350 Partners 'Rowing in the Same Direction' Create Finest Preservation Organization in the Country

Each year, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership brings together partners, funders, stakeholders, and interested parties for a two-day conference. This year's gathering, took place for the first time in the village of Waterford, one of the first National Historic Landmarks in the country.

The conference was especially powerful because Waterford is home to what The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership's Founder and President Cate Magennis Wyatt calls "...the world headquarters for this mighty nonprofit organization."

"We've enjoyed ten wonderful years," Magennis Wyatt said. "We all chose to make a difference, and our achievements over our first ten years are ample evidence that we've succeeded."

The conference highlighted and reflected upon the many JTHG accomplishments achieved because of the collaborative efforts of over 350 partnering organizations, all "rowing in the same direction" as Wyatt said.

The conference truly was a celebration. In 2005, when the swath of land from Gettysburg to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello was listed as the most endangered historical site in the country by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, that danger was the spark that ignited Magennis Wyatt's vision for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground.

Today's four-state, nonprofit organization set out with a number of goals that have been accomplished in the first decade. These included: creating local, regional, and national awareness of "Where America Happened;" obtaining an act of Congress designating the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area; obtaining National Scenic Byway designation; and creating educational programs for teachers and students of every age.

During the conference plenary, Wyatt continually emphasized that none of these goals would have been achieved without the support and enthusiasm of the Journey's 350 partnerships.

She highlighted a number of additional successes including 28,000 copies of a book printed in partnership with National Geographic that is now in its second printing, an official Journey Through Hallowed Ground travel guide that has sold 6,000 copies, a strategic partnership with Warner Brothers, the addition of several sites to the Passport to Your National Parks program, and the creation of a photo exhibition at Dulles Airport's Gateway Gallery, which will be seen by more than four million visitors.

Wyatt also highlighted the Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) program, which trains frontline hospitality staff and others in the tourism industry. Now in its sixth year, over 1,300 individuals have been trained and over 75 CTA's have been with the organization for more than five years.

JTHG educational programs have been remarkable successes. Over 3,200 students have participated in the organization's award winning Of the Student, By the Student program. The student program began in 2009 as a way of engaging middle school students in interpreting the history in their backyards.

The organization also created the wildly popular Extreme Journey Summer Camp that has now expanded to four sessions in Loudoun County alone.

Conference participants enjoyed many program segments.

Keynote speakers for this year's conference included Stephanie Meeks, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Nora Pouillon, a pioneer in the organic food movement.

Meeks congratulated the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership on the success it has had within the region. Her comments were especially poignant as it was the National Trust's designation of this region as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list that first alerted the nation to the threats to our communities almost 10 years ago to the day.

"Cate is much too modest to simply say that the JTHG was her idea," Meeks explained. "Execution is the chariot of genius, as Blake said, and today, there is no finer preservation organization in the country," she emphasized.

In 1979, Nora Pouillon founded Washington, D.C.'s 'Restaurant Nora,' the first certified organic restaurant in the country. As the closing speaker on the first day of the conference, she discussed her new memoir, My Organic Life, the story of her pioneering culinary mission to bring delicious, wholesome foods to the American table.

Conference workshops throughout the two-day event covered many topics, including the upcoming Centennial Celebration of the National Park Service; how to engage youth/students in our collective national history; economic trends in heritage tourism; grant writing; African-American and other minority heritage involvement and more.

A Virginia Viticulture Field Session Tour took participants to several wineries in the area and a networking reception took place at Catoctin Creek Distilling Company in Purcellville.

Guided walking tours showcasing the history of the quaint Quaker Waterford village were offered both afternoons.

Conference attendees represented a variety of industry sectors, including economic development and tourism professionals, urban planners, attraction and museum staff, elected officials, historians, National Park Service employees, educators, Certified Tourism Ambassadors, and other engaged citizens.

Certification maintenance credits offered through the American Institute of Certified Planners are available for eligible and interested attendees.

Conference sponsors included The Waterford Foundation, Civil War Trust, Virginia News Group, Certified Tourism Ambassador Network, David Williams, Updegrove Combs and McDaniel, America Comes Alive, and Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company.

For more information about the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, visit www.hallowedground.org.