Dear Friends,

I would like to extend a warm greeting from your hometown. Here we are at a most wonderful time of the year, the weather has turned crisp and cool, and your City of Pottsville is preparing for the holiday season.

Your fellow Pottsvillians and I have for the past two years been preparing for what promises to be the most exciting year in your hometown’s history. 2006 is little more than a year away and we will enter our third century of life with a yearlong celebration beginning with Bicentennial Eve at our new Majestic Theater in Downtown Pottsville and ending with a celebration called Home for the Holidays – A Return of Native Sons and Daughters.

We have with our Bicentennial Commission and our non-profit fundraising organization, The Lasting Legacy of Pottsville, identified three projects that will enhance the quality of life and ultimately improve the economic vitality of this city. Many of you have returned recently and remarked that Pottsville’s downtown and its adjoining residential areas are experiencing a rebirth and have never appeared more robust and vital.

I am asking you to do two things as a Pottsvillian (Once a Pottsvillian, Always a Pottsvillian). First, come join us for one or more of the exciting programs and activities we have scheduled for our city’s birthday celebration; second, honor us with a financial contribution at any of the following levels. We have some special collectible gifts for you with your support.

• Contribute at the John O’Hara Level ($20-$99) and receive a Commemorative, Limited Edition Bicentennial Lapel Pin
• Contribute at the Henry Clay Level ($100-$199) and receive a Bicentennial Lapel Pin and an Authentic Pottsville Maroons T-Shirt commemorating the unsung 1925 World Championship Team.
• Contribute at the Necho Allen Level ($200-$299) and receive a Bicentennial Lapel Pin, a Maroons T-Shirt, and your choice of a Pewter Holiday Tree Ornament (a replica of the Yuengling Brewery or the Capitol Theatre). Those ornaments offer a unique sentimental view of our great community.
• Contribute at the Nicholas Biddle Level ($300-$399) and receive a Bicentennial Lapel Pin, a Maroons T-Shirt, a Pewter Tree Ornament, and the First Edition of Four Hardbound Volumes describing the Personalities that Formed the First 200 Years.
• Contribute at the General Joulwan Level ($400 or more) and receive a Bicentennial Lapel Pin, a Maroons T-Shirt, a Pewter Tree Ornament, a Hardbound First Edition Book, and a Limited Edition Watson Print of the treetop view of the City of Pottsville along with a Certificate of Appreciation from me and the 2006 Bicentennial Commission in a beautiful presentation case.