New Executive Director Announced for Pamplin Historical Park
Petersburg, Va. – Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier announced on January 11, 2023 that Colin Romanick has been appointed the new Executive Director of Pamplin Historical Park. An experienced museum professional, Mr. Romanick succeeds Jerry Desmond and assumed all responsibilities on January 1, 2023. Mr. Desmond retired in December of 2022 to pursue travel and writing.
Romanick began his career in museums and historic sites with the Historic Services Division, of the City of Newport News, in 2001. He held financial and marketing coordinator positions with the City through 2013 and led educational programs, tours and special events. In 2013, Romanick joined the education staff at the US Army Quartermaster Museum on Fort Lee, where he conducted education programs and tours. He additionally performed marketing and promotional activities for the US Army Quartermaster Foundation.
Romanick previously held the Director of Marketing & Development position at Pamplin Historical Park, which he began upon leaving the US Army Quartermaster Museum in 2017. While in this position, he has served as an advisor to Petersburg Area Regional Tourism and on both the Dinwiddie County Chamber of Commerce and Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of Commerce as a vice-president and president respectively. Romanick was also the 2019 recipient of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Tourism Association’s Charlie Buser Award for Travel Attraction.
A graduate of Christopher Newport University, Romanick is the author of a non-fiction book, Muscle Cars: The First American Supercars (2012). He continues to write historical articles, which have been published in newspapers and periodicals. This includes the “Behind the Scenes at Pamplin” series of articles which ran in The Progress-Index from 2017-2021. Romanick previously volunteered with the National Park Service at the Yorktown Battlefield, as a historical interpreter with Lamb’s Battery, and was a participating member of the Great War Association.
One of “Virginia’s Best Places to Visit” according to the Travel Channel, and designated as a National Historic Landmark, Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier is a 424-acre Civil War campus located in Dinwiddie County, Virginia offering a combination of high-tech museums and hands-on experiences. The Park has four world-class museums and four antebellum homes. The Park is also the site of The Breakthrough Battlefield of April 2, 1865 and America’s premiere participatory experience, Civil War Adventure Camp. For more information, please call 804-861-2408 or visit www.pamplinpark.org.
