Mayor Jim Kenney Announces Neubauer Family Foundation as 2023 Mayor’s Magis Award Recipient

Mayor Jim Kenney today announced that the recipient of the Mayor’s Magis Award will be the Neubauer Family Foundation. Presented annually on July 4th as part of the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony at Independence Hall, Joseph and Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer will accept the award on behalf of the Foundation.

In Philadelphia, the Neubauer family is committed to improving K-12 urban education, believing that all children can learn, and that strong principals are the best agents to effect change.

The Foundation founded the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders, a series of professional development programs which enhance leadership and management skills of principals and other school leaders in Philadelphia’s public, charter and parochial schools at various stages of their careers. Launched in 2015, the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders has already achieved significant results—higher retention rates of top educational leadership and teaching talent; higher student attendance rates; improved student performance. The Neubauer Family Foundation believes that all children deserve great schools and that great schools are key to ensuring that young families will choose Philadelphia as a place to work and live.

“Education is the surest path to economic security,” said Joseph Neubauer, “and economic security enables social progress.”

The Mayor’s Magis Award, first awarded in 2016, was created by Mayor Jim Kenney and his administration. The Latin Magis roughly translates into “the more universal good,” and this City of Philadelphia honor is awarded to a person or an organization that does and achieves more, serving the greater good in the City of Philadelphia.

“Independence Day is a special holiday in America and particularly here in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed on July 4, 1776,” said Mayor Kenney. “Although we celebrate our nation’s freedom and independence, we also know that we are still in the pursuit of these principles for all our citizens. On Independence Day, it will be my honor to present the seventh annual Mayor’s Magis Award to the Neubauer Family Foundation for continued investment in our city and our youth.”

Mayor Kenney will present the Mayor’s Magis Award at the City of Philadelphia’s Celebration of Freedom Ceremony produced by the Office of the City Representative at Independence National Historical Park during the annual Wawa Welcome America festival on Monday, July 4th.

The Celebration of Freedom Ceremony presented by Freedom Mortgage and supported by Visit Philadelphia, will take place at 10:00 a.m., on the south side of Independence Square (the south side of Independence Hall) and feature performances by The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra and 2023 Miss America, Emma Broyles. In addition, there will be an abbreviated reading of the Declaration of Independence by Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Philadelphia, Iryna Mazur and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Nations. 

In addition, the Wawa Foundation Hero Award will be revealed and presented to a local nonprofit organization, and the Celebrate Freedom Award presented by Freedom Mortgage will be awarded to a U.S. military veteran or frontline worker chosen from entries across the nation.

“Our Office of the City Representative is incredibly proud to produce the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony every year as we  kick off the Fourth of July celebrations,” said City Representative Sheila Hess. “We are excited to honor local heroes who are making our city, region, and world a better place.”

The Celebration of Freedom Ceremony broadcasted on NBC10 and Telemundo62 at 6 p.m. followed by the live broadcast of the Wawa Welcome America evening concert starting at 7 p.m. on July 4th, which will make its return to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

About the Office of the City Representative: 

The Office of the City Representative (OCR) serves as the premier marketing and promotional agency of the City of Philadelphia. OCR’s vision is to celebrate and foster Philadelphia’s visibility and diversity through citywide event creation, community engagement, and innovative experiences.