Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. will donate $2.25 million toward the 18-month series of events commemorating Jamestown’s 400th anniversary.

In a news conference near the state Capitol, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said the contribution continues a tradition of community support by a company that operates the Busch Gardens Europe and Water Country USA theme parks, a brewery and the Kingsmill resort in the Williamsburg area.

“This donation is another example of Anheuser-Busch’s ongoing efforts to improve the state’s economy and drive tourism,“ Kaine said.

He added the company has in the past year also donated $1 million to Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts and more than $2 million toward a program at the University of Virginia to study student drinking and promote the responsible use of alcohol.

Joining Kaine for the announcement were officials and representatives of Jamestown 2007, the state agency overseeing the commemorative events known as America’s 400th Anniversary.

Jamestown, founded in 1607, is described by commemoration organizers as the first permanent English settlement in America. The events will culminate next year with a three-day “America’s Anniversary Weekend” near Jamestown in May and a conference on the future of democracy in Williamsburg in September.

Organizers said the events honor “Jamestown’s legacies of democracy, free enterprise, a culturally diverse society and the spirit of exploration.“

Anheuser-Busch’s contribution will include $1.75 million in cash and $500,000 worth of marketing and other in-kind services, officials said.

With its pledge, the company joins a small group of other major sponsors including Norfolk Southern Corp. and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, each of which gave $3 million, and Verizon Communications Inc., which gave $2.55 million.

Anheuser-Busch officials said they’re spending the money not only to spread understanding of Virginia’s role in creating the United States but to strengthen the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown as a tourist destination.

John J. Gillespie, Busch Entertainment Corp.‘s marketing vice president, said he hopes the long commemoration of Jamestown’s birth communicates to tourists that visiting the area offers an experience not available in other popular destinations.

“Williamsburg is unique,“ Gillespie said in a brief interview. “It’s our job to make that statement in the marketplace.“

Sen. Thomas K. Norment, R-James City, the co-chairman of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees, said Anheuser-Busch has 5,800 employees in the Williamsburg area and a payroll of $126 million per year. He also said the company is responsible for $23 million annually in state and local taxes.

Andrew Petkofsky is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He can be contacted at or (757) 229-1512.