Meet the Plymouth 400 Committee

The Plymouth 400 celebration will host a special “Meet the Committees”  event for the press and general public on June 14, from 6-8 p.m. in the Blue Room at Memorial Hall. The night will feature members of the newly re-formed town committee, the non-profit Plymouth 400, Inc. and a formal unveiling of the celebration’s new website.

The newly designed website, created by Mary Shields – a member of the non-profit committee and President of Plymouth based Shields Design – is “clean and approachable.” She went on to say that “a good website is crucial to the success of our event, as a whole. In the digital age, an organization’s website is the first stop for potential sponsors, visitors and anyone else who might want to get involved. It’s where we say “hello”… and first impressions count.

The members of the non-profit committee have been working on planning since 2010, and many originally served on the first evolution of the town’s committee. June 14 will give supporters and members of the press an opportunity to meet the newly re-formed town group. Applications have been accepted and decisions are being made by Plymouth’s Board of Selectman. The new group will be announced and introduced at the Memorial Hall gathering.

“We had a lot of great applicants and are impressed with everyone’s enthusiasm”, said Plymouth Selectman Belinda Brewster. “We’re looking forward to a great “Meet the Committees” night and we can’t wait to have both committees working together on a memorable 400th anniversary”. 

The two committees will serve as “two sides of a coin”, with the town committee handling the important infrastructure issues, coordinating activities in an “umbrella” capacity and engaging in community outreach on the local, national, and international stage. The non-profit side will focus on the promotion and production of the key events.

The event on June 14 will be free and open to the public. In addition to presentations on the website features, and introductions of the two committees, the evening will feature brief remarks by invited guests. The speaking program will be followed by a cocktail reception with cash bar and passed hors d’oeuvres, as well as a crudite table.

The Plymouth 400th Anniversary commemorates the 1620 landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth. Massachusetts, and highlights the cultural contributions and American traditions that began with the interaction of the Wampanoag and English peoples; a story that began a national legacy.

The 400th anniversary celebration is expected to be an economic boon to the state, as well as to the local area. Jamestown, Virginia’s recent celebration generated 1.2 billion dollars in sales and created twenty thousand jobs for the area. That amounted to 22 million dollars in taxes for the state of Virginia and another 6.4 million for local government. Plymouth’s popularity as a tourist destination coupled with the worldwide exponential growth in “heritage tourism” could see similar numbers.