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Richfield issues proclamations for Arbor Day, National Therapy Animal Day and Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month
Summary
Mayor Mary Supple read proclamations on April 22 recognizing Arbor Day (April 25), National Therapy Animal Day (April 30) and Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month (May), and presenters and community members described local tree stewardship, therapy animal volunteer work and historic contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans.
Mayor Mary Supple read three proclamations at the Richfield City Council meeting on April 22: one designating April 25, 2025, as Arbor Day in Richfield; one designating April 30, 2025, as National Therapy Animal Day; and one designating May 2025 as Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month.
Nut graf: The proclamations highlight local civic and cultural recognition rather than an action requiring council adoption of an ordinance or new policy; presenters used the opportunities to note local programs and volunteer needs for tree stewardship, therapy-animal visitation, and heritage-month programming.
Arbor Day proclamation: Mayor Mary Supple read a proclamation noting the 150th anniversary of the first U.S. Arbor Day (April 10, 1872) and urging tree stewardship to support resilient urban forests. Mayor Supple thanked the city forester Joe Clark and public works staff for preservation and planting work at local parks.
Therapy Animal Day proclamation: The council proclaimed April 30 as National Therapy Animal Day and invited handlers to speak. A therapy-animal handler who brought a dog named Barney described several years of volunteer visitation to hospitals, schools and the VA and said requests for visits are increasing. The handler said the program is recruiting more volunteer teams and that city staff are planning a staff wellness day where therapy teams could interact with police and fire personnel. The handler said visits are in demand and that teams "can't accommodate all the requests that we get," as recorded in the meeting.
Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month proclamation: Commissioner Tim Garvey of the Richfield Human Rights Commission briefly thanked the mayor and council after Mayor Supple read a proclamation designating May as Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month. The proclamation cited historical milestones referenced in the text read to council, noted the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimate that at least 6.2% of Richfield's population is of Asian or Pacific Islander origin, and referenced historical discrimination including the Chinese Exclusion Act and the internment of Japanese Americans with later redress via the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, as recited in the proclamation.
Ending: The proclamations were ceremonial and required no formal council vote; speakers used their time at the podium to thank staff and to invite community participation in volunteer therapy teams and heritage-month programming.
