UPDATED with new information, please see schedule below . . .
The second annual meeting of the Florida Maritime Heritage Association will be held in America’s Oldest Port at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, sponsored by the Museum and its research institution, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), on October 17-18, 2008. Anyone associated with a Florida maritime museum, university anthropology/history department or maritime studies program, consulting company, preservation group, government agency, or any other maritime heritage organization is welcome to attend. This blog posting will serve as the official online source of information about the upcoming conference.
Our organization was born at a meeting last October in Cortez, Florida, hosted by the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez. This was the first time in recent years that a statewide gathering of maritime heritage organizations was staged, and after our successful meeting we voted to formalize our group as the Florida Maritime Heritage Association.
Participants at the first meeting of the Florida Maritime Heritage Association, held in Cortez in October 2007.
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LATEST UPDATE: Due to the small number of registrants (less than 15) our President Roger Allen has decided to revise the original schedule so that we will start our meeting Friday, October 17th at 11am, in order to complete all business by the end of Friday and turn this into a one-day conference. At this time Roger has contacted each registrant by phone and we have agreed to this new schedule, which is listed below. We will accomplish all of our events listed below on Friday, and Saturday will be open for folks wishing to stay and tour St. Augustine. The Victory III boat ride has been canceled but those who have paid for this or who still wish to do so may enjoy any of the boat’s regularly scheduled trips throughout Saturday at no additional charge.
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REVISED SCHEDULE
Friday, October 17, 2008
11:00 a.m. Opening Remarks, Roger Allen, FLMHA President
11:15 a.m. Welcoming Remarks, Kathy Fleming, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, and tour of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum.
12:15 p.m. Lunch at the Keeper’s Café on the Museum grounds
1:00 p.m. “Maritime Heritage of America’s Oldest Port,” Chuck Meide, Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)
1:30- 4:00 p.m. Institutional updates, by various members, approx. 20 min. each:
Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez/Tampa Bay Ship Model Society
Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage
American Victory
Break
Apalachicola Maritime Museum
Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve
Jacksonville Maritime Museum
4:00 p.m. Business Meeting (discussion of by-laws, dues, newsletter, state of the State review, election of Officers, next year’s conference site selection, etc). Summary.
6:00 p.m. Dinner at Conch House Restaurant on Salt Run (optional, price not included in registration).
Coffee and donuts will be provided in the morning, and snacks and soft drinks throughout the meeting hours.
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IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR MEETING ATTENDEES!!!!!!
As of the registration deadline (October 6), only three participants have registered for the conference. We suspect this is in part due to our national economic situation which is certainly a challenge for museum and other organizations’ budgets. We also know that there are others who have simply not yet registered yet.
We will not cancel this meeting but we will restructure it. Our institution cannot afford to front the caterer’s fee if we are facing low participation, so we will no longer be offering dinner and lunch on Friday and Saturday as part of the registration fee. In turn, we are lowering the registration fee to $10 to cover our expenses to date (we will still be covering snacks and drinks during the sessions). Instead of a catered dinner/lunch at the Lighthouse, we will eat out at selected local restaurants.
The boat ride originally scheduled on Saturday has been canceled though as stated above those wishing to participate in this fabulous activity may still do so (talk to Chuck Meide at the conference). Those who have already registered will be reimbursed except for the new $10 charge. If you are planning on attending, please email us at maritimesymposium@hotmail.com and let us know you are coming, and you may pay the $10 fee upon your arrival. The show will go on!
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FURTHER INFORMATION FOR ATTENDEES:
Downloadable Registration Form (word.doc)
Downloadable Registration Form (adobe.pdf)
(please complete registration form and return to us by October 6. Registration forms received after this date may entail a $10 late fee). Please note we have lowered the registration fee as stated in the section above (this new price is not reflected in the downloadable registration form).
Hotel Information (word.doc)
(note: there are two other major events in St. Augustine this weekend, we recommend that you download the Hotel Information sheet and make your reservations soon!)
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If you have further questions, you may email a LAMP conference organizer at maritimesymposium@hotmail.com.
In addition, we are compiling information from each participating FLMHA organization to be included in the conference program. We would like you to email us with a brief description of your organization (3-4 sentences), a contact name/title, with email, webpage, phone/fax, and address. This program can serve as an institutional directory.
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Map of St. Augustine, showing the main roads, the location of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, and the City Marina where we will board the Victory III.
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The comments section below can be used by participants to communicate with each other about the upcoming meeting and express any ideas, suggestions, or concerns. Leave us a comment to let everyone know you are coming, and start the conversation early! Check back here regularly, and see you in St. Augustine!