2 minute read
President’s Report
By Johny Hallow, FOMOA Board President
Although we are more than halfway through 2023, the Museum of the Albemarle has already had an outstanding year with several successful events. I continue to be thankful for the opportunity to serve this wonderful organization and community and to work with a great staff and Board of Directors.
We started the year off with the opening of the traveling exhibit Crossroads: Changes in Rural America. We enjoyed a wonderful evening, learning about the change in rural American communities during the 1900s and hearing from Zane Hedgecock, chief of staff of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences.
In April, we celebrated the opening of another traveling exhibit Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina 1862–1901, which depicts the struggle that newly freed African Americans faced to maintain their freedom in the post-Civil War and Reconstruction eras in North Carolina. This traveling exhibit will be on display at the museum until February 17, 2024.
In May, North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson joined us for the unveiling of North Carolina’s newest cultural trail the Moonshine & Motorsports Trail. This cultural trail celebrates both the history and bright future of our state’s distilling and racing industries. The initial phase of the Moonshine & Motorsports Trail will consist of a total of eight locations in 2023. If you have not already stopped by the museum’s trail marker, we encourage you to do so.
We have many other exciting events on our calendar for the remainder of 2023. Please be sure to check out our social media pages to stay up to date on upcoming events and news.
We are proud to announce that our membership has now expanded to 410. We are thankful for all of our members and would love to see our membership continue to grow as we press forward.
Finally I would like to again recognize and thank the museum’s staff and Board of Directors for their continuing hard work and dedication that has led to the museum’s continued success. I am excited to continue to work with everyone to ensure a successful season.
