Join everyone in South Boston on October 21, 2010 you can participate in the exciting statewide meeting of the Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail (CREIGHT) at the Prizery, the award winning meeting place in Halifax County. This is a great opportunity to network and find out what others are doing, as well as hear from experts what the latest trends are. This conference is brought to you by Dominion, and is presented by Virginia’s Retreat and the Robert Russa Moton Museum.
Sign up now (click here) to get the latest on what’s happening with Virginia’s many trails projects with key professionals in the field like: Mitch Bowman of the Virginia Civil Rights Trail, Donald W. Murphy of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Alisa Bailey of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Robert Nieweg of the National Trust.
Click below for a sneak peek at our speakers!
Sneak Peek Speaker’s Profiles:
Mitch Bowman is the executive director of Virginia Civil War Trails that is based in Richmond, VA. He was raised amid the James River Plantations in Charles City Co., Virginia, and is a graduate of the University of Virginia. In 1996, he was appointed the executive director of Virginia Civil War Trails, a nonprofit organization that has interpreted more than seven hundred Civil War sites throughout Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, using directional and interpretive signage to link the sites and create a uniform, “user friendly” experience. In 2001, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Virginia Civil War Trails first among the most successful and sustainable heritage tourism programs in the nation. Find out what Mitch has to say about the state of our trails projects in Virginia.
You might know our featured conference speaker Alisa L. Bailey as the Virginia Tourism Corporation President and CEO – but did you know her career started as an administrative assistant to the late US Senator Robert C. Byrd? That’s right! Like a lot of us, she has worked her way up in organizations as the marketing and communications director for a law firm; public information officer and administrative assistant to the West Virginia Attorney General; as well as the communications consultant to the West Virginia State Bar. Before she came to Virginia, she was the West Virginia Tourism Commissioner. Get the scoop from Alisa Bailey on how the Virginia Tourism Corporation has won numerous prestigious awards since she came on board January of 2003. Despite these tough budget times, the Virginia Tourism Corporation has set records for Internet visitation, travel guide requests, and private sector investment in tourism programs.
Donald W. Murphy is the president and CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. His office is just steps away from the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio, where countless bondsmen crossed into freedom. In his words, “Our museum tells the dramatic story of the enslaved crossing over that river on the journey to freedom, assisted by men and women of all backgrounds who hated slavery and had created a secret network of escape routes that came to be called ‘the Underground Railroad.’” He has been with the Freedom Center since 2007 and previously worked as deputy director of the National Park Service, as well as the director of California’s state parks system, the nation’s largest. Come hear him speak and find out how, even with his busy schedule, he still manages to enjoy a busy family life with six children, as well publishing his own poetry, and taking time for backpacking and golf.