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Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission

Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Community Preparation for the Civil War Sesquicentennial Virginia Municipal League Annual Conference October 20, 2008 Norfolk Waterside Convention Center Cheryl Jackson, Executive Director

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Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission

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  1. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Community Preparation for the Civil War Sesquicentennial Virginia Municipal League Annual Conference October 20, 2008 Norfolk Waterside Convention Center Cheryl Jackson, Executive Director Richard Lewis, Virginia Toursim Corp. Public Relations Manager Peggy Haile-McPhillips, Norfolk City Historian

  2. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Sesquicentennial Commission established by HB 1440 (2006) Commission membership: Speaker William J. Howell, Chair Sen. Charles J. Colgan, Sr., Vice Chair Sen. R. Creigh Deeds Del. Albert C. Eisenberg Sen. John S. Edwards Del. Algie T. Howell, Jr. Sen. Janet D. Howell Del. Johnny S. Joannou Sen. Mamie E. Locke Del. R. Steven Landes John P. Ackerly, III Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Del. Thomas C. Wright, Jr. Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr.

  3. Virginia Sesquicentennial Of The American Civil War CommissionOrganizational Chart Sesquicentennial Commission Chair: Speaker William J. Howell Vice-Chair: Sen. Charles J. Colgan, Sr. Executive Director: Cheryl Jackson Executive Committee Chair: Speaker Howell Vice-Chair: Sen. Colgan Staff: Division of Legislative Services House Clerk’s Office Senate Finance Committee House Appropriations Committee Workgroup 1: Coordination Chair: Sen. Colgan Staff contact: Cheryl Jackson Workgroup 2: Signature Events Chair: Speaker Howell Staff contact: Cheryl Jackson Workgroup 3: Education Chair: Del. Algie Howell Staff contact: Brenda Edwards Advisory Council Liaison: Dr. Sandy Treadway Local Sesquicentennial Committees

  4. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Workgroup 1: Coordination • Location, event, and activity coordination throughout the Commonwealth (CW Trails, museums, battlefields, parks, etc.) • Local sesquicentennial committees • Other states' sesquicentennial commissions • National sesquicentennial planning and events • Welcome Center information, kiosks, and/or orientation film • Website, publications, etc.

  5. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Workgroup 2: Signature Events and Activities • Establishment of themes, stories, and goals for the commemoration (to unify events, grant programs, etc.) • Commission-sponsored events, lectures, symposia, films, battlefield tours, etc. • Museum exhibition • HistoryMobile (tractor-trailer) exhibition • Public relations • Document preservation project

  6. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Workgroup 3. Education • Involvement of schools, students, teachers, administration, and PTAs • SOL review and resources, curriculum framework, resources for teachers, etc. • Teacher institutes • Higher education involvement • Law school symposia • Public library involvement

  7. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Advisory Council Recommendations (March 27, 2007) Critical Guiding Principles: • Be inclusive; Tell all sides of the story • Be well-marketed and well-funded • Utilize and promote existing assets/resources • Have a central hub to help draw visitors • Be compelling to all ages and backgrounds • Create strong ties to education • Create a lasting legacy

  8. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Strategic Plan: Goals for the commemoration Adopted November 28, 2007 • Diversity: The commemoration will be inclusive of, and meaningful to, all Virginians, particularly: • Diverse racial and ethnic groups; • Immigrants and citizens who do not have a hereditary link to the American Civil War; and • Young people who do not understand the relevance of the American Civil War to today's population • Inclusiveness: The commemoration will seek to portray a fair and balanced story of Virginia's participation in the American Civil War that includes the African-American, Union and Confederate perspectives. • Statewide Accessibility: The commemoration will be statewide, involving all localities and encompassing all Civil War-related institutions, museums, battlefields, parks and facilities in the Commonwealth. 4. Education:The commemoration period have a strong education component, which will be intended to ignite a renewed interest in Virginia's historical heritage.

  9. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Accomplishments in the past year . . . • Website relaunched: www.VirginiaCivilWar.org • Hired Development Officer; created a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation • Encouraged, worked with and offered technical assistance to other states to begin planning; monitored planning at the federal level • Working with localities as each forms sesquicentennial committee (83/134 total) • Meet regularly throughout the state; conduct media tours • Approved a special license plate for the sesquicentennial • Considered recommendations and endorsed programs: Build a new building? What will the state do for the sesquicentennial commemoration?

  10. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Centennial Center October 1961 – November 1965: 630,000+ visitors

  11. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans in Development Coordination: The Commission will lead the linkage, coordination, unification, and support of existing museums and sites, in lieu of building a new facility. • Promote Civil War destinations through: • Interactive website • Computer kiosks • Maps and brochures at Welcome Centers and locations throughout the state • Comprehensive marketing plan • Goal: Making travel easy for visitors • Local sesquicentennial committees: liaison with the state Commission and plan events to highlight Civil War history and experience in the community.

  12. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Local Sesquicentennial Committees To every extent possible, the local sesquicentennial committee should include representatives of: • Office of the chief administrative official • Governing body (i.e., City Council or Board of Supervisors) • Tourism industry organizations • Convention and Visitors' Bureau or visitors' services office • Chamber of Commerce or economic development office • Education community (e.g., Superintendent, teachers, PTA representatives, etc.) • Local battlefields and National Park Service personnel • Civil War Trails local coordinator • Civil War museums and facilities • Public and private nonprofit organizations and agencies engaged in commemorating historical events

  13. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Local Sesquicentennial Committees: Suggested activities • Inventory Civil War sites for “Then/Now” interactive map; provide narrative history of the locality’s Civil War involvement for website • Plan events and activities that highlight the locality’s Civil War history and that have importance and meaning to its citizens (include multiple perspectives) • MOU: Assignment and monitoring of logo/sesquicentennial activities • Promote and support the Commission’s signature events, such as the HistoryMobile and document digitization project • Record Podcast tours of battlefields • Join or expand participation in Civil War Trails program • More. . . . .

  14. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Local Sesquicentennial Committees: The Commission’s Role • Serve as the umbrella under which all activities and events fall - - coordinating and marketing the state, with the goal of making travel easy for visitors. • Develop and implement a strategic statewide marketing campaign through the Virginia Tourism Corporation. • Publicize activities through a statewide master calendar of events • Administer a competitive micro-grant program coordinated by VTC to provide financial support to local committees for marketing of sesquicentennial events and activities. • Provide technical assistance by aiding searches for grants, in-kind resources, etc. • Work with the local committee to schedule a HistoryMobile tour and Document Digitization project. • Keep local committees informed of and involved in the Commission's activities. Hold periodic "Civil War 150 Local Committee Roundtable" meetings

  15. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans in Development Museum exhibition: “An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia” • Major statewide traveling exhibition rich in artifacts, documents, and high-tech components • Two parts (battlefront and homefront): approx. 4,000 sq. ft. • Open in Richmond (Virginia Historical Society) in February 2011 • Travel to Roanoke, Abingdon, Lynchburg, Winchester, Manassas, Hampton and Appomattox • A panel exhibition will be developed to travel to museums throughout the state and beyond

  16. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans in Development Educational Film: Produced by Blue Ridge Public Television and the Virginia Tech Center for Civil War Studies • Distributed free of charge to every school, library, archives, and historical society in the state beginning in August • Divided into nine 20-minute segments designed for use by teachers in the classroom • Supporting teacher materials will be developed with DOE • Segments will focus on the background of the war, military campaigns, the African-American experience, leading Virginia personalities, the common soldiers, homefront activities (including women and medical care) and legacies of the war for all Americans.

  17. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans in Development Grants: Partner with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to award competitive micro-grants to local sesquicentennial committees for a variety of Civil War 150 programs with a marketing component, such as publications, website development, advertisements, etc. Interactive battlefield tours: Partner with NPS and state battlefield sites throughout the state to develop interactive ‘vodcast’ battlefield tours for widespread access through the Internet. Strategic Marketing Plan: Work with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to develop and implement an 8-year marketing plan for the statewide commemoration.

  18. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans under Discussion HistoryMobile (tractor trailer) exhibition: Develop a mobile Civil War 150 exhibition, featuring key artifacts and documents plus high-tech maps and displays, that would travel to localities throughout the state and outside of the state to promote Virginia Civil War tourism. Digitization project: Partner with the Library of Virginia for a major initiative to identify, collect, catalog, and preserve Civil War documents currently held in private collections through digital scanning. This initiative may be combined with the HistoryMobile to promote the program and for ease of scanning original documents.

  19. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans under Discussion Signature Conferences and Law School Symposia: An annual conference series featuring the nation’s finest historians, intended to foster broad public understanding of the history of the Civil War. Conference topics tentatively include: 2009: America on the Eve of the Civil War (University of Richmond: April 29, 2009) 2010: African-Americans and the Civil War 2011: American Military Strategy and the Civil War 2012: Leadership and Generalship in the Civil War 2013:Civil War in a Global Context 2014: The Home Front in the Civil War 2015: Memory of the Civil War Symposia: The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution; Constitutional Issues Surrounding the Separation and Formation of West Virginia

  20. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission Plans under Discussion: Special Events Kickoff event: Harper’s Ferry: June 25, 2009 • 150th anniversary of John Brown’s Raid • Partnering with West Virginia for inaugural event • Purpose: Bring national attention to the sesquicentennial; media presence • Panel discussions with historians, tours Significant milestone events: 2011: Battle of First Manassas 2012: Battle of the Ironclads (Hampton Roads) Jackson’s Valley Campaign (Shenandoah Valley) Seven Days Battles (Richmond) 2013: Emancipation Proclamation Chancellorsville (Fredericksburg/Stafford) 2014: Overland Campaign (Spotsylvania) Siege of Petersburg 2015: Culmination (Appomattox)

  21. Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War CommissionContact Information Cheryl Jackson, Executive Director Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission Phone: (804) 786-3591 cjackson@leg.state.va.us Richard Lewis, Public Relations Manager Virginia Tourism Corporation Phone: (804) 545-5574 rlewis@virginia.org Peggy Haile-McPhillips Norfolk City Historian Phone: (757) 664-7310 peggy.haile-mcphillips@norfolk.gov Website: www.VirginiaCivilWar.org

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