Historic Tredegar Picks Up Steam with $8 Million Capital Campaign

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The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar

Jan 30, 2012, 12:00 ET

Three Fortune 500 Company CEOs Serve as Co-Chairs

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar announces Forging Our Future, an $8 million fundraising campaign co-chaired by three Richmond-based, Fortune 500 Company CEOs.

The leadership is Bruce C. Gottwald, Sr., Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Executive Committee at NewMarket Corporation; John A. Luke, Jr., Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer at MWV (MeadWestvaco); and Thomas F. Farrell, II, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Dominion.

Thanks to generous leadership gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Bruce C. Gottwald, Sr. and the NewMarket Corporation, the Center is well positioned to inspire future giving. Forging Our Future began with a combined $4 million donation from the NewMarket Corporation and the Gottwalds.

"Can you imagine what it was like to live in a city that was a focal point of a war that cost 625,000 Americans their lives? A substantial part of this disaster occurred right here, right within earshot of our city," Bruce C. Gottwald, Sr. said.

"My home is built on top of a Confederate trench; imagine that, real soldiers fighting a real war where currently my pet dogs roam and the postman delivers mail. We need to know and appreciate what happened here. Could all this happen again? Not likely, and yet similar events are happening elsewhere in the world. The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar was almost ground zero -- we need to hear and understand the story they tell."

Wednesday, one of Tredegar's closest neighbors, MWV, announced their support by making a $500,000 commitment to the campaign.

"MeadWestvaco's recent award is a wonderful example of inspired giving," said Christy S. Coleman, President of the American Civil War Center. "Our Richmond neighbors are rallying in a way that I couldn't have imagined four years ago. Thanks to their support, Historic Tredegar is a national asset that will continue to educate and inspire for years to come."

Ten months after kicking off the quiet phase of their campaign, more than $6.3 million has been raised to fund a variety of improvements, multimedia exhibits and expansions in and around the 8.3-acre National Historic Landmark. Among them is an 8,000-square-foot theater/auditorium that will feature a new production designed to give cinematic voice to everyday Union, Confederate, and African-American men, women and children.

"The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar is a Richmond treasure, with national significance. It is a place not just reminiscent of our shared history, but representative of the newly vibrant riverfront alongside the James. It is home to scholarly pursuit and field-trip fun," co-chair John A. Luke, Jr. said.

"I'm proud to be involved in the Tredegar campaign because of these connections -- between then and now, between history and healing, between Richmond and the world. I look forward to the continuous expansion of the center's important mission."

Forging Our Future will also enable Historic Tredegar to tell another story that hasn't fully been told - that of Tredegar Iron Works.

"For years the ruins of Tredegar Iron Works sat along the banks of the James River, a remnant of days long past, its significance largely lost to present generations. We have not only saved Tredegar, we have put it to the noble and valuable work of illuminating our history. I am very proud to be associated with the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, the importance of which will continue to grow in the years ahead. As co-chair of the campaign, I hope to expand awareness of the center's work and see its rich potential fulfilled," said Thomas F. Farrell, II.