What America’s 250th Anniversary Means to Me by State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria, 105th District
Bazinet, Jamison
What America’s 250th Anniversary Means to Me
State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria, 105th District
Growing up in Seymour, I never had to look far to understand what America meant. I saw it in my grandparents, who came to this country from Greece with nothing but determination and a willingness to work hard. I saw it in the business they helped build, the
family they raised, and the values they passed down. This July 4th, as our nation turns 250, those memories feel closer than ever.
My grandparents believed in America before they even arrived here. They didn’t speak the language. They didn’t know anyone. But they had heard the promise and they trusted it. They always told us to give back to the community that has given so much to this
family. That lesson shaped everything that came after. It became a business here in Seymour that my sister Themis and my cousins and I still run together. It became daughters who went to college and granddaughters who served in the Connecticut General Assembly.
When I stand on the floor of the legislature, I think about my grandparents. What they left behind. What they built. That is never far from my mind.
I have spent my whole life in this community, Seymour, Beacon Falls and Derby. I went to school here, raised my family here, and have had the honor of representing my neighbors here. What I know after all these years is that America is built by people like
the ones right here in this Valley. It’s the parades and the volunteer fire departments and the neighbors who check in when things get hard.
At 250, our country is not without its challenges. We debate, we disagree, and sometimes loudly (like Greeks do). But the ability to do that and still share a July 4th cookout, still call each other neighbors, that is part of what makes this country so remarkable.
This anniversary, I am grateful. Grateful for the founders who risked everything. Grateful for immigrants like my grandparents who believed enough in this country to start over. Grateful for the men and women who served to protect what others built, including
my husband Steven, a retired law enforcement detective who gave decades of his life to keeping people safe.
And I am grateful to represent this community. The 105th District has always felt like home, because it is.
Two hundred and fifty years is a long time, but some things don’t change. The belief that if you work hard and give back this country will give you a chance, that belief brought my grandparents here, and it still rings true today. Here in the Valley, I see
it every single day. That’s the America worth celebrating, and the one worth fighting for.
State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria
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Rep. Klarides-Ditria represents the 105th district of Beacon Falls, Seymour, and Derby.
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Jamison C. Bazinet
Communications Specialist
House Republican Office
Public Affairs Department
Phone: (860) 240-8726
Email: Jamison...@cga.ct.gov