A representative of Friends of Vienna, speaking as the group's treasurer, described the nonprofit’s history, the scale of its annual Freedom Festival and the group’s fundraising model, and asked the council for the city’s support for the 2025 event.

The speaker said Friends of Vienna was established in 2021 as a 501(c)(3) and that the organization is volunteer-run. The treasurer listed officers by name: Jack Mathers as president, Rod Smith as vice president and Theresa Smith as secretary, and identified them as the group’s board leadership.

The treasurer provided the group’s recent budgets and estimated economic impacts: a 2022 budget of $141,000 with an estimated economic impact of about $600,000 and roughly 10,000 attendees; a 2023 budget of $230,000 with an estimated economic impact of about $900,000 (attendance not specified in the transcript); and a 2024 budget of $267,000 with an estimated economic impact of about $1,200,000 and roughly 17,000 attendees. The speaker said those economic-impact numbers came from a WVP study.

For 2025, the speaker said the Freedom Festival will be held on one weekend at Spencer’s Land. Funding for the event, the treasurer said, comes from donations and fundraising activities run by Friends of Vienna, including bingo nights, murder-mystery dinners, rummage sales and sales of a local “Discovering Vienna” book; the speaker said no board members are paid for their volunteer work. The speaker said the group “always make[s] sure that we pay our invoices within 1 week of the event.”

The transcript records the treasurer’s overview and request for city support but does not include a specific dollar amount requested from the city, a council response indicating action, or a formal vote on funding in the provided segments.

The treasurer summarized the organization’s stated mission: “Our vision is to celebrate Independence Day… and provide a safe family fun event.”