Daytona Beach staff outline yearlong 2026 sesquicentennial plan, request ambassador appointments

City of Daytona Beach communications staff presented a yearlong plan for the city’s 150th anniversary in 2026 and asked that commissioners appoint ambassadors to help run events and fundraising.

Julie Varley, a communications specialist with the City of Daytona Beach, told the Youth Advisory Board that “celebrating a sesquicentennial is a hundred 50 years, which is a pretty big celebration for a city.” She outlined live and digital events, a proposed ambassador committee, scholarship ideas and branding and asked the board to help involve students and the community.

Varley said the city began internal planning in February 2024 and hopes commissioners will establish ambassador appointments this month so the ambassador committee can begin meeting in May. “We are working together to get an ambassador committee established. So the commissioners have been asked to appoint 2 individuals each,” she said. She described the ambassadors as expected to meet monthly and conduct public…