Massachusetts Celebrates 100 Years of JA
3 October 2019
New England’s state fair (known as The Big E) celebrated our 100 years of achievement by making this past Saturday “JA Day.” JA has a long connection with The Big E. In fact, the first JA building ever constructed was created at The Big E after our founding in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1919.
JA students and staff from Massachusetts and from JA USA attended the event, holding up large images of JA founders Theodore Vail, Senator Murray Crane, and Horace Moses on a parade float, as well as sharing other JA facts and insignia.
JA USA President and CEO Jack Kosakowski also got in on the fun, traveling cross-country from JA USA headquarters in Colorado to Massachusetts to help celebrate JA Day and the centennial.
Jennifer Connolly, President of JA of Western Massachusetts, told local news organization WWLP, “We’ve gone from reaching 50 students here in western Massachusetts when we started, to reaching over 13,000 last year.” She further noted that JA USA serves 4 million students in the U.S. each year, and JA Worldwide serves over 10 million.