Media Contact:
Diane Bartlett
Director of Marketing Communications
Phone: (703) 777-2414
FAX: (703) 777-3282
E-mail: dbartlett@morvenpark.org

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA (March 10, 2003) Members of the Loudoun Heritage Consortium attended the Virginia Association of Museums (VAM) Annual Meeting on March 2-4 at The Homestead, where they presented a session entitled "Climbing to the Top Together: Consortium Collaborations." Tracy Gillespie, chairman of the Consortium and Director of Curatorial Operations at Morven Park, was the moderator for the session, which was presented to museum colleagues from around the state. Panelists included Melissa York, Director of Education for Morven Park, Judy Reynolds, Director of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, and Mark Summers, Director of Education for the Loudoun Museum.

Their discussion highlighted the founding of the local heritage consortium, its mission and membership, and its cooperative educational, marketing, and curatorial activities. Of special interest to the audience of museum professionals was the joint educational program being offered by Consortium members to some of Loudoun's students this year, using various heritage sites in the county to trace our nation's history.

The Loudoun Heritage Consortium is comprised of non-profit, history-based organizations formed in partnership to facilitate cooperative programming, the sharing of resources, and joint marketing and promotion among its members, in order to better serve our community. Anyone interested in learning more about the consortium should contact Tracy Gillespie at (703) 777-6034 or on-line at tgillespie@morvenpark.org.