Auburn Cord Museum Earns Several National Awards

AUBURN June 12, 2007; The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum captured four national awards, including a first and third-place NAAMY award for achievement, professionalism and creativity from the National Association of Automobile Museums (NAAM). Executive director Laura Brinkman and Executive Vice President Matt Short accepted the awards recently on behalf of the museum at the association's 11th annual convention in Los Angeles, California.

The NAAMY awards are presented annually at the NAAM Conference and further promote professionalism in automotive museum management and promotion. The awards are designed to recognize automotive/transportation museum leaders for achievement, professionalism and creativity.

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum earned a first place NAAMY in the educational program category for its "Duesenberg Racing: The Need for Speed" computer screen saver package, produced in 2006 by Copernicus Software. The software loads a screen saver on to a personal computer and displays a series of 37 archival images from the Golden Age of Racing, black and white archival images from the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum archives, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway photo archive department and several other sources. The images tell the story of Team Duesenberg and its need for speed and quest for victory. The NAAMY was earned through the joint efforts of museum Duesy Shop Manager/Buyer Marcia Souers and museum Director of Education and Archives Jon Bill. The award-winning package also includes a 20 page narrative booklet and retails in the museum store for $14.95 plus shipping and handling. Eligible educational programs were created by a museum or a museum-related business during the 2006 calendar year.

The museum also earned a third place NAAMY in the interpretive exhibit design and display category for its renovation and interpretation of the Lincoln Financial Group Foundation Cars of Indiana Gallery. This gallery space is heavily used by school study trips in learning about Indiana's automotive history and its pioneers. Eligible exhibits were created by a museum or a museum-related business during the 2006 calendar year.

All 2006 NAAMY entries were also reviewed by a group of Kent State University students using their own criteria for judging. Both the "Duesenberg Racing: The Need for Speed" computer screen saver package and the Lincoln Financial Group Foundation Cars of Indiana Gallery received the Kent State University Student Award as the top entry in each respective category. Only the top entry in each category earned this award.

Other NAAMY award categories are collateral materials (best design for brochures, promotional material, rack cards or other printed materials); publications (newsletters, magazines, exhibit books and catalogs); Web page design; educational programs; and event or exhibit promotion (most successful museum event, exhibit or promotion). Each category is divided into two divisions: museums with annual budgets under $300,000, and museums with annual budgets over $300,000.

The National Association of Automobile Museums is a trade organization for the institutions and people dedicated to the automobile and its history. The association is intended for all categories of members, from museums to companies, from auto clubs to individuals interested in the automobile. The association's mission is to link auto museums, enabling them to foster education, share exhibits, and exchange data about collections.

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum was a founding member of the National Association of Automobile Museums in 1995. NAAM currently has 98 museum members in the United States and Canada. Late in 2005 a reciprocal membership was created with The Friends of Automobile Museums in Montjalin, France, a group of 60 auto museums in France and Europe.

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum exhibits 120 classic, antique, vintage and special interest cars in seven galleries of the restored 1930 art deco national headquarters of the former Auburn Automobile Company. The museum, accredited by the American Association of Museums, is a National Historic Landmark. It is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.