Roundtable News — November 2016

By Matthew Borowick · Originally published November 2016 · p. 2

There is something growing in the Civil War round table community. Collaboration. For years, Round Table Review has shared best practices among the round table community. And what a sharing community it is! Organization leaders around the world willingly reveal their stories about success and failure so others may learn. That sharing has taken on a new form, one that will prove tremendously beneficial. Leaders are now getting together to talk about the ways in which round tables can succeed. In just the past couple of months, I have become aware of at least two significant efforts to bring round table leaders and members together to discuss good ideas. Not since the 1990’s, when the late Jerry Russell of the Arkansas CWRT gathered disparate groups through his Civil War Round Table Associates has such a gathering taken place. Round tables continue to discuss the Civil War, but it’s been some time since they got together to talk about how they conduct business. That’s changing. In July 2016, Wally Rueckel and Mike Powell of the 1,000-member Brunswick, NC CWRT, along with Ted Kunstling of the Raleigh CWRT invited all thirteen round tables in the Tar Heel state to meet. They had three objectives in mind: establish communication among North Carolina CWRT leaders, identify and discuss best practices and explore opportunities for joint programming, tours and sharing speakers. Twelve of the round tables attended, and 26 representatives met from

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. Attendees each spoke about their round tables. They shared meeting frequency, locations, costs and formats. They discussed dues, marketing, membership, recruitment and publicity. They conversed about by-laws and succession planning. Ideas were shared regarding the use of technology and social media. They explored how they can work together to attract well-known speakers by coordinating their schedules to avoid breaking the bank. This collaboration facilitates one speaker visiting several round tables in a few days. Sharing speaker travel costs enables smaller and less-resourced round tables to hear from wellknown speakers. Ed Bearss was mentioned as an example of a highly-demanded speaker worth sharing. The meeting concluded with agreement among all that an annual meeting would be beneficial. Wally noted that “Everyone in attendance got something out of the meeting. We plan on making this a yearly meeting, expanding the topics we discuss and the locations in which we meet. Through this, we hope to improve the viability and success of each and every Civil War round table in our state.” But the North Carolina experience is not all. Thanks to Mike Movius, president of the Puget Sound (WA) CWRT, another effort is underway. Mike recruited round table leaders from throughout the nation. He hopes to hold a similar program, perhaps at a national level. I participated via video conference in September to explore ways to put ideas into action. The conference will enable leaders and members to share best practices. Each round table has something to offer, from the what-to-dos to the what-not-to-do’s, along with gaining from the experience of others. Why an in-person gathering? Why not just send out some emails with good ideas and “best practices?” The answer remains the same as it did for Jerry years ago; nothing works as well as meeting someone face to face. The relationships formed and trust that is built in person can aid the sharing of information that will help each round table grow stronger. As time goes on, those relationships can be supplemented by electronic communication. Newsletter-sharing, emails and other messages can certainly aid information sharing. Jerry Russell, a marketing and communication expert, knew well the value of building genuine, trusting bonds among individuals with a shared interest in the American Civil War. Today, similar efforts led by Wally Rueckel, Mike Powell and Mike Movius seek to replicate the idea and bring to reality the value that Jerry fostered. If you have any ideas about a gathering of Civil War round tables, please email me at the following: [email protected]