Crawley’s relationships will serve the Tubman Museum well

Take a moment to picture the old Tubman Museum on Walnut Street.

There was an ambitious young man, a couple of years out of college, giving Tubman Museum tours to school and tourist groups of all sizes. He would catch them in the museum’s cozy front room and prep them for the William Stroud mural “From Africa to America,” which would serve as a teaching tool while he took them on a journey of global to local black history.

His name is George Crawley, and that youthful ambition still lies in his heart. He did venture off to the big city of Atlanta, where Crawley accomplished a lot while working for Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs. He’s returned to the Tubman Museum, though, with a mission to help increase membership, revenue and tours through an Education Department outreach initiative.

Crawley plans on using his community and family resources, as he has in the past, to help create and reconnect the Tubman Museum’s relationships. He’s dedicated to the institution. Years ago, he was the director of education. Now, he assists Trenda Byrd, the current director, in achieving the museum’s educational goals. With the proper teamwork, the Tubman Museum should be able to engage the community and tourists with its resources of exhibits and archives of history.

The return of the Heritage Camp is creating a huge buzz of excitement around the museum. It will take place Oct. 9-13 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the museum, located downtown at 310 Cherry St. Crawley is playing a key role in coordinating and co-directing the camp. The children will take tours, attend workshops, exercise, create art, watch film and have discussions.

E-mail Byrd at tbyrd@tubmanmuseum.com or call 478-845.3814 to register your child for the Tubman Museum Heritage Camp.

Once upon a time, Crawley was a key player in helping to increase tours and outreach for the museum from outside the Macon market. He also helped balance budgets and raise revenue by connecting with community partners and landing sponsorships. The Tubman Museum would be grateful for him to spark some of those positive old flames as well as create new partnerships.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Crawley’s relationships will serve the Tubman Museum well."