Thank You to our Friends, Followers, and Community!

​Thank you for supporting the Byrd Center this year. In many ways, this year has been an important milestone in the story of the Byrd Center. We began the year by unveiling a new name, logo, and mission statement. The center welcomed hundreds of visitors to film screenings, our annual Constitution Day lecture, and tours of our archives. We opened new sections of the Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers Collection in the archives. In April, we opened the new traveling exhibit Robert C. Byrd: Senator, Statesman, West Virginian and initiated a two-year tour which will culminate in November 2017 at the state capitol in Charleston. Our inaugural Teacher Institute welcomed 18 educators who attended a seminar given by Charlie Flanagan, an education specialist from the Center for Legislative Archives at NARA on teaching students about the United States Constitution. In September, we took the traveling exhibit to Washington DC for a reception in the Russell Senate Office Building.

The traveling exhibit on display in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Visitors view the traveling exhibit for the first time at its grand opening at Shepherd University in April.

Educators gather for an exercise with Charlie Flanagan (NARA) during our Teacher Institute in August.

Our Constitution Day speaker, Dr. Elizabeth Hinton, speaks to visitors after her lecture in September.

​Along the way, we have greatly valued the support and participation of our friends and community. You followed our newsletters and weekly blogs, shared them on social media, and helped to promote our programs and events. As the traveling exhibit has made its way across the state to Parkersburg, Beckley, Bluefield, Lewisburg, Athens, and Morgantown, your attendance at opening receptions and your feedback has been crucial to the success of the exhibit program.

Our exhibit reception in the Downtown Campus Library at West Virginia University in November. Left to Right: David Hardesty, Jr. (President of West Virginia University 1995-2007), Johnny Moore (President of Pierpont Community and Technical College), Gordon Gee (current President of West Virginia University), Jay Wyatt, Ray Smock, John Cuthbert (Director and Curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Center), and Jody Brumage.

We look forward to meeting new friends as we continue to expand our programs at the center and take the traveling exhibit to new venues across West Virginia. You can view a schedule of upcoming exhibit venues by clicking here >> 2017 will be the centennial of the birth of Senator Robert C. Byrd. We invite you to stay tuned as we celebrate the legacy of our nation’s longest-serving United States Senator.
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We wish you and your families the happiest of holidays and all the best in the coming year. The Byrd Center’s offices will close on Thursday, December 22, 2016 and will reopen after the holiday break on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.