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In 2025, neighboring Northeast Ohio city Akron will celebrate its bicentennial. Plans to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of the city’s founding will include several major events and long-term investments, including a bicentennial celebration, establishing the Akron History Center, which will be located downtown, along with the development of digital educational materials for Akron students and a new anthology of Akron history.

Native Akronite and �鶹ӰԺ graduate Mark Greer has been named executive director of Akron200 Inc., the nonprofit organization created by the Akron Bicentennial Commission to distribute funds to neighborhood groups celebrating the city’s milestone.

Greer attended Firestone High School in Akron, graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Bowling Green State University and earned his Master of Music degree from �鶹ӰԺ in 2009.

Greer's work in the community exemplifies the values and culture embodied by Golden Flashes today. He has been a part of the Akron Bicentennial Commission, along with 27 other community representatives, since its inception in June 2022. He is the founder of Ulysses McNeal Consulting Co. and serves as assistant pastor at The Family Church, a nondenominational parsonage in University Park. In 2021, he received the Greater Akron Chamber’s “30 for the Future” award. 

New Akron Mayor Shamas Malik, who ran against Greer and five other Democrats in the May mayoral primary, said, “Mark is a dynamic leader and creative thinker, and I’m excited about what lies ahead.”

Learn more about Greer and plans for Akron’s Centennial Celebration.

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