The Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area will hold its 5th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Presentation at Historic Christ Church in Stevensville, MD, on Saturday evening, May 22. Hosted by Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc. (ESHI), the managing entity for the heritage area, the event will celebrate the first five years since the heritage area’s certification by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) on April 19, 2005.
The evening is ESHI’s first fundraiser and will feature awards highlighting heritage projects and volunteers deserving special recognition this year. A $50 ticket includes a meal, open bar (beer & wine only), and local talent for entertainment. Sponsorship and advertisers will support a special souvenir booklet as well as the event.
The Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area was begun in the late 1990’s by a group of citizens and public officials seeking ways for Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties to enjoy the benefits of the state’s heritage tourism program. Following many public meetings and the support of then-US Senator Paul S. Sarbanes and Washington College, in 2000 the committee incorporated as a nonprofit with the name of Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc.
After earning formal recognition by the MHAA in 2001 as a potential heritage area, ESHI began developing a heritage area management plan with a major grant from the MHAA and matching funds from the four counties. Those funds sustained the program until the heritage area was certified on April 19, 2005. ESHI is now obliged to raise an increasing share of its local match for MHAA operating funds from private sources.
Certification in 2005 meant that nonprofits and local governments in the heritage area could begin applying for special state funding from the MHAA. Today, more than $1.1 million in state funding has supported 52 projects led by 31 different organizations and agencies in the four counties. The projects have generated local cash investment of more than $4.7 million and volunteer services and donations worth an additional million dollars.
“$6.8 million in direct heritage development investment is a wonderful result of the hard work of ESHI’s Board of Directors, volunteers, and staff, and the many excellent heritage groups here,” said Paulette P. Greene, ESHI’s president and a member of the Board since 2000. “We’re now working on ‘ESHI 2.0,’ a strategic plan looking toward a future when the heritage area is more widely recognized by visitors. The Eastern Shore’s economy depends on tourism now, and we aim to do our part in supporting a high-quality visitor experience. But we cannot do that without more local support.”
A 2009 study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation found that cultural heritage travelers spend an average of $994 per trip compared to only $611 for other leisure travelers, making this a highly desirable travel industry segment. Approximately three-quarters of all leisure travelers in theUnited States participate in cultural and/or heritage activities while traveling, or about 118 million adults each year.
Today, the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area represents the collaborative efforts of more than 100 nonprofit and governmental institutions and over 500 local businesses involved in heritage tourism in four counties and 18 towns, with an estimated combined work and volunteer force of 12,000 individuals.
To register to sponsor or attend the 5th Anniversary & Awards Dinner, call 410-778-1460 or email celebration@storiesofthechesapeake.org.