Jagdish Sharma and Sue McNab (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
Four-hundred eighty-seven new citizens of the United States took their oaths of allegiance on July 4 at the Seattle Center as part of the Ethnic Heritage Council’s 29th Annual Naturalization Ceremony.
The citizens came from 87 different countries, with 56 coming from the Philippines and 33 coming from South Korea.
The ceremony featured speeches from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, Gov. Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman and was emceed by Mayor Mike McGinn. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard C. Tallman administered the oath.
At the ceremony, Jagdish Sharma, who was born in India, received the Spirit of Liberty Award for his service helping the Indian community adapt to the United States, helping to establish the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation, Camp Bharat for Indian-American youth, and the Indian Association of Western Washington scholarship at the University of Washington.
The citizens at Seattle Center were some of over 7,000 new citizens in the United States to take the oath of allegiance during the week of July 1. (end)