preston tucker – Smithsonian Affiliations

Congratulations on your spring accomplishments!

FUNDING

Allied Arts announced the distribution of $137,881 in educational outreach and capacity-building grants to fund 47 projects in support of local arts and cultural organizations, including scholarship and transportation assistance for Title 1 schools to attend Space Day at Science Museum Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, OK).

The National WWII Museum (New Orleans, LA) announced a $20 million gift from former board chair Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger. The gift will be used to add an iconic architectural piece to the six-acre campus – the Canopy of Peace. The Museum also received a $75,000 contribution from Whitney Bank. The gift will be used to support the museum’s researchers and historians in their ongoing educational and preservation efforts, as well as honor the longtime Museum volunteer group affectionately known as the A-Team.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITION

Birthplace of Country Music Museum currently hosts New Harmonies: Celebrating Roots Music exhibition from the Smithsonian

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, TN) received the following prestigious awards from the Tennessee Association of Museums:

-Past President’s Award of Excellence
-Award of Excellence, Permanent Exhibit
-Award of Excellence, Temporary Exhibit-Carter Family: Lives and Legacies
-Award of Excellence, AV -Music Mixing Station at BCMM
-Award of Commendation, Films -Chapel Film at BCMM

The Antique Automobile Club of America Museum (Hershey, PA) was awarded seven awards during the National Association of Automobile Museums (NAAM) Conference. The AACA Museum received awards in the following categories:

– First Place – Division II Events and Public Promotions related to “An Evening with the Tuckers” event that was held in April to commemorate the Tucker automobile and the family.
– First Place – Division II Interpretive Exhibits related to the “Cammack Tucker Exhibit” that features a collection of Tucker vehicles donated to the Museum by David Cammack.
– Second Place – Division II Events and Public Promotions related to the “Sirens of Chrome” event.
– Second Place – Division II Collateral Materials related to the 2014 Wedding Show Mailer.
– Second Place – Division II Collateral Materials related to our “Motoring Mysteries of the Far East” Exhibit.
– Third Place – Division II Events and Public Promotions related to the Night at the Museum event held in October, celebrating the grand opening on the Cammack Tucker Gallery.
– Third Place – Division II Collateral Materials related to the AACA Museum Rackcard used to promote the Museum for its events and exhibits alike. This is a constantly updated publication to reflect the current exhibits and events at the AACA Museum.

Exhibition of Tucker automobiles at the Antique Automobile Museum in Hershey, PA

The B&O Railroad Museum (Baltimore, MD) received a “Top Choice 2015” medal by Asian visitors and judges from Lianorg, the leading tourist website in Asia.

The American Marketing Association chapter in Lincoln announced University of Nebraska State Museum (Lincoln, NE) the recipient of their top award, “Prism” in the Social Media Non-Profit Category for the #MonsterSnake Selfies, and a “Merit” award (second place) in the Special Event Non-Profit category for the promotion of Titanoboa: Monster Snake Exhibit Opening Weekend.

The American Alliance of Museums has announced that eight museums including the Kentucky Historical Society, (Frankfurt, KY) earned reaccreditation.

LEADERSHIP

New York City’s tourism arm, NYC & Company, has appointed Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden (Staten Island, NY) CEO and President Lynn B. Kelly to its board’s executive committee. Kelly, a Staten Island native, was also tapped to head the organization’s Arts & Culture Committee.

10TH ANNIVERSARY
The Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, MT) officially became an affiliate on 5/10/2005. Happy Anniversary!

Smithsonian Affiliations would like to thank Nancy Gates, Director of Marketing & Publicity at the Antique Automobile Museum of America Museum in Hershey, PA for this guest post.

Photo courtesy of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum

Image courtesy of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum

The enthusiasm and creativity that propelled Preston Tucker and his vision for the Tucker automobile is something that has captured many hearts. Now, an extensive – the world’s largest- collection of 3 Tucker vehicles and other Tucker automobilia have found their new home at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum [AACAM] in Hershey, Pennsylvania from the David Cammack Collection.

Mr. Cammack, an avid Tucker collector, passed away in 2013 and provided his extensive Tucker Collection to the AACA Museum. His desire was to have this collection open to the public, and the AACA Museum is honored to be the caretakers of this collection.

A close-up look inside a Tucker automobile. Photo courtesy of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum.

The Cammack collection includes three 1948 Tucker vehicles, the factory Tucker test chassis, thousands of engineering drawings and blueprints, original Tucker parts, several engines as well as other artifacts and displays. The vehicles include Tucker #1001 – the first ‘production’ prototype; Tucker #1022; and Tucker #1026 – the only existing Tucker built with an automatic transmission.

A total of 51 Tuckers were built by hand in Chicago, of which 47 are known to still exist. (Even the Smithsonian has one.) Preston Tucker and his story were detailed in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1988 film, Tucker: The Man and His Dream which certainly helped bolster the public’s intense fascination with the “Car of Tomorrow.”

The Tucker collection is being housed permanently in a dedicated 5,200 sq. ft. gallery that showcases the cars and chronicles Preston Tucker’s life and history. AACAM will host a Grand Opening on October 8^th to debut Phase 1 of the exhibit, and will continue to provide additional interactive elements to enhance the exhibit over time.

“The AACA Museum intends to educate our guests about Tucker’s process and determination to create something special,” stated Mark Lizewskie, Executive Director. “We listened carefully to input from Mr. Cammack and his family, and we were quite pleased to learn that it mirrored our vision. The end result needed to be something that would complement the stunning displays that are already on view throughout the Museum. Being a permanent display, we knew the Cammack Tucker Gallery had to be fantastic right from the start.”

Preston Tucker’s family, including grandson John Jr. and great-grandsons Mike and Sean Tucker, has also endorsed the project, expressing their willingness to act as historical advisors. Sean Tucker was elated to be a crucial part of the exhibit. “The effort being put forth by the AACA Museum team in the presentation of the Cammack Tucker collection is not only an honor to the Tucker family but also to the man who had an amazing passion to preserve the history of the Tucker story,” exclaimed Sean Tucker. “As a member of the Tucker family it is truly a privilege to serve as a historical advisor to this exciting endeavor.”

Take a drive through history! Tickets for the grand opening are available by calling 717-566-7100 ext. 100 or online at https://www.aacamuseum.org/events/night-at-the-museum/.

Preston Tucker’s business card. Photo courtesy of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum.

Click here to read more about the Tucker in Smithsonian Magazine and to see a video with collector David Cammack.

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may kudos Affiliates!

The car of tomorrow… today (at an Affiliate in Pennsylvania)