Inaugural Planners Spotlight Eight Citizens A retired nurse, a 26-year-old who was denied health insurance, a soldier injured in Afghanistan and a laid-off auto worker who got her job back after President Obama moved to rescue the auto industry are among eight "citizen co-chairs" of Monday's inaugural festivities, inaugural planners are to announce Thursday morning. The co-chairs, all ordinary Americans who have met Mr. Obama during his travels, will participate in Saturday's National Day of Service and ride a float in the inaugural parade. They will also attend the inaugural balls. "Every day, I'm inspired by the determination, grit, and resilience of the American people," Mr. Obama said in a statement about their roles. The stories of these extraordinary men and women highlight both the progress we've made and how much we have left to do. They remind us that when we live up to the example set by the American people, there is no limit to how bright our future can be. Previous inaugurals have not included citizen co-chairs; Mr. Obama's inaugural planners say the president hopes he is beginning a new tradition. The eight people his committee selected dovetail with his political agenda; each spotlights a different theme or initiative of the Obama presidency. They are: Ida Edwards, a retired nurse from Petersburg, Va., who witnessed the civil rights movement and the passing of the Civil Rights Act as a young woman. Erica Chan, 26, of San Francisco, who was denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. After Mr. Obama's health bill became law, she had life-saving brain surgery. Lily Griego of Denver, a single mother working two jobs who volunteered for the president's re-election campaign. Her son is attending college with the help of Pell grants and other financial aid favored by the president. Kenyatta Jones a 27-year veteran at the General Motors Powertrain Plant in Toledo, Ohio, who was laid off for 13 months during the economic downturn in 2009. A year later, she got her job back after the auto industry bailout. Liz McCartney of New Orleans, a co-founder of the St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina within St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans. She has begun a similar project in the New York/New Jersey area in the wake of the storm Sandy. Rob Hach of Alta, Iowa, who with his wife, Tara, started Anemometry Specialists, a small renewable energy business, 10 years ago. He has been in the wind energy business since 1994; over the past decade, his business has grown to include 27 employees. David Hall of Washington, a former Air Force staff sergeant who was named a pilot, only to be excluded for "homosexual conduct" in August 2002 - a practice that ended after Mr. Obama signed a repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Petty Officer Second Class Taylor Morris, originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was injured by an improvised explosive device during his first deployment to Afghanistan and is now a quadruple amputee. Mr. Obama met him at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and then surprised him during a White House tour to award him the Purple Heart.