(Editor's Note: The following is part one of a four-part series concerning Carmelo "Mello" Cottone, a native of Mount Gay and Whitman, who has spent most of his adult life working behind the scenes for national presidential campaigns as an advanceman or political advisor. Many of his friends locally knew him as Mel Cotton. Recently, Cottone sat down with the author for an interview about many of his unique experiences).

While a nation experiences the ups and downs of a vigorous presidential campaign season involving Barack Obama and John McCain, it's easy for those who best know state history to again be reminded how southern West Virginia and its people have reserved a special and undeniable position in the course of political annals.

Stories involving legendary local politicians like Raymond Chafin, Alex DeFobio, Tom Godby, Bus Perry and Claude Ellis, who have all since passed on, are still swapped on the streets and in diners around town.

There are other individuals remaining who retain vivid memories of past political showdowns, as well. Two of those are City Attorney for West Logan, Dan Dahill, 89, and Chapmanville resident Raamie Barker, Chief of Staff for Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin; both were actively involved in county, state and national politics throughout the 1960s, and have continued to influence local politics ever since.

In the game of national politics, there is yet another example of a local individual who went on to directly affect the course of presidential and senatorial campaigns for many decades.

Logan County native, Carmelo "Mello" Cottone, 75, has traveled nearly every inch of the globe handling complex travel arrangements and creating high-profile photo opportunities and rallies for presidents and other dignitaries, including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey and Ed Muskie. During his illustrious career, he has also been involved with the national campaigns of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and a laundry list of lesser-known political candidates.

Along the way, he has even jumped into the political ring and run his own campaigns, as well.

Raised in Whitman and Mount Gay by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Cotton, he was better known in his youth as "Mel Cotton." He decided to adopt his ancestral family name Cottone (pronounced Ca-to