&uot;Mr. President, may I please present Š&uot;

Is this really happening? Can a little boy from Mississippi grow up to find himself in the White House in the presence of not only the President of the United States but highest ranking officials from all over the world, Phredd &uot;P.J.&uot; Evans continues to wonder.

It is real, said Evans, a Natchez native; but he often pinches himself to prove it is so, even after more than two years as a White House social aide.

Now senior social aide, the U.S. Army major is the highest ranking of the dozens of military officers who serve in the prestigious capacity &045; a voluntary assignment the aides take in addition to regular positions within the five branches of service.

&uot;I may go to my office and work from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then to the White House to work all evening,&uot; said Evans, whose regular assignment is in the Office of the Inspector General.

And his duties indeed often include presenting guests to the president. That duty can be daunting, as the aide must be precise.

&uot;That can be a tense time,&uot; Evans said. &uot;Still, the most exciting time now and always is when I’m standing in front of the president in that capacity.&uot;

Tall and handsome in his dress uniform, Evans smiles broadly, Laura Bush beside him, in a group photograph of the aides made at the White House.

In another photograph, he shakes hands with President Clinton at a function in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Stories abound, funny, poignant and serious.

Aides perform many duties in connection with the social functions held at the White House, including receiving and greeting guests as they arrive and mingling with those who remain after the president and first lady retire for the evening.

&uot;It might be a six-hour evening for us,&uot; Evans said. &uot;We are there to make the office of the president as seamless as possible, to make an event move along without a hiccup. Some people refer to us as the velvet rope.&uot;

Aides arrive an hour or two before an event, receive the event schedule and then meet with the White House social secretary to look at the guest list. &uot;We make sure there are aides at each entrance to meet guests as they arrive,&uot; Evans said.

The aides, all holding officer ranks, know they are the first representatives of the military services many people meet.

To be accepted in the program, officers undergo a series of interviews and background checks that take from eight to 12 months.

Evans looks on the opportunity as an extraordinary way to serve his country and to see government at work up close.

Evans, a 1974 graduate of North Natchez High School, is the son of Vivian Butler, who, he said, molded him into a perfect candidate for military service.

&uot;I’ve always said the military got a bargain in me. They didn’t have to teach me discipline. My mother did that.&uot;

He first joined the U.S. Air Force, with his starting date deferred for a few months while he tried to gain weight. &uot;I weighed 128 pounds, and they wanted me to weigh 135,&uot; he said. &uot;I drank milkshakes all summer and still didn’t quite make 135, but they let me join Nov. 13, 1974.&uot;

After a few years in the Air Force, he left the service and began his college education, which culminated with a degree in health administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.

He re-entered the service but this time choosing the Army and becoming a preventive medicine officer, an office akin to a civilian health department director, he said.

After about 12 years and a number of assignments throughout the country, Evans received an assignment to the greater Washington, D.C., area. There, he learned of the White House program and made his application.

The social aide program is very small in the whole scheme of things in the White House, Evans said. &uot;We’re just a small corner of it, but it allows us to see a part of our government many others will never see.&uot;

Aides are military officers for good reason. &uot;We have a concept of good order and discipline and a basis for protocol. And as military men and women we serve our country and we serve the president,&uot; Evans said. &uot;It is an honor to serve in the presence of the president and the first lady.&uot;

Evans said the honor of introducing heads of state, senators, congressmen and movie stars still thrills him. &uot;Sometimes I look outside the gate and see the people looking at the White House, and I remember how I had stood there and had wondered what they were doing inside. Now I’m in there,&uot; he said.