As the nation celebrates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Jimmy Rane ’68 comes full circle on his own family’s American Dream.
A familiar face greets Jimmy Rane ’68 when he enters his Laurel Hotel suite—George Washington.
A highly successful businessman, founder and chairman of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., one of Auburn’s most cherished benefactors and trustees and a 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, Rane is also a lifelong student of American history who began his career as a lawyer, even briefly serving as a judge.
With reverence for both national history and the American-style rule of law, Rane accepted a congressional appointment to serve on the America250 Commission, becoming one of 16 private citizens on a bipartisan committee tasked with coordinating nationwide celebrations and engagement events for America’s 250th birthday.
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“I was very humbled and honored that they would ask me to serve, and I’ve tried to take it very seriously,” said Rane. “We all want to do the best we can to celebrate our country and celebrate the fact that we’re here 250 years later and still thriving.”
“The greatest emotion I feel is a great responsibility to do all that I can to pass this on to the next generation, to reject the voices of division and embrace the voices of unity, and demonstrate why we live in the greatest country in the world.”
Started in 2016, the America250 (A250) Commission’s goal of uniting the nation in shared celebration has been difficult in recent years. But for all the hardship we face today—and perhaps inspired by the first president’s beleaguered visage—Rane is quick to remind that America has endured far worse, only to emerge stronger than before.
“At Valley Forge, in the very darkest days of the revolution, when it appeared that all was lost, Thomas Paine said, ‘These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot, I fear in this crisis will shirk their duty to their country.’ And we’ve got a lot of summer soldiers and sunshine patriots right now.”
An American story
Like millions of other immigrant families, the American Dream is a tangible thing to Rane. In 1907 his grandfather, Giuseppe Reina, left his home in Cammarata, Sicily in search of work to support his wife and young children, eventually journeying to America.
He entered at Ellis Island and was awestruck by the Statue of Liberty. Impatient customs officials who didn’t speak Italian stamped his passport with their best anglicized guess of his last name: R-A-N-E. “The ultimate dishonor, to lose your name,” said Rane.
For six years the elder Rane worked construction in Madison, Wisc., renting a bed for a few hours each night and sending the rest of his wages home. Rane’s father, future WWII veteran Tony Rane, was born in 1916 after the family had reunited and instilled a patriotism in his son that has only grown since then.
From cofounding the Auburn Law Society as a student to supporting political campaigns and higher education, Jimmy Rane’s active participation in civic life made him an ideal candidate for the A250 Commission.
Appointed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, on the recommendation of Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt, Rane became one of just 16 private citizens on the commission, joining four senators, four representatives and 12 ex-officio members from all three branches of the U.S. government.
Chaired by former U.S. Treasurer Rosa Gumataotao Rios, the commission’s job “is to plan how to celebrate. What can we do to involve 350 million Americans, and what can we do to share America’s story with them?” said Rane. “We exist to facilitate and work with every state, every city, every university that chooses to create their own 250 group and help them in any way that we can.”
A national endeavor
Tasked with coordinating nationwide celebrations and events leading up to July 4, 2026—250 years to the day the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence—the A250 Commission’s proclivity for meeting at locales historically significant to the American Revolution has taken Rane to Mount Vernon, Fort Ticonderoga and Bunker Hill.
As part of the A250 executive committee, Rane helps plan and implement various commemorative events and projects around the country. These ideas include recreating a Continental Congress meeting at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, deciding the contents of a new time capsule to be opened in 2126 and most audaciously, holding a series of New Year’s Eve-style “ball drops” around the country on July 3.
The commission doesn’t dictate A250 projects but supports community-led efforts to celebrate in their own way—like Auburn University’s special event with Condoleezza Rice and Margaret Hoover—to reach their ultimate goal of engaging all 350 million Americans by July 4.
Having lived his own version of the American Dream, Rane’s experience with the America250 commission has been one of reflection, self-discovery and, in the end, gratitude.
“The greatest emotion I feel is a great responsibility to do all that I can to pass this on to the next generation, to reject the voices of division and embrace the voices of unity, and demonstrate why we live in the greatest country in the world.”
