Secret Service agents were in town last week and the rumors were made official Monday night.
President George Bush will be coming to Tipp City Thursday for a scheduled 1 p.m. speech at Tippecanoe High School.
Bush is expected to speak about the global war on terror," according to a statement released by Representaive John Boehner.
"This is a great opportunity for Tipp City to host President Bush, and I'm proud we have the chance to show off the 8th District to the commander-in-chief," Boehner said.
Boehner also is expected to be in attendance at the event, according to Jessica Towhey, Boehner's press secretary.
Mike McDermott, chairman of the board of directors for the Tipp City Area Chamber of Commerce, said the upcoming event stemmed from a letter written by Kim Carter, also of the chamber.
"It was a letter basically explaining about how strong we feel about supporting our president in good times and bad. Basically, we wanted to invite him back," McDermott said.
"John Boehner has lots of strong support here. We felt that it was important to hear him talk about the threat of terrorism and that's one of the topics he will be speaking on Thursday."
The event is an invitation-only event, McDermott said, with "a real mixture of folks from the entire Miami Valley." He said a lot of Bush's political supporters, chamber members, county officials and business supporters have been invited to the event.
Although McDermott said he does not know how the event is being moderated, he believes President Bush will open up to questions.
"I believe it is just going to be a speech," McDermott said. "But, one of the things that is very unique about this president is he is very willing to go out into the crowd and answer questions and connect with his constituents."
According to McDermott, the chamber is excited about the president's visit, and the chamber's phone has been "ringing off the hook."
"We're absolutely excited to be able to welcome the president of our United States," McDermott said. "He has had an incredibly hard time as president dealing with the war in Iraq and the ever-changing political times."
Bush also is expected to make a stop at an area business, but McDermott said he is not aware of which county business.
According to Kitty Lobo, public relations coordinator for Tipp City Schools, Secret Service and members of the national press were at the high school Monday to coordinate efforts for the president's visit.
Lobo said the school had requested that some students be able to attend the speech in person, "but we haven't heard an answer yet. As far as the entire student body attending, no."
Students and staff who will not be attending the speech will be seeing it broadcast live over closed circuit television in their respective classrooms, Lobo said.
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