SE Valley Times

Mesa will welcome approximately 100 new U.S. citizens on July 4. Since 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been holding a naturalization ceremony at the Arizona Celebration of Freedom Presented by AT&T. The ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. at the Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center St. USCIS Phoenix Field Office Section Chief Cynthia Yanez will administer the Oath of Allegiance to the new citizens. Mayor John Giles and Councilmember Jenn Duff will participate in the ceremony.

The idea to include a naturalization ceremony as part of the Arizona Celebration of Freedom came from the Sertoma Club, a founding partner of the event and a Mesa service organization founded in 1954, whose motto is “Service to Mankind.”

“We were looking at other activities to add to the Arizona Celebration of Freedom and adding the naturalization ceremony on Independence Day was a natural fit for the event and our organization,” said Walt Zimmerman, a member of the Sertoma Club since 1974. Zimmerman will lead the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance during the ceremony.

The Sertoma Club also organizes other patriotic-themed aspects of the Arizona Celebration of Freedom including the Hall of Flags display, the History of Flags programs, an opportunity to sign replicas of the Declaration of Independence, and distribution of pocket-size copies of the U.S. Constitution donated by Hillsdale College. Event attendees can also receive copies of the civics test questions given to people applying for U.S. citizenship.

The Arizona Celebration of Freedom Presented by AT&T is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Mesa Convention Center and Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St. It features live music, patriotic displays, a BMX stunt show, picnic games and other family activities, fireworks, and more information is available at azcelebrationoffreedom.com.