The Case for SHA

Guest post by Dawn Weaver, SHA Class of 2017

Three weeks! What kind of seminar lasts for three weeks?

• A seminar that brings engaged individuals from the history field together, in the Midwest, to take a critical look at what’s happening in the field. A critical, intensive look at topics like conservation, classic design and cutting-edge design, interpretation of the difficult topics like racism, decolonization and inclusion, and political advocacy.
• A seminar that opens a window on financial management and how the bottom line effects everything else that we do, with real-world answers and a toolkit that you can use.
• A seminar that leads a conversation as to the relevance of our passion and how to advance the relevance of it for many years to come, and forces us, as an individual and as a group to dive deeper for more answers and for where we fit into the bigger picture

This is a time apart, away from the daily pressures, to meet and make a band of companions from a disparate group of other professionals with similar passion and drive.

This is a nesting place for ideas and ‘aha’ moments, with a support group standing by with encouragement and support and more ideas than you can come up with yourself.

When this opportunity presents itself before you, do not turn a blind eye. Do not even think that you do not have the time. You do not have the time NOT to do this. Make a plan and make it happen. You will not regret it!

Dawn Weaver is the Manager of the Musgrove Mill State Historic Site in Clinton, South Carolina.