00:04 - Cassandra

00:10 - Coleman, executive director of America 250.

00:14 - Tell us about your group. Sure.

00:16 - So America250PA is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's commission

00:20 - that was charged with planning and coordinating all of the programing,

00:24 - projects and events around the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.

00:30 - And it is absolutely crazy that we are sitting here almost one year out.

00:35 - I've been with this commission for seven and a half years,

00:38 - so it's been a lot of planning, a lot of work, and we're just so excited

00:42 - that we're almost there. It sounds like a lot of responsibility.

00:45 - Where did you start when you took on this job? Sure.

00:47 - So we actually the legislation was passed back in 2018 by the Pennsylvania

00:51 - legislature and signed into existence by governor Tom Wolf at the time.

00:55 - So, again, have been with the commission since inception.

00:58 - It was a piece of legislation when it came to my desk.

01:01 - And I'm just so proud of all of the, you know, development

01:04 - of programing and projects that the team and I have done.

01:07 - But most importantly,

01:08 - you know, that Pennsylvanians embraced these programs and projects

01:12 - and have brought them into their communities

01:13 - and allowed us to visit and really be part of their communities.

01:16 - When this job was initially presented to you, just

01:19 - how was it described and what was entailed?

01:21 - Did you have any idea what was coming at you?

01:23 - I really didn't.

01:24 - The legislation passed and former Governor Wolf had, you know,

01:29 - said to me, want to take a look at this and see what we can do.

01:32 - And I read it a few times.

01:34 - I was not born yet for the bicentennial, so I really didn't know what

01:40 - that historic anniversary, those feelings, those memories, what they could be.

01:44 - But I thought to myself, you know what?

01:46 - This is an opportunity.

01:47 - It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

01:49 - And if we do this right, we can engage as many Pennsylvanians as possible,

01:53 - and we can make sure

01:54 - that all of our programing

01:55 - and programing and projects have impact on so many communities

01:58 - across the Commonwealth.

01:59 - So I jumped at the opportunity.

02:01 - And I don't look I don't look back.

02:04 - So what stage

02:05 - are you at planning wise right now with the anniversary being next year?

02:09 - Yeah, so we have over a dozen programs and projects that have been launched

02:15 - and are ongoing in all 67 counties,

02:18 - and we are continuing those programs and projects through 2025.

02:22 - And in the fall, we will announce our epic calendar

02:25 - of events for 2026, which we will shift.

02:29 - We will shift from the programmatic and the project side of our work

02:32 - to more again, of the celebratory and event side of the work.

02:35 - Well, then let's consider the programing aspect of it.

02:39 - And it sounds like you're in that right now.

02:41 - So just give me some examples

02:43 - of the programs that you're going to be doing. Sure.

02:45 - So we have a direct effect innovation challenge, which is a college program

02:49 - where we've partnered with over 40 colleges and universities across

02:52 - the Commonwealth.

02:52 - We've had over 350 students participate where they actually do,

02:57 - they come up with integrated marketing concepts to a challenge

03:00 - that we issue in partnership with the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Every year.

03:03 - And they come to Harrisburg, the top five teams

03:06 - and present on the Capital Media Center stage.

03:09 - These students get that experience.

03:10 - Some of them are and are,

03:11 - you know, of the beauty of the capital,

03:12 - but also in the fact that they get

03:13 - to stand on the stage where legislators and the governor stand,

03:16 - and they get to present to a panel of judges, industry, you know, experts.

03:20 - And the goal really is to connect those students with folks

03:24 - who are looking for interns, folks who are looking for, you know, employees.

03:28 - We want to keep our Pennsylvania talent here.

03:30 - So that's one of our programs is actually going into its sixth year,

03:33 - this fall, our kids program, pre-K through four, is our Keystone.

03:38 - Classroom initiative, of which we also have a mascot, the Keystone Kid,

03:42 - where we go into schools across the Commonwealth.

03:45 - It's a storytelling program.

03:46 - We read K is for Keystone, which is, Pennsylvania written and illustrated.

03:51 - And we partner with local mascots and historic

03:53 - Philadelphia on an age appropriate historical reenactment.

03:57 - And our program, our K through four program, has actually reached

04:00 - 36,000 students in 52 counties thus far.

04:05 - And by the end of the year, we will reach 50,000 in all 67.

04:08 - Let's talk more about those K through four kids,

04:10 - because as you pointed out a minute ago, you weren't even born in the bicentennial.

04:15 - So imagine the perspective of these kids that kind of don't know what's going on.

04:19 - So how did you start at the beginning to educate them on the significance

04:22 - of this whole thing?

04:23 - So I think the key really is I'm a mom of a ten year old, and he truly,

04:27 - truly did have so much to say in how we developed the Keystone Classroom

04:32 - initiative, because I said to him, to me, what would you like?

04:35 - What what would you like through mommy's work?

04:37 - And, you know, he said a coloring book or stories.

04:40 - And it was really important for us

04:41 - to make sure that we developed that program again, age appropriate.

04:45 - So these students are learning the fun facts about Pennsylvania.

04:49 - But through an alphabet book,

04:51 - you know, so really, again, that they I'm hoping that that memory

04:56 - is the memory in 50 years when they're sitting here for,

04:59 - you know, America 300 that they look back and they see that's when the Keystone

05:03 - kid came to my classroom.

05:04 - That's when the mayor came in, read the book to my to my class

05:07 - and really create those memories.

05:09 - But again, at an age appropriate level.

05:10 - So coloring book for kids would have certain historic scenes,

05:13 - I guess, that are relevant to the birthday.

05:15 - Yeah.

05:16 - America.

05:16 - So the coloring book is, originally designed by a local,

05:21 - Pennsylvania student.

05:22 - Now she's graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Art and design,

05:25 - but she was an illustrator. She was an intern for us.

05:27 - And so ideas were submitted.

05:29 - Was our competition maybe.

05:31 - So there was a competition for the mascot for the naming of the mascot,

05:35 - the keystone, the Keystone kid, as well as the design of the mascot.

05:38 - But page by our master designed the coloring book.

05:41 - And again, to your point, it talks about Harrisburg.

05:44 - It talks about the state bird

05:45 - and the state insect things again, that kids find fun.

05:50 - You know, and that they could carry with them.

05:52 - And what about the role of Pennsylvania, of course, in the formation

05:55 - of the United States?

05:56 - How do you get that idea across to young, young kids?

05:59 - So we want our youngest Pennsylvanians to take pride in the fact

06:03 - that they are Pennsylvanian, and the fact that Pennsylvania

06:06 - is the birthplace of American democracy.

06:10 - No other state in the nation can claim that.

06:12 - And we should be so darn proud that we live in a state that could claim that.

06:17 - Now, that occurs to me now that you put it that way,

06:19 - that Philadelphia has the potential to be the epicenter here,

06:22 - Philadelphia absolutely will be the epicenter.

06:24 - I mean, with the sporting events, obviously with the 250th anniversary.

06:28 - But I think it's just really, really important.

06:29 - And and things will culminate

06:30 - July 4th in Philadelphia, especially our events as well.

06:34 - But I think it's really important to note that America to 50 pays

06:37 - year long calendar of events start in January and run through December.

06:41 - We don't stop in July.

06:43 - The other thing I think that's really important to mention

06:45 - is we have all 67 counties who have passed resolutions becoming official partners

06:50 - to America to 50, along with over 400 local municipalities.

06:55 - I'm a former borough mayor.

06:56 - I wanted to make sure that we grew this organically from the ground up.

07:00 - No one knows these communities better than the people who live there

07:04 - and who build businesses there.

07:05 - So we really wanted to make

07:06 - sure that all 67 counties and as many municipalities

07:10 - as possible are able to highlight their unique stories

07:14 - and the things that they are

07:16 - so proud to be in those communities for as part of this historic anniversary,

07:19 - and we as a state commission, we want to take that.

07:21 - We want to amplify that,

07:23 - and we want to make sure that visitors both across the country

07:25 - and from the world, that come and descend upon Pennsylvania, yes, go to Philly,

07:29 - but maybe decide to take a road trip to Lancaster,

07:32 - which or the Lehigh Valley or out to Pittsburgh and be able

07:34 - to see the beauty of the Commonwealth that we all sometimes take for granted.

07:37 - So try to give us a better idea of what Philadelphia's going to look like on

07:40 - July the 4th. I mean, as you said, that's going to be the culmination.

07:43 - The celebration is going gonna be a lot of people coming into town

07:46 - and I wonder how events and programs will be focused that day.

07:49 - So the city of Philadelphia is obviously planning for this every day.

07:54 - But as far as like large scale events, obviously there will be a FIFA game on

07:58 - July 4th of 2026.

08:00 - There will be the Wawa Welcome America concert.

08:02 - There will be.

08:03 - Did you say welcome, Wawa?

08:05 - Welcome, America? I got that tie in with the convenience store.

08:08 - I just want to make sure I'm getting enough.

08:09 - Yes. Well, well welcome America concert on July 4th as well.

08:13 - You know, our America EPA larger scale event will be there.

08:16 - But I also think it's, again, really important to note

08:18 - that there are so many other communities across the Commonwealth planning

08:21 - for July 4th events that are appropriate for their localized residents as well.

08:26 - I get the impression you went to young people first to really get this rolling.

08:30 - We did.

08:31 - Our first program was our direct effect

08:32 - innovation challenge dealing with our high school.

08:34 - Excuse me, our college students.

08:36 - And I think it's really important to note as well that, you know, two, three,

08:40 - three actually of our Direct Affect Innovation

08:42 - challenge participants are now full time employees with American 50.

08:45 - Now, Cassandra, maybe you can look at your planning this way.

08:48 - Certainly ideas from past celebrations.

08:51 - But as you pointed out, you weren't even born for the bicentennial.

08:53 - But you can still research and find out what happened.

08:56 - Certainly there are some good ideas from America's past celebrations

09:00 - that you can apply to 2026.

09:01 - Why reinvent the wheel? Yeah. So I think it's twofold.

09:04 - I think one is, you know, one thing that we've done very well in the past

09:08 - through past celebrations are we've built infrastructure, we've built legacy.

09:13 - And right now that was our conversations with the legislature.

09:16 - Right now, America just ran the Infrastructure and Improvements

09:19 - and Projects Committee where we went out, and we collected ideas from everyday.

09:23 - Pennsylvanians about what legacy projects they potentially wanted to see

09:27 - through 2026.

09:28 - And that is now in the hands of the legislature and the governor.

09:30 - So we will

09:31 - wait and see if there will be funding for any sort of larger scale infrastructure.

09:35 - I think another thing

09:36 - that we've learned from past celebrations is sometimes folks felt left out.

09:40 - And I think one of the things we really want to make sure

09:42 - is that every Pennsylvanian feels that they can connect

09:45 - to America in one way or another.

09:48 - So that's why we have a whole host of different programing and projects.

09:52 - If you're not into history or education, but you like to go walk and run,

09:56 - go join the road to 2026,

09:59 - you know, and get out and get healthier and log your miles in state parks.

10:02 - You know, if you are an artist and you're into

10:04 - you're into the arts, well, we have a Bell program

10:06 - where you can go and you can design a bell local to your community.

10:10 - So there's all kinds of ways to get involved with the commission.

10:13 - And again, we want to make sure that as many Pennsylvanians are involved

10:16 - as possible.

10:17 - Well, this sounds like a massive undertaking.

10:19 - It sounds like a lot of coordination is involved.

10:21 - And certainly you can't do it by yourself.

10:23 - No. And honestly, I have a great team now at this point,

10:26 - there are ten of us across the Commonwealth.

10:28 - All, you know, we all work remotely in the different regions, but,

10:32 - you know, it really has been a team effort.

10:34 - And honestly,

10:35 - we would not be here without the support of the governor and the legislature.

10:39 - And we're really proud that all of the governors,

10:41 - the former governors, Governor Ridge, Governor Schweitzer, Governor Rendell,

10:45 - Governor Corbett, Governor Wolf, and now Governor Shapiro all

10:48 - serve as our co-chairs with our chairman, Pat Burns.

10:51 - So they came, they came forward, and they have input to the governor's

10:55 - have I'm interested.

10:55 - So to be honest, they're so involved with us.

10:58 - I'm really, really appreciative of all the time

11:00 - and energy that they put into the commission.

11:01 - Because I think they do.

11:03 - They see this one as an opportunity to show bipartisan support.

11:06 - We are the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania leaving party affiliation at the door.

11:11 - We want to make sure that the Commonwealth thrives,

11:13 - that people want to come here, that we want to see visitors,

11:15 - and also that we can highlight all of the amazing things here

11:18 - that we're doing that together,

11:19 - you know, and I think the members of the legislature

11:21 - and the governor thus far have provided us with support.

11:25 - Up and through December, we had matched every public dollar that was

11:28 - provided to us with private support and a true public private partnership.

11:32 - So again, really, really thrilled, I guess I should say from day

11:36 - one of seeing how this has progressed to show

11:39 - not only the public support, but also let's talk about the private support,

11:43 - the fact that companies and philanthropy and individuals

11:47 - from across this Commonwealth have dove in and just embraced this.

11:51 - And so, Cassandra, did you have to go to their door, knock some,

11:55 - you know, and I think very early on I have to I have to give a shout out

11:58 - to those who came in seven years ago when I had a vision

12:03 - and an idea, but I didn't even have, you know, collateral to hand over.

12:07 - But they took a chance.

12:08 - They might be hard to build up excitement that far.

12:10 - The correct? Correct.

12:11 - And there's a handful of larger sponsors that came in when we needed

12:16 - the most to get this across, you know, to get this really started.

12:19 - And now we're almost at the finish line

12:20 - and again, would not have this would not be where it is

12:23 - without that early support and then the continued support.

12:25 - And now now folks are coming and knocking on our door.

12:28 - Not for lack of a better word.

12:30 - We've already

12:30 - talked about one constituency and that would be young people.

12:33 - But also, it seems appropriate to me in the context of a celebration

12:37 - like this, that our country owes a debt to its veterans.

12:41 - So I think that got to be acknowledged in this celebration in some way.

12:45 - Tell me about the outreach there and their involvement. Sure.

12:48 - So we're actually thrilled that some of our programs specifically

12:52 - are focused on veterans in the military.

12:54 - So one of our programs, our service Member Spotlight series,

12:58 - actually, we ask folks to go to our website at American You 50

13:02 - and nominate a Pennsylvania service member to be spotlighted on our website

13:05 - at the end of 2026 for Veterans Day, we are going to host a large Veterans.

13:10 - Day event honoring those service members

13:11 - and their families who were spotlighted over the eight years of the project.

13:15 - In addition, we have our Memorial Flags initiative in partnership with essential,

13:19 - and this will allow us to support the VFW and the American Legion

13:24 - next year on May 16th, which is a Saturday, to be able to ensure

13:28 - that as many service member grave sites across the Commonwealth

13:32 - have an American flag for Memorial Day through Veterans Day next year.

13:35 - And there are so many American

13:37 - American Legion's and VFW who already do this due to support in the county code.

13:41 - However, what we hear is that there isn't enough volunteers.

13:45 - There sometimes isn't enough support

13:47 - when they need more flags, or they need more volunteers

13:49 - to help them get to more grave sites.

13:51 - So we are now partnering to be able to ensure that they have the number

13:54 - of volunteers and the number of flags that they need to ensure,

13:57 - as many grave sites are adorned with the flag.

14:00 - The other thing is our concert series next year will kick off in State College,

14:04 - and that concert specifically will be to honor

14:06 - our Pennsylvania service members and their families.

14:08 - So we're really, really excited.

14:10 - And we're so grateful to to all of them for their service.

14:12 - Let's talk more about Philadelphia being the epicenter of this whole celebration.

14:16 - And so it occurs to me that there's going to be thousands,

14:19 - maybe millions of people flowing into that city.

14:22 - So somebody has got to be ready to accommodate all those people.

14:24 - Do you have anything to do with that?

14:26 - So we work we work very closely with the folks on the ground in Philadelphia.

14:29 - But the real contingency on the ground is the city visit Philadelphia,

14:33 - the Philadelphia Convention Bureau,

14:35 - you know, Philadelphia 250 as well as Pennsylvania's tourism office.

14:39 - So everybody really has been working hand-in-hand together to, again, to ensure

14:42 - not only Philadelphia, but the Commonwealth is truly ready

14:45 - to welcome all these visitors.

14:46 - Now, since Pennsylvania has 67 counties, and I know you have the desire to

14:50 - involve them all, have you in fact done that?

14:52 - Have you approached each county methodically, systematically,

14:55 - and tried to generate programing there by looking your, I guess so listen again.

15:00 - I'm not from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

15:02 - So I thought again, it was super, super important to make sure

15:05 - that you can relate to those.

15:06 - I can outside those relate to that.

15:09 - And I think that was something that was extremely important to me

15:11 - personally and to our commission to make sure that every county

15:15 - was involved in this.

15:16 - And again, the 67 county resolutions that were passed, the fact

15:20 - that a fiberglass Liberty Bell is going and being installed in all 67 counties,

15:26 - those bells will be 108 total, but every county will get a minimum of one.

15:30 - Those bells will be on a map for both.

15:33 - Again, Pennsylvanians

15:35 - or outside tourists to be able to track and go see these bells.

15:38 - Learn the story of these counties.

15:40 - Learn the story of the bell, the artist, the host.

15:42 - Yeah. And really, as you said, fiberglass bells.

15:44 - And they're painting their murals and so there's some imagination involved.

15:48 - And creativity in those designs are local.

15:51 - So those, those designs are by local artists

15:55 - to tell the stories of that community.

15:58 - I'll give you an example, please.

15:59 - Just we just, unveiled one actually, at Del Grosso amusement park in Blair County,

16:04 - and that bell specifically has the carousel.

16:08 - It has the horseshoe curve.

16:10 - It has things that are specific and, you know, topics that are specific

16:14 - to Blair County immediately recognizable in a long time as events.

16:18 - Exactly.

16:19 - And it's also, you know, when folks go there to find that bell,

16:22 - they learn about, well, well, what is that?

16:24 - Oh, that's horseshoe curve.

16:25 - Let me look that up. Let me learn more.

16:27 - You know, so I really think again,

16:29 - those are

16:29 - the things that we're really hoping that the bells create that spark of interest.

16:33 - And it also it just creates that creativity of thinking.

16:36 - How can we describe our counties and how could we really sell

16:39 - our counties on these bells to really get folks interested in what happened here?

16:43 - So these bells, have they been distributed yet?

16:45 - They're starting to be.

16:46 - There's 108 that will be played by the end of this year, at least one per county.

16:51 - One person at some county got to be lucky and they'll get to some have more

16:54 - Philadelphia counties, you know, obviously getting 20,

16:58 - counties like York are getting six, Center County is getting five.

17:03 - So it really depends on, you know, the county

17:06 - and how they've been working with us and sponsors and different things.

17:08 - But every county is getting one minimum for any other artwork.

17:11 - Any specific, pictures come to your mind that you find especially interesting?

17:17 - Yeah.

17:17 - So I think honestly, we see these are the we see the artwork

17:21 - and the submissions as they come in and they're, you know, they're beautiful.

17:24 - But I have to say, I was at we've, we've dedicated to

17:28 - so far Montgomery county at oh you have a whole ceremony.

17:32 - We do we do a whole press of it around them.

17:34 - But again looking at these bells on paper and seeing them and then I,

17:37 - I was honored to to go to Blair County and run the program there.

17:41 - But seeing these bells in person or again,

17:45 - looking on paper to seeing it was just absolutely amazing.

17:48 - And I think people kept saying that even members of my team are like,

17:51 - we've been looking at these designs for, you know, months, but to see

17:54 - it come to life and realized in color in front of it

17:57 - and to see those local artists and their families

18:01 - standing next to those bells and just being so proud of that work

18:04 - and so proud of that they were able to represent their county in this effort.

18:09 - Just it's amazing.

18:10 - So how much excitement are you seeing overall?

18:13 - It sounds like you meet a lot of people.

18:15 - There's a lot of events and programs and, are people

18:18 - getting ready for this and do they appreciate it?

18:22 - They are.

18:22 - I think people are really starting to pay attention now.

18:24 - And take it from someone again who's been here for seven years

18:27 - banging on doors and people have said, call me in five years, Cassandra.

18:31 - But, you know, I think now folks are really understanding, and that's our goal.

18:35 - And that's tourism's goal is

18:36 - how do we truly educate folks to understand the importance of next year

18:40 - and that we want them involved and we want them to be able to create

18:42 - that, create these memories for them and their families, you know?

18:46 - And there are so many ways to do that.

18:47 - And I think one thing we I absolutely would be remiss if I didn't mention, but

18:51 - our countdown to 250 mobile experiential unit is launching July 4th of 2025,

18:56 - and it will be on the road for 223 experiential unit.

19:01 - Tell me of the experience.

19:02 - So it is.

19:03 - The full footprint is about a 50 by 60 footprint.

19:06 - It is think of like a box truck okay okay.

19:09 - And it will be traveling all around you. Go inside and what happens.

19:12 - So it opens and the experience is one side is actually a storytelling booth.

19:17 - So you can answer one of four prompts.

19:19 - One being tell us about your memories from the Bicentennial.

19:23 - We have now partnered

19:24 - with not only tourism but this Pennsylvania archives.

19:26 - So when you go in and you tell your story, that file automatically goes

19:30 - into the archives for people to be able to reference

19:32 - for the next 50 years as they plan for the 300th, part of

19:36 - the experience is also are components all around the design work?

19:41 - So if you lift your phone, Fallingwater may come to life,

19:44 - or Guy Bluford may shoot up into the sky as the astronaut.

19:48 - We have an American.

19:50 - You 50 Keystone Quest video game developed where people can go head to head

19:54 - and they can drive their Butler County produce

19:57 - jeep around Pennsylvania collecting flags.

20:00 - But guess what?

20:01 - You have to avoid the spotted lanternfly or the elk that are roaming,

20:05 - because then you lose your points and you have to start over. Interesting.

20:07 - So it's really fun.

20:08 - There's a photo moment and then of course there's fun swag deals

20:11 - and different ways to get people engaged.

20:13 - But this unit will go to Pennsylvanians where they are

20:16 - and ultimately really collect those stories and educate

20:20 - that this is a really important anniversary coming up.

20:22 - Yeah, as far as collecting stories is concerned

20:24 - and your experiential truck, maybe we'll have to visit it.

20:26 - You should.

20:27 - Because I was old enough to remember the bicentennial.

20:30 - Yes. And I had a t shirt that had Mickey Mouse on it with the powdered wig.

20:33 - It was kind of dumb, but that's what that's what I remember.

20:36 - And those are the stories we hear about, you know, fire hydrants being painted.

20:40 - I had one woman call me to say, I have to tell you, my parents

20:43 - and my parents actually had a red, white and blue shag rug put in my room.

20:48 - And I'm like, these are great. You know, these are great stories.

20:51 - And I've just enjoyed hearing them shag rugs in the 70s certainly go to get it.

20:55 - I'm glad you brought up tourism a couple minutes ago,

20:57 - because I'm going to ask you about how much long term, long term

21:02 - tourism value is in this celebration coming up.

21:05 - Listen, I think not only for 2026, with all of the sporting events

21:09 - and the 250th anniversary, do we hope that again,

21:12 - not only Pennsylvanians move around,

21:14 - but visitors come from across the country, visitors come from across the world.

21:17 - But I think we need to look at this from a tourism,

21:20 - you know, perspective of saying, this is just the beginning.

21:23 - We want to use this as the springboard to show what Pennsylvania is capable of,

21:28 - and to show folks really what Pennsylvania can do in the future.

21:31 - Now, a lot of our viewers are learning

21:33 - about your group for the very first time here today.

21:35 - And we're we're glad to help them learn about what you're doing.

21:38 - So let's say they want to follow up on this

21:40 - and they want to keep up with America.

21:42 - 250 PA activities.

21:43 - There's got to be some place on the internet to go. There is.

21:46 - So they can go to our website at America 250 PA org or we are across

21:50 - all of the social media platforms as well.

21:52 - We are always looking for volunteers, both for parades for our.

21:56 - We do a VA day of service every year on July 20th,

22:00 - which is National Pennsylvania Day.

22:02 - It's coming up so they can go to our website to volunteer for this year.

22:04 - But also next year, you know, and the way that the mobile unit

22:08 - is moving around, we need volunteers

22:09 - to help us in each of these counties as the unit goes out.

22:12 - So definitely volunteer opportunities.

22:14 - One thing I should mention as well with the unit is those who go and visit enter

22:18 - into different prizes and things for big scale events for next year.

22:21 - Now, if someone wants to sponsor America 250, what road should they take?

22:26 - Yes. So they could go to our website and reach out to me directly.

22:29 - There are we still again?

22:30 - We have a lot going on.

22:31 - We've had a lot of impact, but there are still so much to do.

22:35 - And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

22:38 - Pennsylvania cannot miss the mark.

22:40 - And it's going to require all of us, as I've mentioned, both on the public side

22:44 - and the private side, to really join hands and get this across the finish line

22:47 - together. Now,

22:48 - we've talked about a lot of activities, a lot of events, a lot of programs.

22:52 - There's all kinds of activities, on the website.

22:55 - And there just seems to be no limit

22:57 - to how we can celebrate that, America's 250 birthday.

23:01 - So in your mind, what's the common thread that runs

23:04 - through all these things that we've been talking about?

23:07 - I think it's the pride.

23:08 - I think, you know, I have I bring a certain perspective

23:11 - to this commission, from being a local mayor.

23:14 - And there's nothing like having that pride in your community.

23:17 - And I think being able to take those individual stories

23:21 - and take that pride that people have for those communities and be able

23:25 - to amplify that and be able to create that pride again

23:29 - in our youngest generation, to start to grow up knowing that again,

23:33 - they're in the birthplace of American democracy

23:35 - and that creating these memories again as a mom,

23:38 - that's what I just it's amazing to me to watch is the

23:41 - the young generation of Pennsylvanians really see the see the light

23:46 - and see the pride that they have when we leave those visits.

23:50 - And just the excitement and I'm guessing

23:53 - you can really apply your experience as mayor to a job like this.

23:56 - I definitely see overlap there.

23:58 - Yeah.

23:58 - And I think it's it's been really great with, you know, being able to interact

24:02 - with mayors and council folks and township supervisors, county commissioners.

24:07 - I understand what they're going through.

24:09 - I understand they have to balance a budget.

24:11 - I understand, you know, that public services thankless.

24:13 - But, you know, I think being able to partner with them, being able

24:17 - to amplify again, their counties, their work,

24:20 - and we are just so appreciative because so many elected officials, local

24:24 - elected officials

24:25 - have literally rolled out the red carpet for us to come into their communities.

24:28 - And again, we're just so, so appreciative.

24:30 - So you've had a lot of experiences with this group over the past seven years.

24:34 - In your mind, what has been the most rewarding thing that you've done?

24:38 - Maybe you didn't expect it.

24:39 - I would say probably, being able to share this experience

24:42 - with my son, because again, I didn't see again.

24:46 - He's ten.

24:46 - And to be able to, you know, stand with him.

24:50 - We did our national convening in Philadelphia last,

24:52 - you know, last September, be able to stand with him at the Liberty Bell,

24:56 - be able to stand with him after hours.

24:58 - You know, Independence Hall, these are memories again,

25:01 - that I'm hoping that he takes with him and appreciates.

25:04 - Maybe not now, at ten, fully.

25:06 - But, you know, over the years that and I really hope he sits back and he says,

25:10 - you know, in in 50 years he's now telling everybody he's going to run America 300.

25:14 - But I really hope

25:16 - he sits back and says, you know, this was a really great experience.

25:19 - And I'm really proud that my mom had a leading role in it.

25:22 - Now, this event is really going to culminate on July the 4th,

25:26 - mostly in the epicenter, as we said, it'll will be in Philadelphia.

25:29 - So when does this thing really get into high gear

25:32 - and get a high profile publicity wise, maybe in January 2026?

25:36 - Yeah.

25:36 - So we're really starting that slow kind of, you know, awareness.

25:40 - Now I'm thinking by fall we will have the full calendar logged in.

25:45 - But I should note that January 16th of 2026, we kick off in Philadelphia

25:50 - and I am on the road for 13 days as we do kickoff events and all 67 counties.

25:55 - So that will be,

25:56 - I think, the real big kick off for all events and programing in 26.

26:01 - We've been talking with Cassandra Coleman, executive

26:03 - director of America 250 PA thank you very much.

26:07 - Thank you so much.