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Conservancy board member Robert Forbes spoke to the assembled guests at the opening of the SS United States Conservancy's exhibition at the Forbes Galleries. From left to right: Robert Forbes, Conservancy Executive Director Susan Gibbs, Conservancy Board President Charles Anderson and artist and filmmaker Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren.
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Executive Director's Update
Dear SS United States Conservancy Supporters:
As we approach the 60th anniversary of the SS United States' record-breaking maiden voyage, the SS United States Conservancy is pulling out all the stops! Our wonderful new exhibition - "The Ocean Liner United States: Celebrating the Past and Future of America's Flagship" - opened at New York's Forbes Galleries last week. The exhibition will be up all summer and is free and open to the public from 10 am - 4 pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The Galleries are located at 60 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Our new video tribute to the SS United States is running around the clock in Manhattan's Times Square, and we are busy planning our special 60th anniversary event on June 15 in Philadelphia, with a July event in New York to follow.
Later this summer, we will bring America's flagship into homes around the nation - and the world - through a unique online platform - SavetheUnitedStates.org. We think this innovative online experience will revolutionize the way in which the public participates in historic preservation efforts. Soon we will offer you access to this exciting program before it is released to the general public. In the coming weeks, you will have a chance to explore, learn and become a part of the ship's preservation by purchasing pieces of the virtual ship and uploading your memories and images. You will be able to pay tribute to the history buff in your life, a grandparent, passenger or crewmember, maritime enthusiast, or one of the ship's celebrity travelers. Meanwhile, we need your help to make the user experience fun and fascinating: read below for an exciting contest we are running this week; we are offering some very special prizes for our winners!
Save Our Ship!
Susan L. Gibbs
Executive Director
To become a member of the SS United States Conservancy
or make a tax-deductible donation in support of our efforts, please click here
 | | The SS United States returns to New York, if only in miniature! Ered Matthew's fabulous model of the "Big U" beckons visitors to the Conservancy's new Forbes Galleries exhibition |
In This Issue: |
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 An Enormous Thank You to Everyone Who Contributed to the Conservancy's SS United States Exhibition at the Forbes Galleries
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We would like to thank the many people who contributed to the enormous success of the Conservancy's new exhibition at the Forbes Galleries, "The Ocean Liner United States: Celebrating the Past and Future of America's Flagship." First, we extend our most profound gratitude to Michael Harrison, the exhibit's incredible curator, and to Greg Shutters, the Conservancy's talented Graphics Designer. We are also profusely grateful for the invaluable assistance of the Forbes Galleries' staff: Bonnie S. Kirschstein, Managing Director, Elizabeth Marwell, Collections Manager and Associate Registrar, and Johanna Goldfeld, Exhibition Layout. We also extend a huge thanks to Robert Cohencious, CEO of Capitol Productions Television LLC, for producing the fabulous video presentation that accompanies the exhibition.
We're also thankful for the contributions of the Conservancy's curatorial advisory committee: Charles Anderson, Susan Caccavale, Susan Gibbs, Steven Ujifusa, Rosalyn McPherson, Dan McSweeney, Thomas Rinaldi, Joe Rota, Margaret Stack, and Laurie Beckelman, Mimi Taft and Maggie MacTiernan at Beckelman+Capalino.
We also thank the individuals and organizations who shared objects, artifacts, memories and advice: Bill DiBenedetto, Christopher Forbes, Robert Forbes, Deborah French, Stephanie French, Gordon Ghareeb, Harriett Hankins, Noelle Braynard Hollander, Charles Howland, Daisy Jones, Paulette and Al Lawing, Tracy Leenman, Ered Matthew, Lillie McPherson, Dan McSweeney, Vickie Morris, David Peeling, Mark Perry, Lisa Ramaci, Mira Jebwadnick Van Doren, Carl R. Weber, Lisa McNeal of the Calhoon Meba Engineering School, the Historic American Engineering Record, Eric Johannson and William Sokol of the Maritime Industry Museum at SUNY Maritime College.
Finally, a very special thanks to the Conservancy's archives project contributors whose stories and images enriched the exhibition: Pamela Alessandrelli, Harriet Beu, Elizabeth Biondi, Joan Browning, Miguel Cruz (and his daughters Delia Cruz and Ruth Murphy), Janette Gautier, Beverly Jackson, Bill and Tillie Krudener, John Gustave Kunze, Paul MacCarthy, Peter McGinn, Gregory and Amanda Norris, Joe Rota, and Arthur Taddei.
 | | From left to right: Conservancy corporate counsel Francis Nolan III, Robert Forbes and Francis Nolan IV. |
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Conservancy board member and co-executive producer of the hit show Revenge Mark Perry (on right), with husband Mark Knowles and Amanda Norris, wife of Conservancy Board Treasurer Greg Norris.
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More Photos from the SS United States Exhibition Kick-off
at the Forbes Galleries, New York City
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Outside the exhibition gallery, from left to right: Lorette Pribil, Conservancy board member Susan Caccavale, and John Reynolds and Nick Manzi of Atlantic Logistics.
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 | | Conservancy Advisory Council member Richard O'Leary and his wife Barbara. Richard served as a bridge officer aboard the SS United States and authored the memoir, One With The Sea. |
Conservancy Executive Director Susan Gibbs, SS United States Redevelopment Project Managing Director Dan McSweeney, Conservancy Advisory Council member Rosalyn McPherson, and her mother Lillie McPherson, proud SS United States passenger and contributor the the SS United States Conservancy's Forbes Galleries exhibition.
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Do You Have SS United States Stories? Enter this Week's Contest!
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During this 60th anniversary year, the Conservancy seeks to bring the SS United States back on the world stage. This week, the Conservancy is running an exciting contest. We are collecting revealing vignettes, colorful anecdotes, and photographs of life aboard America's flagship. We will use this material in a breakthrough digital media platform to educate and inspire the public about the SS United States. We urgently need your help! We will provide prizes to the Conservancy's members and supporters who submit the most vignettes and/or images to us 5 pm EST, Sunday, June 3, 2012. The top three contributors will receive a signed copy of Steven Ujifusa's soon-to-be published book about William Francis Gibbs and the SS United States, A Man and His Ship or Les Streater's fabulous volume, SS United States: America's Superliner. The grand prize is a special guided tour of the SS United States! Access to the vessel remains highly restricted, and this is a rare chance to accompany a small group of prospective investors on board for a tour of some of the vessel's iconic spaces. The tour date will be scheduled in conjunction with the SS United States Redevelopment Project's vessel access schedule. For contest submission guidelines, please click here: Submission Guidelines If you have any questions about this contest, please email Margaret Stack, the Conservancy's Curatorial Associate, at mstack@ssusc.org. We thank you in advance for entering this contest and helping us save the SS United States!
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SS United States Conservancy's Call For Summer Interns
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Friends and supporters of the SS United States: Want a change of pace for the summer? The SS United States Conservancy is looking for two (2) summer interns to aid us in our efforts to save America's flagship. One intern will work with the Conservancy's New York City office, and focus on social media, member relations, and fundraising as well as assisting with office tasks. The other intern will work with our office in Philadelphia, and will assist with the scanning of historic documents, the assembling of a passenger and crew database, outreach to local chapters of the Conservancy, and other administrative and member relations tasks.
We'd love your help for the summer - as you know, 2012 is a big year for the SS United States and it we need all hands on deck. If you're interested, please see the following listings:
New York City Internship Description
Philadelphia Internship Description
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Reminder! Register Now for Conservancy's Festive Gathering At Philadelphia's Independence Seaport Museum on June 15
| Friends and supporters of the SS United States: Save the date! On the evening of June 15th, 2012, the Conservancy will be hosting a 60th Anniversary Celebration at Philadelphia's Independence Seaport Museum. The gathering will go 6:30 to 9:00PM, during which time refreshments will be served, a raffle - with the grand prize of a tour of the SS United States! - will be held. We will also screen the new film, SS United States: Made in America. At 9:30PM, we'll be lighting the Big U's funnels, to commemorate the anniversary of her maiden voyage. Please join us!
Invitations were emailed to our members and supporters last week - contact us if you need us to resend and invite to you or any of your friends, colleagues or family. Also, please let us know if you would like Philadelphia hotel information. To buy tickets to the event, please go here to the Eventbrite registration. Questions? Email us at info@ssunitedstatesconservancy.org or scarley@ssusc.org. |
SS United States In The News!
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2012 is proving to be a year without a rest for the SS United States, but, at the Conservancy, we're thrilled to see the Big U where she belongs - in the news!
Site Selection Magazine recently published a fabulous article, Ship to Shore: A Love Story, chronicling the history of the SS United States and the SS United States Conservancy's work to restore and repurpose the vessel.
This month, with the word about the Conservancy's SS United States Redevelopment Project's Request For Qualifications (RFQ) spreading, the SS United States was featured in Northeast Real Estate Business Magazine.
The Maritime Executive has written up our exhibition at Forbes Galleries, calling attention to the new material on display, from archival papers to renowned artist Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren's stunning renderings of North American birds from the SS United States.
Two news outlets have already covered the Forbes Galleries opening: Peachy Deegan's society column covered the festivities, and included a video of some of the evening's remarks. To read, please go here. Linda Coffman of CruiseDiva also provided sterling coverage of the event. To read her column, please go here.
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All Hands On Deck - Help Us Celebrate the Big U! | |
A Call for Volunteers! Please help us celebrate the Big U's 60th Anniversary
This year is a big one for the Big U. July will mark the 60th Anniversary of her maiden Atlantic voyage. We plan to celebrate by making a huge splash nationwide and we need YOUR help organizing local events. Casual happy hours, informative lectures and film screenings, themed evening events... every event garners interest and support for our mission to SAVE the SS United States! You can help by joining the Conservancy and volunteering your time to organize an event or start a membership chapter in your area.
We are now planning our special 60th Anniversary events calendar and would like to include an array of festivities across the nation. Let us know if you can organize an event in your local community!
We will welcome volunteers from across the nation. At this time, we are particularly interested in founding membership chapters in the Miami area of Florida, Hampton Roads area of Virginia, and on the West Coast. Volunteers will work closely with the Conservancy to recruit members, fundraise, and raise local awareness of the SS United States. Interested? Send an email to Sarah Carley, the Conservancy's outreach associate, at scarley@ssusc.org
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Follow the Conservancy with Facebook and Twitter!
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Over the past few months, the Conservancy has completely redeveloped its social media presence, giving us new ways to connect with Conservancy members, fans and potential supporters of the SS United States. Be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest developments from the Conservancy as well as discussions, photos from the ship, photos of Conservancy events, and fun ship-related trivia!
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