Public encouraged to participate in Community Conversations
Hughesville, MD – The executive director and board of directors for the Southern Maryland Heritage Area are pleased to announce the initiative to become the 56th National Heritage Area in the United States. The program committee has been established and the feasibility study process has launched. The Southern Maryland Heritage Area (public facing name Destination Southern Maryland) is a region of nationally significant stories, culture, and heritage. Community Conversations are being established to assist in defining these nationally significant stories and to inform the process.
“Southern Maryland has a vibrant state-based heritage area, and it is now time to raise this region’s national profile,” said Lucille Walker, executive director of Destination Southern Maryland. “We have so much to give to the national story.” The current heritage area includes Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s Counties. The national heritage area may extend to the southern portion of Prince George’s County.
The public is invited to attend either the in-person or virtual Community Conversations to discuss the places, natural resources, and history that create the Southern Maryland experience from a diverse range of perspectives. In-person conversations will be held on September 10 (5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, Serenity Farm, Benedict, MD) and September 11 (11:30 am – 1:30 pm, Historic St. Mary’s City pavilion), and the virtual conversation will be held on September 17 (11:30 am – 1:00 pm).
To register:
Charles County location: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-conversation-becoming-a-national-heritage-area-tickets-117983733523
St. Mary’s County location: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-conversation-becoming-a-national-heritage-area-tickets-118044984727
The in-person conversations will be in covered, outside locations with rest facilities, and will be following all CDC and State of Maryland guidelines for in-person gatherings.
The Southern Maryland National Heritage Area Program Committee
- Lucille W. Walker, Southern Maryland Heritage Area (Destination Southern Maryland)
- Dorothea Smith, African American Heritage House of Charles County
- Francis Gray, Piscataway Conoy Tribe
- John Hartline, Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland
- Fred Tutman, Patuxent River Keeper
- Julie Schablitsky, Maryland Department of Transportation, State Highway Administration
- Jeff Murray, Calvert Marine Museum
- Regina Faden, Historic St. Mary’s City
- Chris Kaselemis, St. Mary’s County Economic Development
- Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Charles County Historic Preservation Commission
- Steve Bunker, Friends of Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary
- Ashley Chenault, Charles County Tourism, Parks and Recreation
- Hilary Dailey, Calvert County Tourism, Economic Development
- Karen Stone, St. Mary’s County Museum Division
- Laura Ford, Accokeek Foundation
- Nancy Easterling, Historic Sotterley
- Martin Proulx, Charles County Economic Development
- Aaron Marcavitch, Anacostia Trails Heritage Area (Maryland Milestones)
- Greg Pierce, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
- Julia King, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
- Mina Kim, Holiday Inn Solomons Island
- Donald Cropp, St. Clement’s Hundred, Colony Builders
Feasibility Study Consultants:
- Carolyn Brackett, Heritage Tourism/Preservation Planning Specialist
- (Principal, Heritage Strategies)
- August Carlino, Planning Consultant
- (President and CEO, Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area)
- Nancy Morgan, Heritage Development Specialist
- (Principal, Point Heritage Development Consulting)
