Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies
Federation Bulletin
September 2009
Volume 29, no. 3
The Federation of North
Carolina Historical Societies
is a non-profit organization
operating under the auspices
of the N.C. Office of Archives
and History. Its mission is to
promote the pursuit of local
history in North Carolina
through existing and future
local and regional historical
organizations, societies, and
commissions; to foster coop¬
eration between such organi¬
zations, societies, and
commissions and the Office
of Archives and History to
the mutual benefit of all; and
to promote and support his¬
tory education through spon¬
sorship of the National His¬
tory Day program and other
appropriate activities.
The Federation Bulletin is
published quarterly. Submis¬
sions for the Bulletin should
be sent to the address at the
bottom of this page and should
be received by November 1,
February 1, May 1, and
August 1.
Inside this issue:
Federation News
2
Member News
7
Grant Opportunities
10
History Help
12
Calendar of Events
15
Exhibits
22
Workshops and
Conferences
24
New Publications
27
Learn about Marketing Your Historical
Organization at the Federation’s Fall Workshop
Come to New Bern in November to
learn about marketing your
historical organization chming the
Federation’s fall workshop, “Marketing
Our History.”
The November 14 workshop will be led
by Bob Crowley, curator of history for
the North Carolina Railway Museum.
Crowley has decades of experience in
marketing through his work as a
partner in Convey Ink, a marketing
company in Apex.
“Those of us working with the artifacts
and stories of our history know what
an exciting job we have,” Crowley said.
“We get to actually touch the bits and
pieces of our shared past and to live
history vicariously through the stories
we tell. The passion we feel, however,
is sometimes not shared throughout
the public in general, and that means
smaller crowds than we would hope
attending our exhibits or visiting our
museums, apathy in our communities,
lack of attention by our elected officials,
and smaller amounts of donations and
funding than we need to preserve the
heritage we all share. How can we
change that?”
Crowley will offer solutions during this
workshop. “The answer lies in the way
we present and market our museums,
societies, sites, organizations, and
exhibits,” he said. “The techniques of
marketing may seem intuitive to some,
but true marketing is much more than
posting a pretty poster around town.
True marketing involves research,
strategic planning, psychology, and a
lot of plain dogged determination to be
effective.” Crowley will present the
principles and practices of marketing
with particular application to attract¬
ing attention, visitors, and money to
our facilities.
The workshop is being held as part of
the Federation’s joint annual meeting
with the North Carolina Literal'}' and
Historical Association. The meeting
also includes a talk by Kay Williams,
site manager of Tryon Palace Historic
Sites & Gardens, who will discuss how
the reinterpretation of 'Tryon Palace
reflects the changing style of how visitors
and historic sites interact. Architectural
historian Catherine Bisher will discuss
her research into Donum Montford, an
African American artisan in antebellum
New Bern. The meeting will also feature
talks by historian and musician
Bland Simpson and by Dr. David
Cecelski.
Federation members can register to
attend the morning workshop only or
the entire annual meeting. A brochure
will be mailed soon with more informa¬
tion and a registration form.
We hope to see you in New Bern!
Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies, 4610 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4610, (919) 807-7280
Web page: www.fnchs.org Editor’s email: Laura.Ketcham@ncdcr.gov
