SVBF Hires New Staffer to Coordinate Partnership Activities

For immediate release—August 13, 2008
Contact: Howard J. Kittell /SVBF (540-740-4545)

NEW MARKET, Va.—The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is pleased to announce that Terence M. Heder has joined the Foundation’s staff as its Program Manager for Field Services. In this newly created position, Heder will coordinate the organization’s interpretive and tourism marketing programs. He will work closely with Civil War sites, tourism offices, and other partners throughout the region and the state to help visitors explore the Shenandoah Valley ’s Civil War story and promote the region as a premier Civil War visitor destination.

Heder comes to the Battlefields Foundation from Meridian, Mississippi where he had been the executive director of the Meridian Museum of Art for 17 years.  During his time at the museum Heder worked closely with the museum’s board members, fellow staff, volunteers, and partners to develop, organize, fund, and promote a wide variety of events and activities.  Prior to his work at the museum, Heder had been a media and graphics specialist for the civil service, working with the U.S. Navy.  He grew up in a Navy family before attending the University of Maryland .

“We had great success at the museum with programs that included an historical focus,” said Heder.  “Programs that used art and history and various media – narratives, poetry, live performances, film, archival recordings, period music, and artifacts – to tell a story.  This immersive approach made exhibits such as ‘The Life and Times of the Queen City ’ and Black History programs such as ‘Eyewitness: You Are There’ more effective, and more appealing to a broader audience.  It also meant that our success was dependent upon partnering with other organizations; collaborations gave us greater reach, wider input, and a much bigger impact.”

At the Battlefields Foundation, Heder will coordinate the organization’s work with partner groups throughout the Shenandoah Valley .  From event planning to tourism marketing to interpretive programming, Heder will continue the Foundation’s work to foster collaborative relationships to strengthen the telling of the Valley’s Civil War story and bring more visitors to the region to experience that story.  Previously this work had been performed by Elizabeth Stern, who was promoted to Assistant Director for Policy and Communications last November.

Battlefields Foundation executive director Howard Kittell expressed enthusiasm about Heder’s role at the Foundation. “Since he joined the staff several weeks ago, Terry has already begun to build relationships with our partners and stakeholders,” said Kittell.  “Terry brings to the Foundation a clear sense of how partners, staff, and board need to work together, a keen interest in Civil War history, and a tremendous initiative. His deep understanding of the needs of partner organizations and individuals as well as his energy and insights will be great assets for us and our partners, especially as we all work together to plan for the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War beginning in 2011.”

“This is a special opportunity for me,” said Heder.  “I fell in love with history and the Civil War at an early age, when I can remember scrambling among the rocks at Devil’s Den, taping posters of Lincoln and Lee to my bedroom wall, and devouring every book on the war I could find at the school library.  Time has only sharpened that interest.  The chance to be involved with preserving the lands on which those battles were fought – and to help tell the stories of the people caught up in ‘the whirlwind’ – is one I feel privileged to have.”

Selection of Heder to fill this newly created position comes following a nationwide search that began last January.  His arrival also completes the staffing plan for the Battlefields Foundation and a strategic realignment of staff responsibilities that was approved by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees late last year.  The staffing plan is part of the organization’s new strategic plan intended to help the Foundation effectively carry out is mission of protecting, interpreting, and promoting the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War history.  The Foundation’s staff now includes:

*  Howard Kittell , Executive Director
*  Elizabeth Stern, Assistant Director for Policy and Communications
*  Chase Milner, Program Manager for Resource Protection
*  Terry Heder , Program Manager for Field Services
*  Tom Robinson, Program Coordinator for Development
*  Nancy Long , Office Manager

--------------------------------

As authorized by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation serves as the non-profit manager of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, partnering with local, regional, and national organizations and governments to preserve the Valley’s battlefields and interpret and promote the region’s Civil War story.

Created by Congress in 1996, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District encompasses Augusta , Clarke, Frederick , Highland , Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia and the cities of Harrisonburg , Staunton , Waynesboro , and Winchester .  The legislation authorizes federal funding for the protection of ten battlefields in the District: Second Winchester, Third Winchester, Second Kernstown, Cedar Creek, Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, New Market, Cross Keys, Port Republic , and McDowell.

--------------------------------
ON THE WEB:

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District:
     www.ShenandoahAtWar.org

National Park Service 1992 study of the Shenandoah Valley ’s Civil War battlefields:
     www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs0-1.html 

 

###