Schwenk New GHF Board President
Galveston: At Annual Meeting Foundation Honors Volunteers, Gives Preservation Awards, Announces Heritage at Risk List and Recognizes Donors
The Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) membership on Friday approved the selection of Thomas Schwenk as board president for 2008-2009. Schwenk is the co-owner of Seminars by Design, a company that offers a variety of health, safety and welfare classes for interior designers and architects and the general public across the U.S. | more | 2008 Volunteer Awards |

GHF Announces Doug Kanoy Memorial Education Fund for Employees
Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) announces a new fund that offers tuition assistance for long-term employees to continue their studies in areas related to the preservation of the built environment. more

Galveston County Historical Museum to Host Exhibit: African Americans in World War II, Opening September 1
Local Stories of African Americans in World War II are Sought
Galveston County Historical Museum will host a new traveling exhibit this fall that will tell the story of African Americans’ service in World War II. The museum is asking the public to share their stories for possible inclusion. The exhibit opens September 1.
Over 2.5 million African American men and women served in all branches of service, and in all theaters, during World War II. This traveling exhibit shows how, despite segregation and discrimination, they met great challenges and served with distinction and honor. more

Galveston Historical Foundation Extends Windstorm Exemption Program to all Galveston County with Support from National Trust for Historic Preservation
Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) announces that it has extended its review of historic buildings for the Windstorm Exemption Program (WEA-1) to all of Galveston County. more

Galveston County Historical Museum opens new exhibit:
Inspired! A Collection of Early Galveston Artwork
The Galveston County Historical Museum will open a new exhibit at the July 5th Artwalk. Inspired! A Collection of Early Galveston Artwork will feature 35 paintings from various local artists spanning from the late 1800s to the 1970s. The exhibit will run through August 24. more

"Light And Bright: The Quilts Of Summer" Exhibit To Be Held At 1861 Custom House, June 16 Through August 29
Artwalk Opening Scheduled for Saturday, July 5
"Light and Bright: the Quilts of Summer," an exhibit of quilts suitable in theme and weight for summer display, will open at the 1861 U. S. Custom House, headquarters of Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) on June 16. The exhibit is being organized by volunteer curator, GHF member and quilter, Jul Kamen. A formal opening of the show will take place during Galveston's ArtWalk on Saturday, July 5. more

1877 Tall Ship ELISSA Still Taking New Recruits for Seamanship Training this Saturday
Last month, the Texas Seaport Museum held an orientation meeting for seamanship training on ELISSA, Galveston’s famous historic tall ship. This Saturday, August 9, at 9 a.m., the door is still open for new recruits, as the volunteer seamanship program holds its second full day of training for the season.
Houston-Galveston-area residents have the rare opportunity to learn to sail and maintain a square-rigged sailing ship by participating in the seamanship training program this summer and fall, and to take the ship into the Gulf of Mexico next spring. more

“Are We Haunted?”
Special October Tours at Ashton Villa Highlight Legends and Ghost Stories of the Mansion
Daily Tours Offered Throughout October. After-Hours Tours to be Offered on Halloween
A serious house museum deals only in historical facts and artifacts, but for this season the staff of the only antebellum mansion on Broadway is happy to tell ghost stories.
Is Ashton Villa haunted by the spirit of “Miss Bettie,” the daughter of the house’s first owner, James Moreau Brown? Maybe. Maybe not. Since 1975, when GHF opened the restored mansion to the public, legends and ghost stories have attached themselves to Ashton Villa. more

GHF Marketing/PR Department Needs Volunteers
This summer, the GHF Marketing and Public Relations Department is recruiting a new team of ongoing volunteers to help with the wide array of public outreach activities the office undertakes. Volunteers in the Marketing/PR Department enjoy the camaraderie of a busy office at the center of Galveston's premier cultural institution. They also have the opportunity to contribute their ideas and expertise to an organization whose success has always hinged on the support of its dedicated volunteers. Besides all that, the director of marketing holds regular appreciation more

$500 Reward For Historic Griffin Stolen From Galveston's Bishop's Palace
One of the cast zinc griffins that have sat for 116 years at the entry to the 1892 Bishop's Palace at 14th and Broadway has been stolen.
Bishop's Palace, Galveston's most highly visited historic attraction (a house museum), has been operated by Galveston Historical Foundation since December, 2007. The building is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The griffin was first reported as missing Monday morning by Jami Durham, GHF's assistant director of historic properties. more