The campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army took its message on the road recently, sharing information about the Museum project at several events attended by over 86,000 people from around the nation.
Over the summer, the campaign participated as an exhibitor at two national veterans’ conventions, The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in St. Louis, Mo. and The American Legion National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. “We always enjoy attending these two national conventions which bring thousands of veterans and their families together,” remarked Beth Schultz Seaman, Director of Grassroots Development. “It’s an ideal environment for us to connect in person with our supporters and update them on the project, and to engage convention attendees who have not yet heard about plans for the Museum.”
A new endeavor for the campaign in September was exhibiting at the AARP Ideas@50+ National Event & Expo in San Diego, Calif. According to Richard Couture, Deputy Executive Director for Donor Marketing, the AARP organization has been a solid supporter of the Museum project and exhibiting at their national event introduced the Museum campaign to a new audience. “Even though the AARP event is not related specifically to the military,” Couture commented, “over four days, we spoke with thousands of folks who have served in the Army, or have a family member currently serving, and who wanted to learn more about the Museum.”
In October, the campaign returned to the Army 10-Miler Expo at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. Over 35,000 runners from around the world, and their families, came to the Expo to pick up their race packets for the Army 10-Miler and to visit the various information booths and vendors. “The 10-Miler Expo is free to attend and we reached an incredible number of people during those two days,” said Schultz Seaman. According to Schultz Seaman 99 percent of visitors to the booth were currently serving in the Army, U.S. Army Reserves, National Guard, or were retired Soldiers. “It’s great to make that connection with Soldiers and to hear their enthusiasm – and urgency – to build a national Army museum,” observed Schultz Seaman.
A few days later, the National Museum of the United States Army was an exhibitor at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., considered the largest landpower exposition and professional development forum in North America. With over 26,000 people attending over three days, the Museum’s exhibit provided opportunities to raise awareness of the Museum project with senior Army leaders, representatives from the defense industry, and Soldiers.
