Nevada’s 150th birthday now has public relations agency

By ED VOGEL

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s Sesquicentennial Commission hired the Glenn Group public relations and advertising agency Monday to raise funds and coordinate events planned for the state’s 150th birthday celebration.

The agency will be paid $15,000 a month through the end of 2014 to oversee activities associated with the anniversary of the state’s admission to the union as the 36th state on Oct. 31, 1864. A one-year celebration will start the weekend of Oct. 25, in observance of Nevada Day, and more than 150 events will be conducted.

The Glenn Group, with offices in Reno and Las Vegas, also will assist in raising funds for the celebration. No state money will be used for the events and the commission wants to raise at least $2.5 million in private contributions. The agency will receive a 10 percent commission on the first $500,000 it raises and 15 percent on amounts over that figure.

Kara Kelley, the former CEO of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, has been hired by the Glenn Group to serve as executive director of celebration activities.

Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com, or 775-687-3901.