The cheers coming from the diverse and impassioned delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week reminded Frank Williams of where he was 45 years ago today.

Then just 17, the Augusta resident rallied with tens of thousands in the nation's capital on Aug. 28, 1963, to hear what Martin Luther King Jr. had to say about the change needed in America.

"It was life-changing," he said about the March on Washington. "We saw hope that this country could go in a different direction. I feel a rekindling. This whole campaign and now this week here feels like a rebirth. The country's coming alive."

Mr. Williams, 62, is serving as a pledged delegate to Sen. Hillary Clinton at the convention. He said the excitement has left him with goose bumps and hope that former Clinton supporters will unite with the rest of the party and back Sen. Barack Obama.

The self-proclaimed lifelong politico said he has followed Mrs. Clinton's work with the Children's Defense Fund over the past 30 years. He worked for the National Black Child Development Group, so their paths often crossed.

"When you know of someone's work for 30 years, you tend to know the person," he said. "It was my estimation that she was the best candidate."

He spent most of the year campaigning for her, but her speech at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night helped him and other Clinton supporters see the importance of standing for the party's presumptive nominee.

"She made it clear to us and everyone else that she is behind Obama," Mr. Williams said. "It's about winning the White House in November."

Though the long days, beginning at 7:45 a.m. and sometimes ending after midnight, were exhausting, no one sacrificed more than Sen. Ted Kennedy, he said. Mr. Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with brain cancer, came to Denver to support Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party, Mr. Williams said.

"You could tell he was in pain. We were concerned he would pass out," he said. "To think about what he sacrificed and what his family gave to the Democratic Party and this country made what he said that much more powerful."

Mr. Williams said he took dozens of photos of the historic moments this week. He plans to bring souvenirs from the convention home to his wife and three children.

Though the week has been a memorable one, he said, he won't miss the 45-minute process of getting through security to enter the Pepsi Center.

When he leaves Friday, he will continue to encourage Augusta's voters to be a part of the fight for the White House.

"It's like what Sen. Clinton said when she used the Underground Railroad to explain what we have to do," he said. "If you want something enough and you work hard enough for it, it's nothing you can't do."