Salazar appoints 450th Commission

Hugh Vickery informed Historic City News local reporters that Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has announced the members of the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission.

Upon receiving notification that the commission had been officially named this morning, St. Augustine Mayor Joseph L. Boles, Jr., said “With today’s announcement we are truly seeing the formation of a team that will develop an outstanding commemoration for our city.”

The secretarially-appointed members of the Commission will plan and carry out programs and activities to mark the 450th anniversary of the city’s founding in 2015.

“I am pleased that these passionate and accomplished individuals have agreed to serve St. Augustine and our nation by serving on this Commission,” Secretary Salazar said. “As stewards of our nation’s great history, the Department of the Interior and the Commission will work to ensure that the story of St. Augustine and our Spanish ancestors is recognized and preserved for generations to come.”

Mayor Boles added, “With the groundwork already prepared by First America Foundation and the extensive internal planning by city staff, we join now with the federal commission and its tremendous resources to give our city the recognition it deserves on such an important occasion as this anniversary.”

St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States; having been founded by the Spanish in 1565.

“The story of St. Augustine is a microcosm of the story of America itself, with a tapestry weaved by Native Americans, Europeans and Africans as the city developed, changed hands in times of conflict, struggled with issues of justice and equality and eventually flourished, ” said Director of the National Park Service Jon Jarvis. “The members of the commission will ensure that the anniversary will be an opportunity to expand the understanding and appreciation of the significance of the founding and continuing history of the city.”

Congress established the Commission as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 and charged it with ensuring a suitable national observance of St. Augustine’s 450th anniversary by complementing the programs and activities of the State of Florida and the City of St. Augustine.

The members of the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission are:

Joseph L. Boles, Mayor of St. Augustine
Katharine H. Dickenson, historic preservationist
Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney
Dr. Michael Francis, Professor of History, University of North Florida
Dr. Michael Gannon, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Florida
Senator Bob Graham
Jay Kislak, President Kislak Mortgage Corp., National Park Foundation Board
Eduardo Padron, President of Miami Dade College
Bruce Smathers, Former Florida Secretary of State
Robert Stanton, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Department of the Interior
Father Thomas S. Willis, Pastor Cathedral Parish, St. Augustine, Florida
Gordon Wilson, Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas National Monument Superintendent
Ambassador Andrew Young, former Congressman, Mayor of Atlanta, and UN Ambassador

Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565 under a grant from King Phillip II of Spain. St. Augustine was often a site of conflict as European nations competed with each other for control of the New World, and, at various times, the flags of Spain, England and the United States have flown over the city. Union forces occupied the city in 1862. In the 1960’s, St. Augustine was on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led efforts to end segregation and secure equal rights for African Americans.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News contributed photograph by US Department of Interior