Meet Brian McGuire, President of Plymouth 400’s Board of Directors
In addition to keeping you up to date and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at all the exciting programs and events Plymouth 400 has in the works, we want to help you get to know who’s behind all of it! We’ll be featuring Board Member Bios on our blog to give you a glimpse of who’s who in our organization. This week, we’re starting with Brian McGuire. We caught up with Brian and asked him to answer some questions for us:
Where do you work?
I am Vice President of Operations at L Knife & Son, a beverage distributer, and have worked at this company since 1981. L Knife was a Plymouth-based company formed in 1898 by an Italian immigrant named Luigi Cortelli, and the company now has 21 locations throughout the United States.
Where are you from?
I grew up in Plymouth, and now reside in Milton Masscahusetts.
What’s your favorite place in the region originally known as “Plymouth Colony”?
Plymouth – of course. I think a summer walk on the waterfront is as good as it gets. It’s interesting to see all the different people from all over the world coming to this spot.
What’s your role on the Plymouth 400 board?
I’ve been on the board for 2 years, and I’ve been president for the last year. I’ve been interested in serving on a non-profit and was intrigued with this commemoration. At the beginning, it seemed like they were starting too soon to prepare for something that was eight years away – but as I started to look into it and understand the national and international roles, I realized that there wasn’t a lot of time and we really needed to get going now.
Why did you become involved in Plymouth 400?
I was interested in the important role that the Pilgrims landing in Plymouth influenced American values and life. Plymouth was the first continuous colony in the US. Here was where freedom of religion, self-determination and the first wave of immigration started. These are all significant American core values that stick with us today.
The immigration wave was the beginning of two completely different cultures interacting and surviving together. Sometimes successfully and sometimes not. Thanksgiving is a great example of two different cultures reaching out to each other in a fruitful way. I think it is great that this has now become a unique American tradition.
What do you think the community should be most excited for leading up to 2020?
I really find it interesting the international excitement that is out there for this commemoration. I have had the opportunity to talk to representatives in Plymouth, England and Leiden, Holland, and they feel that this is where freedom really started and America has played a role in assisting them in fighting for their freedom in the last two world wars. There will be a lot of international participation and everyone should look forward to and take advantage of that interaction and these new relationships.
Stay tuned for our next Board Member Bio, featuring Paul Cripps.
