FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Historical Society Hires New Director

Position is filled after a 13-year Vacancy

January 1, 2003 -- The Southold Historical Society is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Geoffrey K. Fleming as Director of the Society.  The position was last held by Mr. George Wagoner, who resigned from the post in 1989.

Mr. Fleming, who was born in St. James, NY will assume the position on February 10th, 2003.  He was most recently the Director of the Bridge Hampton Historical Society on the South Fork of Long Island.

Fleming studied at and is a graduate of Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA where he obtained a Bachelors Degree in Historic Preservation with a focus on architectural history and museum studies.  While there he was awarded The J. Binford Walford Scholarship in Architecture. Following his studies in Virginia he was employed by The Museums at Stony Brook, now the Long Island Museum, serving both in the Carriage and History Departments while there.

In 1997 Fleming entered the Master of Arts Administration Program administered by The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in the nation. During his studies there he both interned with the Elderhostel Program in the Education Department and worked in the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries & Archives.  He graduated from the program in 1999 following the successful defense of his master's thesis, Museum Shops: A Study.

In late 1999 he was appointed the Director of the Bridge Hampton Historical Society in Bridgehampton, NY.  While there he expanded and implemented new programs, added important items to the permanent collection, and began a popular lecture series.  His book, Images of America: Bridgehampton, is scheduled to be published later this spring.

For More Information Contact:

Southold Historical Society
54325 Main Road
Tel: 631-765-5500
FAX: 631-765-5500
Internet: sohissoc@optonline.net