will depart Monday on a United Airlines flight called “Turkey One.”

He beat out 11 other finalists from a Foster Farms ranch in Modesto, California, where the birds competed to dazzle a class of fifth-grade students.  

Tom One won through sheer boldness: a puff of his white feathers, a series of gobbles.

“We want to present the president with a well-mannered and socially skilled turkey that’s going to act right on the big day,” Joe Hedden, a Foster Farms manager, said to the Associated Press.

After the pardoning, Tom One will head over to a farm in Virginia. 

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