26 Individuals to Receive Oath of Citizenship in USA Kinston—The man recently selected to head the North Carolina Eastern Region here will share his memories of becoming a US citizen at the age of 12 when he speaks to the 26 individuals slated to become Americans at special ceremonies on July 4. Albert A. Delia, currently director of Federal Relations for East Carolina University, was born as an Italian citizen in Tripoli, Libya. His family later moved to the Washington, DC area and he became a US citizen on Columbus Day 1972 at ceremonies in the Federal Courthouse in Baltimore, MD, he recalls. Delia will be joined by US Rep. Walter Jones and Chief Federal Judge of the Eastern District of North Carolina Louise Flanagan at a Naturalization and Granting of Citizenship ceremony at Harmony Hall at 10:00 am on Independence Day. Delia takes over as President and CEO of the North Carolina Eastern Region, an economic development agency, on Aug. 1, 2006.  Rep. Jones will welcome participants and observers to the Harmony Hall event, being hosted by the Lenoir County Historical Association. Men and women from 17 different countries on four continents, according to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the US Department of Homeland Security, will become US citizens while in Kinston for Independence Day. This marks the second consecutive year that Harmony Hall and the association have hosted an Independence Day ceremony welcoming new citizens into the fold, he noted. Members of the public are invited to attend the ceremony. It will begin at 10 am on July 4. A reception honoring the new US citizens will be held after the event in the historic residence, built in 1772 on the eve of the American Revolution. From 1777 until 1782, Harmony Hall served as North Carolina’s de facto state capital on orders of Richard Caswell, the state’s first elected governor. The individuals who will receive their citizenship in the Kinston ceremony come from the following countries: Anguilla, China, Colombia, Croatia, Guyana, Indonesia, India, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam and Yugoslavia. For additional information contact: Adrian King 252-522-4676 Ext. 2020