On Sept. 20, 2024, at 3:47 p.m., my wife and I became American citizens. To add to that honor, our city mayor asked me to lead the attendees of the recent “State of the City” event in the Pledge of Allegiance. With the mayor’s agreement, I shared a brief preamble, expressing our happiness in becoming American citizens because we love this country and believe in its people. Afterward, as I sat back at my table, we were approached by Danielle Pavelich, staff assistant to our local Congressman Mike Garcia, about having our recent citizenship formally recognized by his office. I cannot express how much it meant to my wife and me to sit down with Mike and Tami Stephens, his field representative, for a good 45 minutes to share our story of moving from the U.K. to the U.S. Mike presented us with a U.S. flag in a beautiful display case, along with a personalized certificate recognizing our citizenship. We’re so grateful to live in a city with such fine leadership as the city of Santa Clarita and to have a congressman who took precious time out of his busy calendar — just two weeks before an election — to recognize two new citizens.  Paul Butler  Valencia The post Paul Butler | Proud to Be an American appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.