When Bill Clinton made a reference to McDonald’s during his speech to the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, it brought back memories for Palatine delegate and former White House staffer Brian McPartlin.

Clinton, alluding to Vice President Kamala Harris’ experience working at the fast-food chain, said, “When she was a student, she worked at McDonald’s. She greeted every person with that thousand-watt smile and said, ‘How can I help you?’ And now, at the pinnacle of power, she’s still asking ‘How can I help you?’ I’ll be so happy when she actually enters the White House because, at last, she’ll break my record as the president who has spent the most time at McDonald’s.”

McPartlin, a former Mount Prospect School District 57 board member and former White House staffer, said he was in a picture that appeared in the Huffington Post following the speech. It showed him with the 42nd president in 1996 at a Little Rock, Arkansas, McDonald’s.

McPartlin worked as a handler for Clinton during his 1996 reelection campaign.

“It’s so crazy, because when he was president-elect and governor, the Little Rock McDonald’s just happened to be on the morning jog route. So we went there continually when he would jog.”

McPartlin, who still handles logistics for President Joe Biden and Harris, said it has been a busy convention for him. He saw Clinton on Monday. It was a fun trip down memory lane for campaigns going back to 1984.

“While his voice was a little softer, a little more raspy, his content was as good as always and his delivery was as good as always,” McPartlin said of the Wednesday speech.