| Here is
a summary taken from my notes of the June 16th meeting, which was
well attended and generated a lot of enthusiasm for getting Kilroy
Was Here onto a stamp. The meeting was held in Cong. Bill Keating's
office in Quincy, chaired by Kevin Bowe. I hope I covered all the
main points.
A very promising
proposal was to have a Facebook page devoted to this.
We were happy
to meet Donna Mavromates, introduced to us by Mark Carey as his
successor when he steps down on June 30. She will be the Director
of Marketing and Director of Tourism for the Quincy Chamber of Commerce.
One of the things Donna urged on us was to find a clear, concise
way of getting the point across to the USPS. Attached is our suggestion
as a starting point. Donna will handle press releases, too, and
Mark will organize the next meeting.
Kathy
|
From: Kathy
and Frank
Date: June 23, 2011
Attending
the June 16 meeting were:
Kevin Bowe
Cong. Keating's rep - Aleigha Lawless, Intern
Jeff Mahoney Cong. Mahoney's rep
Mark Carey Discover Quincy/Quincy Chamber of Commerce
Donna Mavromates Mark's successor as of July 1
Bob Kilroy
Tom and Margaret Kilroy Fitzgerald
Mary Ann Kilroy Duffy
Roger Hardy WW II Merchant Marine; Kilroy videographer
Frank and Kathy Hogan
To get the
meeting under way, Jeff explained the USPS procedure for getting a stamp.
Roger shared a letter he recently received from the USPS about a new stamp
issue on the U.S. Merchant Marine; he has been invited to be at the ceremony.
Mark has some of the photos from the Kilroy photo contest six years ago.
Let's find the others. (Are they still on the USS Salem? Some used to
be at Kilroy's on East Howard St.)
Discussion
* Politicians
can write letters in support; Mayor Koch already did and has a reply.
* Frank said veterans' groups need to be contacted; he'd recently met
some Vietnam vets from New York who were very interested.
* Jeff suggested updating the original stamp application. The USPS receives
about 43,000 applications a year, but members of Congress can get them
to focus on an individual application.
* Kevin pointed out that grassroots enthusiasm is also needed. He brought
up the question of what possible USPS themes a KWH stamp could fit into,
such as The Greatest Generation or a pop culture category, e.g.
* Donna explained that our pitch should be concentrated and timely, with
succinct goals. She can do the press releases.
* Mark said this could be part of the Cultural Coast program (begun by
Bill Delahunt). (Note: KWH is not mentioned on the Cultural Coast website.)
* Kathy pointed out the educational value of KWH as a visual and quirky
way of getting children interested and then wanting to find out more about
WW II.
* Bob, Mary Ann, and Margaret shared their own first-hand experiences
with us.
Tom had videos to share, done by Roger of a family interview. Bob expressed
appreciation, on behalf of his family, of our wanting to help with this.
Plan
* Kevin
agreed we should re-launch this and do a new application.
* Jeff will be in contact with Patrick Tillery of www.kilroywashere.org.
* Ask Ron Adams about a video he did of Kilroy sightings in movies, special
events, etc.
* Gather photos from the 2006 photo contest.
Check the Kilroy exhibit on the USS Salem to see what can be added to
it.
(Also, enlist in particular the support of people who entered the contest;
Kathy has the list.)
* Start a Facebook page on this proposed stamp as a way to gather support.
* Find out if USPS has certain themes coming up into which this can fit.
* Boston Duck Tours have KWH on the back of their vehicles. Look into
enlisting
their support.
* Ask Mike Condon on the USS Salem about printing new petition postcards.
* Mark will organize the next meeting.
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