Awe, thanks for mentioning the blog, Carol!  :)


On 1/5/11 6:28 PM, "Harsh, Carol" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Happy new year!

The MoMS team wants to start the year off by saying to each of you-collectively-how much we enjoy working with you and how much we appreciate you.   MoMS wouldn't be what it is without your many talents, creative thinking, hard work,and  enthusiasm.

We have big plans for MoMS in 2011!

One area of emphasis will be trying to capitalize on the many wonderful things that happen on MoMS tours by intensifying our public relations efforts. Towards that end,  Jennifer Schommer, Director of PR for SITES, and Ed Liskey in our Exhibitor Relations Office, have agreed to work with the MoMS staff to find new and creative ways to promote MoMS via print and social media outlets.

Ed will be systematically talking with state humanities council coordinators and communities hosting MoMS tours in 2011, starting with the New Harmonies tour in MN, MS, NJ, OH, and SC that open in March/April.  He will contact you and try to chase down some interesting tidbits or anecdotal stories about the impact of the program.  We will be meeting with him weekly to see what he unearths.  Jen will select  some of the stories that she feels might attract the national media and then work to try to place some stories.   As she works to publicize these stories, she will work hand in hand with the state councils involved so that your vast knowledge of the specific programs and related events can be accurately portrayed.

We also have some other staffers, Alexandria Charleston and Tiffany Ruhl who will be writing blog entries and, in the near future, weekly feature articles on the MoMS website.  Alex has started writing some wonderful stories on the MoMS blog-you might want to check them out.

Our hope is that through these efforts some wonder MoMS stories that we hear all the time anecdotally and often after the fact will be  highlighted and shared with a bigger audience that extends beyond your state lines.

You may want to call Jen and Ed, or  have your PR person contact them, to introduce yourselves and offer any good ideas you have about how to raise the bar on MoMS public relations efforts.    We are all ears!

So,  when you hear from Ed and Jen, you will know that they are now part of the MoMS family.

Again, it is a pleasure to work with you and we are looking forward to another amazing year in the life of MoMS.

All the best,

Carol


Carol G. Harsh
Director, Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 941
Washington, DC  20013-7012
202-633-5333
202-465-5267 (cell)