A hotel doorman and the president: The story of an enduring friendship

Kenny Young first met former U.S. President George H.W. Bush during his 1988 presidential campaign - and sensed an immediate connection.

At the time, Young was working at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston as a doorman and says that connection led him to volunteer on Bush's presidential campaigns.

"He'll always have a special place in my heart," said Young.

While working on the campaign, about 30 years ago, Young became close to Bush's sister, Nancy Ellis, who then personally introduced him to her brother.

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"His sister introduced me [saying], "This is my best friend, the Ritz Carlton doorman,'" said Young.

After Bush won the 1988 race, Young sent him a humorous T-shirt and got handwritten thank you letter from the President, which read, "To Kenny Young from our place up the road."

"It said White House on it and it had my name," said Young. "To get something like that and being a doorman it's special."

In November 1992, Bill Clinton defeated President Bush, and Young remembers it as a sad day, but says it did not dampen his relationship with the Bush family.

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Twelve years later, when Young was no longer a doorman but the owner of a driving service, his path crossed Bush's once again.

In 2012, Young was hired to transport a historian to the Bush family home at Walker's Point. Young was invited to come in and was served ice tea in plastic cups with the presidential seal.

At one point, while others spoke with the former president, Young and Barbara Bush were alone.

"She was this far away," Young said. "She says, 'See this man over here? At 19-years-old I fell in love with him and do you know I'm just as much in love with him today,'"

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