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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: May 7, 2024 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-f <br /> SUBJECT: Resolution Supporting the America 250 NC Program and Committee <br /> DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br /> and Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Resolution Peter Sandbeck, 245-2517 <br /> PURPOSE: To approve a resolution supporting the America 250 NC program, thereby allowing <br /> Orange County's America 250 NC Committee to commence work. <br /> BACKGROUND: The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) <br /> is leading the statewide effort to plan for the commemoration of America's 250th anniversary, with <br /> a goal of energizing and promoting robust, comprehensive, and inclusive programs across the <br /> entire state. These programs will commemorate the 250th with wide-ranging activities across a <br /> multi-year commemoration beginning in 2024, with a focus on 2026. Additional events will <br /> continue through 2033. Programs and events will be developed around two broad concepts: <br /> • Revolutionary NC— to explore the historical events of the Revolution in NC; and <br /> • When Are We Us — to explore the ideas of freedom, civic responsibility, overcoming <br /> challenges, and change as we lean into the ideals of democracy. <br /> Programs and projects will also highlight pivotal events in history, such the Civil Rights movement, <br /> Women's Suffrage and major scientific, agricultural and industrial developments. <br /> NCDNCR is asking each county to form an official America 250 NC county committee, to consist <br /> of individuals who are dedicated to planning and organizing events, projects, and initiatives at the <br /> grassroots level. An initial working group has been established to serve as the start-up Orange <br /> County Committee. With approval of the attached resolution, this core group will begin working <br /> as the central body coordinating the local America 250 NC commemoration activities, working <br /> closely with the NC America 250 team at NCDNCR. The core group will reach out across the <br /> County to enlist additional members, to include diverse perspectives and voices from a variety of <br /> sectors across the County, and including local governments, cultural heritage institutions, non- <br /> profits, tourism departments, libraries, schools and colleges, genealogical groups, and civic <br /> organizations. The Committee will serve as the driving force behind Orange County's <br /> commemoration of the State's long history of independent thought and achievement. <br /> The activities of Orange County's America 250 NC committee will be coordinated by the Chapel <br /> Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau and the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. Approval of the <br />