Happy Ne????w Year!

It has been an honor for me to serve the community over the past year as the city administrator. While I have learned a lot in that time, it is an ongoing process, and I firmly believe the more I learn, the better I will get in leading the government administration.

Ann Arbor Bicente???nnial

However, I am not writing you from the role of city administrator. I have volunteered to be part of a major civic effort, and I pen this letter as one of the leaders of the Ann Arbor Bicentennial Coordinating Committee. “Coordinating" in this context is a key word. There were several conversations and planning efforts on this topic taking place around town. They just weren't all connected. The aim of the coordinating committee is to bring the plans under a unified umbrella so that we can have a remarkable celebration that gives people several choices on how to celebrate the civic birthday. I'm using this space to tell you what we're doing, and second, to invite you to be part of the observance.

The plan is to celebrate the bicentennial throughout the entirety of 2024. We are not simply planning some blowout event on a single day. We expect there to be different types of activities or events produced. Some will be newly created, one-time events only occurring in 2024. Others may be a “series" that unfolds over multiple days across several weeks. The City of Ann Arbor has its own internal bicentennial committee. Their task is to plan whatever activities local government will produce during the year.

Some groups already do some type of annual event but may choose to simply rebrand it during that particular year. Finally, groups may elect to use our 200th birthday as an occasion for some type of legacy activity, something that will transcend a single year's observance.

Destination Ann Arbor, a local organization that promotes conferences and leisure travel to the city (coordinating committee member) has graciously offered to facilitate the creation of a bicentennial calendar of events. The plan is to have an online accessible schedule showing everything that is planned over the 12 months of celebration.

The coordinating committee wants the community's celebration to be fun, unifying and inclusive. There is a lot of work still ahead. This is the first of several periodic communications that will be forthcoming leading to our 2024 bicentennial observance.

What can you do?

If you are an organization, you can consider if you want to plan an event or activity to mark the bicentennial occasion. The coordinating committee role is not to plan the actual activities or events, the community needs to do that. Our role is to help promote the things that the community decides to produce.

If you are an individual, you may choose to contact one of the producing organizations to see if you can volunteer to help them with their event. Or you can simply look at the calendar when it's available and attend one of the events that appeals to you.
If you are a business or philanthropic organization, you may choose to sponsor one of the activities to support the celebration while elevating your own brand at the same time.

Let's come together to appreciate the community we have chosen to live, work, learn or play in. It is not perfect, but it's working to get better. A fun-filled, unifying bicentennial celebration can help the community to do just that! We will be looking for, and looking forward to, your constructive thoughts and willingness to help out somehow, when the time comes!

Milton Dohoney Jr.
Ann Arbor Bicentennial Coordinating Committee
Co-chair