Planning for the 150th Gettysburg has been going
on in our community for over a year. Community organizations like the
Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Gettysburg/Adams Chamber of
Commerce, The Gettysburg Foundation, The Gettysburg Anniversary Committee, and
local institutions like Gettysburg College and The Lutheran Seminary, and
government agencies like the National Park Service, Gettysburg Borough,
Cumberland Township and Adams County have come together and have been meeting
on a monthly basis for over a year to insure a coordinated and quality
experience for everyone. The 150th Gettysburg has been called by some Gettysburg’s
Olympic Moment. This collaboration led to the 150th Gettysburg
Kick-Off last April where for the first time ever, there was living
history and an actual skirmish at The Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary and fighting
on Baltimore Street in downtown Gettysburg. Three other communities,
Chambersburg, Greencastle and Fairfield, all with their own rich civil war
heritage, also participated with events. The Gettysburg Anniversary Committee
and its staff led the way in making all that happen and supplied the volunteer
planning, leadership and resources as a proud and committed community members.
This is just one example where it has been necessary to not only plan for the
reenactment, but to also plan for the multitude of other events that have been
announced and scheduled. The eyes of the world will be on Gettysburg next year.
As members of the community we are attempting to meet that challenge in an
organized and responsible manner.
Jim Fox, our Director of Planning and Command
Center Supervisor for the past 18 years, was formerly the Emergency Management
Director for the Adams County and is currently on the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Response and Recovery Team. He has been
meeting with the municipalities, Gettysburg Hospital, Adams County officials,
the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland
Security, FEMA and the Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Services Federation to
coordinate event planning efforts. When he is not giving commands on the field,
General Allen Baldwin is the Director for Emergency Response for the
Pennsylvania Turnpike. He is also Gettysburg Fire Chief and President of the
Adams County Fire Chiefs Association. General Brian Gesuero is a professional emergency
responder at BWI Airport with an extensive background in large event and
emergency operations and management. For 18 years The Gettysburg Anniversary
Committee prides itself as having one of the best living history areas of any
reenactment in the country. Living History coordinator Kirk Davis has been
there all 18 of these years making it happen. The living history area just gets
better every year. The Deputy Director of Operations for the past 18 years is
Gettysburg native Timon Linn. Tim has been the Chief of Police and Security for
Gettysburg College, Elon University and is currently in the same position at
St. Johns College in Annapolis. The Director of Operations/Incident Commander
for the past 18 years is Randy Phiel. Randy is a 30 year veteran retired U.S.
Law Enforcement Ranger for the NPS with an extensive background in event
operations, emergency services, wildfire suppression, homeland security,
dignitary protection and incident command. The York County Wildland
Firefighting crew has been with us for at least 16 years. They arrive before
the first reenactor sets foot on the property and do not leave until Monday
morning. Many of the crew are also EMT’s and paramedics. One of the crew is an
emergency room trauma physician who was extremely valuable after the lightning
strike during the 148TH Reenactment. The extensive EMS staff are professionals
from both the Gettysburg and Hanover areas who come back year after year
offering a wealth of specific event experience. Our long-time office Administrator,
Joanne Sease, is very dedicated and experienced when handling either reenactor,
visitor, community or media matters. Media Coordinator Andrea DiMartino is
another community member who has been part of the organization for all 18
years.
Site preparation for the 150th Gettysburg
National event at the Redding and Entwistle Farms began even before this past
year’s 149TH event. Some of the tasks include crop rotation compatible for a
large event, repair and building of additional bridges, upgrading of roads, placing
of additional firewood in appropriate locations, meeting with additional
landowners, increasing the size of the CSA Camp, improving the CSA shuttle
road, improving entrances and exits, and meeting with local, state and federal
officials to insure good planning, compliance, safety, comfort and excellent
logistics. We also have on site our own on-site Command Center and Radio
Communications system approved by the Federal Communications Commission. There
will be three fully staffed 24/7 EMS areas with immediate response capability.
There will be one in each camp and one in the visitor area. We should mention
that we are also blessed with wonderful and cooperative landowner partners who
bring many needed resources to the table.
As an organization we learned one thing very
early in our history. When you organize a reenactment there are three very,
very critical constituencies. They are the Reenactors, the Visitors and the
Community. Too often one or more is neglected. It is consistently our goal to
equally and responsibly serve all three. There is a reason that very few groups
organize large reenactments. It is normally difficult, it takes experience and
it is risky. As the Gettysburg Reenactment organization we continue to
consistently learn and improve every year. That is good for the Reenactors, The
Visitors and the Community. It also enables us to walk down the street every
Monday morning, when the event has concluded, and hold our heads high.
We look forward to and welcome your participation
in the 150th Gettysburg Anniversary National Civil War Battle Reenactment and
Commemoration on July 4, 5, 6 and 7, 2013. This may be one of the final
opportunities for the reenactment community, our community and our nation to
come together to experience a milestone in reenacting this iconic and pivotal
battle that took place July 1863.
Respectfully,
The Gettysburg Anniversary Committee
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