National Maritime Historical Society 60th Annual Meeting
Newport News, VA, 14-16 April 2023
Welcome
This year the National Maritime Historical Society will celebrate its 60th anniversary, and we invite all members to join us for this Annual Meeting milestone the weekend of 14–16 April 2023 in Newport News, Virginia. We look forward to gathering to share ideas and reexamine what it means today to preserve maritime history and promote the maritime heritage community. How can we build on this mission and expand our impact? We hope you will help us answer these questions as we share a weekend adventure and chart the Society’s course ahead.
We are thrilled that our host this year is The Mariners’ Museum and Park. There’s something here for every age and maritime interest—naval heritage and Civil War history, shipwrecks and sunken relics, artifact conservation and ship preservation, underwater archaeology and marine sanctuaries, nature walks around Mariners’ Lake, and even a 60,000-pound propeller that once powered the world’s fastest ocean liner, SS United States, constructed at nearby Newport News Shipbuilding.
Annual Meeting Weekend Schedule
Friday, 14 April
We invite you to join us a day early in Norfolk, aboard the Victory Rover for lunch and a two-hour cruise on the Elizabeth River and Hampton Roads Harbor. Departing at 11 AM from Nauticus, home of the battleship USS Wisconsin, we’ll enjoy a front-row seat to the Norfolk Naval Base fleet of destroyers, aircraft carriers, submarines, and other vessels while taking in the sights of the harbor. After the cruise, enjoy self-guided tours of USS Wisconsin, one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the US Navy, the Nauticus science and technology center, and Norfolk’s beautiful downtown waterfront.
Saturday, 15 April
On Saturday, members will meet at The Mariners' Museum and Park for continental breakfast at 8:30 AM. The annual Business Meeting will commence at 9:00 AM, followed by maritime presentations and lunch.
Presenters will include Howard H. Hoege, president and CEO of The Mariners’ Museum, Tāne Casserley, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA’s Monitor and Mallows Bay—Potomac River National Marine Sanctuaries, Will Hoffman, director of conservation of the USS Monitor Center, Sabrina Jones, director of strategic partnerships at The Mariners’ Museum, Nate Sandel, director of education and community engagement at Nauticus maritime discovery center, and Dr. David F. Winker, a retired Navy commander who served for over two decades as the Naval Historical Foundation staff historian.
After lunch, we will take guided tours of the museum and the USS Monitor Center which, in partnership with NOAA, is the caretaker of more than 200 tons of artifacts recovered from the wreck of famed Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.
Sunday, 16 April
To wrap up the weekend, at 10 AM on Sunday, attendees will enjoy an hour tour of the USS Monitor Center Lab in the Batten Conservation Complex, one of the most advanced conservation labs of any maritime museum in the world, where you will learn about current projects the staff is working on and see conservation in action.
Weather permitting, add some outdoor adventure to your day with a self-guided short stroll or long hike around all or part of the award-winning Noland Trail that surrounds Mariners’ Lake. The Mariners’ Park and Noland Trail are free and open to the public daily from 6 AM to 7 PM.
Registration
For NMHS to flourish and grow, it is important that its leaders and members gather to share ideas to chart the Society’s course into the future. Click here to register online, or call headquarters at (914) 737-7878 ext. 0 to sign up. You can register for the full three days, or by the day.
All Annual Meeting Weekend Activities: $145 per person—includes Friday's boat tour, lunch, visit to museum and battleship; Saturday continental breakfast, business meeting, presentations, lunch, and tours; and Sunday lab tour of the Monitor Center.
Single Day Activities:
Friday, 14 April: $60 per person — includes cruise, lunch, and visit to the museum and battleship.
Saturday, 15 April: $70 per person — includes breakfast, the business meeting, presentations, lunch, and tours.
Sunday, 16 April: $15 per person — for the Monitor Center lab tour.
If you can join us as a Donor, Sponsor, or Underwriter, we would be grateful:
A $500 Donor contribution includes one place for all weekend events, Donor recognition, and a half-page in the NMHS program.
A $1,000 Sponsor contribution includes two places for all weekend events, Sponsor recognition, and a full page in the NMHS program.
A $5,000 Underwriter contribution includes two places for all weekend events, Underwriter recognition, and a full page in the NMHS program.