Don’t Miss the River of Fire Opening Ceremonies

Join Central Washington’s U.S. representative, Congressman Dan Newhouse, in a celebration of our nation’s independence on the Fourth of July. With festivals, public displays of fireworks, parades, and barbeques, our nation commemorates our Independence Day. The day when the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, declaring the colonies’ separation from Great Britain.

On Independence Day, we remember the powerful promise of the words of the Declaration: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.’ Our Founding Fathers had the foresight to enshrine freedom, equality, and justice in the Declaration and the Constitution, framing the timeless values that we continue to cherish. On the Fourth, let us celebrate America’s founding as the world’s beacon of liberty.

Opening Ceremony at Veterans Memorial
Noon: Welcome
12:03pm National Anthem - Mid-Columbia Mastersingers
12:05pm Congressman Newhouse
12:10pm Mayor Young
12:15pm Susan Davis Faulkner of the Daughters of the American Revolution
12:18pm Chair of the County Commissioners (Benton) - Jerome Delvin
12:23pm Harley McKay - Patriotic Poem

Jerome Delvin is serving his first term as commissioner from the 1st District, which includes Richland and West Richland in Benton County. He previously served two and one-half terms in the state Senate and five terms in the state House of Representatives. He was a former military policeman and officer in the Hanford Patrol. Delvin retired from the Richland Police Department in January 2007 after 28 years as bomb technician and a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer. Jerome is a lifelong resident of Benton County; an avid mountain climber and downhill skier. He lives in Richland with his wife, Josie, who is the Benton County Clerk.

Steve Young and his wife Anita along with their three children and six grand-children have lived in the city of Kennewick since 1986. During that time he has worked as a budget and program manager for prime contractors at the Hanford Site. In 2009, the City Council elected Steve as Mayor where he continues to serve Kennewick as the second longest serving Mayor in the long history of the city.