I was able to have many opportunities at Ohio University. This summer I worked archeological dig in Wayne National Forest near Athens, Ohio. My final spring semester I also was able to create an exhibit at the Kennedy Art Museum at Ohio University, along with the rest of my Museum Studies class. Depending on each student’s interests, we selected to participate in a specialist group correlating with museum departments and staff positions. These included education, design, and registration/installation. I was a part of the registration/installation group where I worked hands on with the objects for the exhibit and the installation process. It was a great experience where I was able to really learn all that goes into getting an exhibit completed from start to finish. I also worked in the Digital Archives at Alden Library at Ohio University where I gained experience with photo digitization, working with online archives, and using social media for historically organizations. Lastly, I held a semester long internship at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum in Athens, Ohio. There I had hands on training with historical objects, including textile, photos, and paper documents
By Mercy Klein, Preserve WV AmeriCorps
November 2015 About a year before I became an AmeriCorps member, I was introduced to the Dunbar School while I was volunteering as a community member with Lynn Stasick, PAWV’s Field Representative. She was conducting an AmeriCorps training at the school on how to perform historic site evaluations and Prioritized Needs Assessments. Fortunately, I decided to tag along that day as an interested observer. Who would have known that a year later I would become an official AmeriCorps member whose first big project was to organize a Day to Serve Civic Service Project at the Dunbar School! When I think back to that day of my first visit to Dunbar School, one of the things that made an impression on me was listening to Houston Richards and Charlotte Meade (members of the Dunbar School Foundation) speak about what the Dunbar School meant to them. They spoke of the memorable times and the friendships that developed during their attendance there as students. By the tone of their voices, I could really feel just how important it was for them to preserve this school and thus their memories of their time there. Scope of Work Goals
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) invites proposals from qualified researchers and consultants to work closely with staff to develop an outcomes-based evaluation plan, process, and tools for the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program based on the program’s theory of change, logic model, and performance measures. The timeline goal is to complete this project and have the evaluation plan and survey tools ready to implement at the start of the 2017-2018 program year, Monday, August 28, 2017. PAWV has existing systems and tools for performance measure data collection, storage, processing, analysis, and reporting, but it is soliciting an external evaluator to improve and standardize these systems and tools, as well as create additional evaluation tools to communicate the impact of the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program with the grantor and general public. PAWV is recruiting Preserve WV AmeriCorps members to start immediately at additional sites. These sites were added after PAWV was awarded supplemental funding from Volunteer WV and the Corporation for National and Community Service. The positions are one-year and will start on a rolling basis. They include:
For full position descriptions, see the bottom of this post. To apply, complete an AmeriCorps application, submitted under the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program at the website http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/join-americorps. Search under “West Virginia” for our listing. Send in a cover letter to dlapresta@pawv.org regarding the position(s) for which you would like to apply. The Preserve WV AmeriCorps program is recruiting site sponsors for the 2017-2018 service year. Applications should be submitted to [email protected] by 5:00pm on Friday, March 3, 2017.
2017 SITE SPONSOR APPLICATION Preserve WV AmeriCorps is funded in part by Volunteer West Virginia, the state’s Commission for National and Community Service, and by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. PAWV RECRUITING MORE PRESERVE WV AMERICORPS MEMBERS FOR ELKINS, LEWISBURG, FAIRMONT, & CHARLES TOWN11/18/2016
PAWV is currently recruiting for the following Preserve WV AmeriCorps positions. Contact info@pawv.org for more information on the program and how to apply.
Kump Education Center – 1 Half-time Position Site Supervisor: Heather Biola Elkins, Randolph County http://www.kumpcenter.org/ The mission of the Kump Education Center is to utilize the historic Kump property for the promotion of student achievement and teacher excellence in central West Virginia. The Kump Education Center is located in the historic home of H.G. Kump (the 19th Governor of the State of West Virginia). In 2008, the Kump family home and an endowed trust were gifted to the City of Elkins by the will of Mary Gamble Kump, daughter of H.G. Kump. The Kump Education Center, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) corporation, organized in 2010 with the mission to fulfill the further declared wishes of Mary Gamble Kump that the property be used for preservation and education purposes, including professional development for educators, student achievement, good citizenship development of children and youth, sustainability activities and studies, historic preservation, and heritage education and cultural tourism.
My name is Joseph Obidzinski, but most people just call me Joe. I am serving as the AmeriCorps Member with PAWV and will be responsible for managing the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail. I hail from a suburb of Detroit called Livonia. The love that I developed for history made my choice to major in history during my time at Grand Valley State University (located just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan) a “no-brainer”. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2006. During my time there, I was introduced to the field of Public History. This introduction made the direction of my life’s work clear. Shortly thereafter, I undertook a series of internships to further my professional skill set. These included serving as a collections intern at both the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. During that time, I also served as an intern to a former professor who chaired a committee of organizations throughout west Michigan to commemorate the bi-centennial of the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, called “Remembering the Crossings”. All of those experiences helped to broaden and shape my understanding of the past and how we simultaneously interact with and are affected by the past.
By Joe Obidzinski
Something that is often heard on a tour of the Blaker Gristmill at Jackson’s Mill is how much fun a job like ours would be to do day in and day out. This is very true, but often people do not understand just how much work goes into getting our mill ready to run. Here is just a brief snippet of some of the tasks necessary. Think of this as an episode of Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs, only without the trademark and host, and our subject being a 220+ year old machine that was disassembled from its original location in Greenbrier County and moved to its present location at Jackson’s Mill.
The North Bend Rail Trail is a recreational trail for cyclists, hikers and equestrian enthusiasts. It is operated by West Virginia State Parks and at one point passes through North Bend State Park near Cairo in Ritchie County. Once simply an abandoned railroad, the trail is now part of the 5,500 mile coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail. Stretching 72 scenic miles, the North Bend Rail Trail passes through thirteen tunnels and crosses 36 bridges. The trail runs from Wood to Harrison counties and traverses the full east-west length of Doddridge and Ritchie counties. Since the North Bend Rail Trail is one of our largest regional attractions and given the fact that I am also a North Bend Rails to Trails Foundation board member, I take a particular interest in the trail.
|
Preserve WV StoriesCategories
All
Archives
August 2023
|