Andrew Duppstadt
Assistant Curator of Education
Historic Weapons Program Coordinator
NC Division of State Historic Sites and Properties
100 North Queen Street, Kinston, NC 28501
Ph:  (252) 526-9600 ext. 228  Fax:  (252) 526-9651

There were four people in attendance at this meeting: Andrew Duppstadt, Joyce Henry, Rob Flory, and Ron Westphal.  Former Chairman, Myers Brown was not present.  However, all on the committee except Rob Flory are acquainted with Myers, and he had expressed an interest in stepping down as chair of the PIG.  Both Ron and Joyce asked Andrew if he would take over the position, and he agreed.

The remainder of the meeting was a discussion of how to regenerate interest in the PIG, which has been mostly dormant for the past few years.  Reasons for this include older members who are no longer reenacting and have moved on to other interests, as well as ALHFAM members who are interested in military history, but have other interests that take higher priority.  With upcoming anniversaries such as the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the War of 1812 Bicentennial, it seems like an opportune time to revive this PIG.

Our goals for the next year are to simply “talk up” the PIG to others, both inside and outside of ALHFAM, and encourage involvement.  This PIG could serve to bring new members into ALHFAM by taking advantage of their interest in military history and reenacting.   We would also like to try and provide some sessions dealing with military history topics at future annual meetings, in order to increase the visibility of the PIG, possibly attract new members, and provide information to ALHFAM members who are not as familiar with military history.

Following my report at the Annual Business Meeting, a number of folks approached me and expressed interest in the PIG.  I hope to have further discussions, via email and possibly conference call, with interested parties and try to decide where we go from here.

Submitted:  Thursday, June 11, 2009 by Andrew Duppstadt, Chair, GRUNTS