Good afternoon!
This year’s Congress will be held at the
Missouri Civil War Museum, part of the historic Jefferson Barracks,
in St. Louis on September 20-22, 2019. The museum is co-host of the event along with the Civil War Roundtable of St. Louis.
A lot of ECW’s historians speak to a lot of roundtables, so we know just how vital roundtables are for keeping Civil War history alive. That’s why we strongly believe in the Congress’s mission and why we’re so excited to be part of this year’s event. In fact, ECW’s
Kristen Pawlak and I
have both been part of the organizing committee.
The Congress’s motto is “Improvement through education and networking.” To that end, there’ll be a great line-up of talks and workshops, some great presentations, a walk through the museum, and Sunday tours of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and
Ulysses S. Grant’s home, White Haven. Plus, there will be plenty of built-in networking time so you can speak with folks from other roundtables to share ideas and ask questions. (AND there’ll be plenty of opportunity for you to
explore on your own while you’re in the area!)
ECW did a free podcast on the upcoming Congress, featuring an interview with co-organizer Mike Movius, which
you can access here. We also have additional resources, including coverage of last year's event, which
you can access here.
We all join roundtables because we enjoy the history, not because we necessarily like (or know anything about) running an organization. Yet a roundtable can’t operate effectively unless it has committed individuals willing to do the work so the organization can function.
The Congress is designed to help those folks!
Anyone interested in helping their own roundtables operate more effectively and efficiently will benefit. That includes current officers, past officers, volunteers, and anyone with an interest in leadership and operations.
Talks include:
- Organizing CWRTs for Success by Jay Jorgensen of the Robert E. Lee Civil War Roundtable of Central New Jersey
- Growing CWRTs by Dr. John Bamberl of the Scottsdale (AZ) Civil War Roundtable
- Public Relations 101 by Chris Mackowski of Emerging Civil War
- Observations and Challenges by Mike Movius of the Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable
Breakout sessions will include:
- Changing the culture of a board of directors
- Structuring a board of directors
- Basics of website development
- Newsletters that will be read
- Developing effective marketing
- Small CWRT operations
- Organizing battlefield tours
- Organizing a new CWRT
On Friday evening, participants will get to hear from Dr. Curt Fields, one of the nation’s premier Civil War living historians. Fields portrays Ulysses S. Grant, who had deep ties to St. Louis.
On Saturday evening, participants will hear from Jim Erwin, president of the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable, who’ll discuss the Civil War in Missouri.
Tickets for the event, which include all three days, can be
purchased here.
ECW’s mission is to help share the story of America’s defining event, and our work with roundtables is a key part of carrying out that mission. Roundtables represent one of the front lines of history education, and the more robust they are, the better off we’ll all be. We hope you’ll take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
