The Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives and the Maryland Department of Planning today announced appointments of the Maryland Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged with planning the 2026 commemoration of the American Revolution and the birth of our nation.
According to a Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives (GOCI) press release:
Author and media entrepreneur Nina Easton will serve as chairman of the commission. Former Montgomery County Executive and County Councilman Isiah “Ike” Leggett is vice chairman designate pending a vote by the full commission.
Maryland’s unique history is inextricably linked to America’s very underpinnings. The colonial Act of Tolerance laid the foundations of our Constitution’s First Amendment. George Washington famously resigned his commission as commander of the Army in Annapolis in 1783. Annapolis was the temporary capital of the United States and still features the oldest working State House in America. Maryland is also home to the “Star Spangled Banner,” and historic African American leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Thurgood Marshall. The famous Maryland 400 quite possibly saved the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Brooklyn.
Commission Roster
- Chair, Nina J. Easton, SellersEaston Media
- Vice Chair Designate, Ike Leggett, former executive of Montgomery County
- Elaine Bachmann, State Archivist
- Angelica Bailey, Maryland Municipal League
- Lindsey Baker, Maryland Humanities Council
- Gregory Bartles, Maryland Natural Resources Police Volunteer
- Luis Borunda, Secretary of State’s Office
- Jack Broderick, Kent Island Heritage Society
- Keith Colston, Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs
- Gene Deems, Department of Natural Resources
- Judith Emmel, Maryland Commission for Women
- Joni Floyd, University of Maryland
- Hon. Joseph M. Getty, Maryland Court of Appeals
- Kris A. Hoellen, B&O Railroad Museum
- Elizabeth Hughes, Maryland Historical Trust
- Patrick J. Lally, The Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives in the Governor’s Coordinating Offices
- Steven X. Lee, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture
- Bruce Lesh, Maryland State Department of Education
- Pete Lesher, Maryland Association of Counties
- Mark Letzer, Maryland Center for History and Culture
- Luis A Luna, Department of General Services
- Robert S. McCord, Maryland Department of Planning
- Denise Nooe, Department of Veterans Affairs
- Nicholas Redding, Preservation Maryland
- Tom Riford, Department of Commerce
- Reggie Turner, Commission on African American History and Culture
- Mark Wasserman, University of Maryland Medical System
- Paul Webb, Department of Budget and Management
Learn more about the Commission.
Read the full press release.
