Linda Trout, long-time Executive Director of International Relations Council (IRC) in Kansas City, Mo. has been named Director of Strategic Engagement at the National World War I Museum.
In the new post for the museum, Trout will oversee planning and implementation of the centennial celebration of WWI, beginning next year.
At the IRC, Trout recruited and hosted world leaders and diplomats, politicians and distinguished scholars. President and CEO of the Museum, Dr. Matthew Naylor, said in a release he is ecstatic to have someone of Trout’s expertise and capability for this job.
“Linda’s experience in bringing people of international prominence to Kansas City will add considerable energy to our work,” Naylor said.
“She has a passion for engaging diverse and broad audiences in important conversations – something absolutely critical as the world’s spotlight shines on Kansas City and the National World War I Museum during the Centennial Commemoration.”
Plans for the centennial celebration are still in the works, but events are expected to span the five-year period from the beginning of World War I until its aftermath, and the peace process, in 2019.
Museum spokesman Mike Vietti said the museum expects to attract national and international attention.
Some highlights from the proposed schedule of events:
Exhibits:
- On the Brink, March 2014 - September 2014
Color postcard images of cities before the war with narrative and images; a “Day in the Life” of individuals on June 28, 1914. - The Volunteers: Americans Join World War I, 1914-1919, October 2014 - March 2015
A touring exhibition that will explore the history of American volunteerism in Europe before and after America entered the war.
Public Programming/Conferences/Symposiums:
- Food Fight: Culinary explorations of WWI & Today
An interactive series of three events over the course of the year that will explore the story of the World War I in a new way. - Centennial Commission: Guns of August, August 12-14, 2014
A conference convened at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. Simultaneous worldwide webcast exploring the causes of WWI. - German Scholars Association Conference, September 18-21, 2014
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