Naturalization Ceremony to Be Held at George Washington Carver National Monument

Image Credit: George Washington Carver National Monument

The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri will naturalize 50 new citizens at 11:30 am on Wednesday, November 10. The ceremony will be held at George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri.

This event’s applicants represent approximately 30 countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mexico, Sweden, and Vietnam.

The Honorable M. Douglas Harpool will preside over the ceremony. Chieko Akimoto Hedin of Joplin’s Heartland Opera Theatre will perform the National Anthem and America the Beautiful. Members of Joplin High School’s ROTC will serve as the ceremony’s Color Guard. Guest speakers will include: Park Superintendent Jim Heaney; Udayan Apte, Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center; Attorney Tom O’Neal with the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association; Kim Mailes, Executive Director of the Carver Birthplace Association; and representatives from the offices of Senator Roy Blunt, Senator Josh Hawley, and Congressman Billy Long.

There will be a short reception for the new citizens and their guests, hosted by The Carver Birthplace Association, immediately following the ceremony.

The event will be held outdoors with physical distancing in the seating.  Chairs are limited, as we are giving priority to the applicants and their guests. However, we are anticipating some available seating and spacing towards the back of the tent. The event itself lasts about sixty to ninety minutes. The park Visitor Center will be open, with a capacity limit of 40 at a time and masks required.

If you cannot attend in person, the event will also be live streamed on the US District Court’s YouTube page.

Members of the press may enter with equipment between 10:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Reference:

Jim Heaney, Superintendent
George Washington Carver National Monument
417.325.4151
james_heaney@nps.gov

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